Hunting Island State Park (SC)

[Tim5055]

We visited Hunting Island in December of 2001.  The campground was nearly deserted (except for the sites directly on the ocean).  It is probable that most people were afraid of cold weather, but due to the unseasonably warm weather we enjoyed the park almost by ourselves.
 
The park has over a hundred sites divided up into individual loops with a bathhouse for each.  The bathhouse was clean with plenty of hot water, but I noted that there was no heat or air conditioning, just open screen windows.  In  hot or cold weather some may find them uncomfortable.
 
While it rained every day of our visit, there was sufficient clear time to walk in the woods surrounding the campground and walk on the beach.  I think the wide open beach was one of the most enjoyable aspects of this park.  But walking on the beach reminded of the power of mother nature.  Sticking up from the sand dunes and the beach were ghostly reminders of mans folly in building in coastal areas.  The remnants of a camping loop, long reclaimed by the ocean were readily apparent.  Water pipes, electrical cable and other parts of the loop stick up in areas of the beach.  A road, clearly the access to a camping loop now ends on the sand of the beach.
 
Only one small area of the campground allows reservations, with the rest first come first served.  Most sites are wide with sufficient under-story to shield you from your neighbors.  Care should be taken in that several sites marked as pull through are only suitable for tents and obstructions would not allow a vehicle to pull into the site.  During slow periods the staff closes off unused loops to allow closing of unneeded bath houses.
 
While some have reported problems problems with bugs and heat, we were exposed to neither of these due to the time of year.
 
Patrols by ranges were plentiful.  We saw them driving around almost  the park 24 hours a day.
 
We enjoyed this park and plan to return.

Hunting Island State Park Web Site

[slowpez]

We visited this site for the second time on Thanksgiving.  It was full.  If you search, you will find that some of the bathrooms have heat.  However, during our last stay, the women's side closest to our site had heat but the men's side was broken.  On Friday, the womens bathroom was so dirty I wouldn't take a bath.  They had been painting the outside of the building and the painter may have been responsible.  It was clean the rest of the weekend.  There are forty reservable sites.  One bathroom and several sites on the ocean side have been closed due to severe erosion.  Four of the campers surrounding us left their tacky lights on all night long.  This really didn't bother us much but may be a problem for some people.  There are no fire rings but fires are permitted on the bare ground.  Rangers patrolled frequently and even though crowded, the park was quiet after 10 PM.

[scliq]

If anyone plans on going in October check the dates of the Shrimp Festival First !! I avoid making reservations when it's off season because usually the reservable sites are not the ones I would pick. I like picking my site. We showed up here in October one year and they were well overbooked with a line waiting. We ended up driving over to Edisto State Park and had a great time there.

Take Care,
Lisa