I've been coming to Hilton Head Island for over a decade and learned two things this visit that I…read moredid not know: 1) The Hilton Head Rear Range Light EXISTS when I previously had no clue of its existence AND is the island's only true lighthouse. 2) The lighthouse in Harbour Town, on the southern end of Hilton Head Island is actually a faux lighthouse! I believe someone said it was outfitted for a movie. The Hilton Head Island Rear Range Lighthouse was built in 1879, activated in 1880 and is also known as the Leamington Lighthouse. It is the only historic lighthouse on Hilton Head Island. It stands 92-feet tall and shares its space with one of the oldest living LIVE OAK TREES on Hilton Head Island. It was constructed along with a second "front" lighthouse to guide vessels into Port Royal Sound. The lighthouse website says its light was once visible from 15 miles away. It was deactivated in 1932, but served as a lookout tower for enemy ships during World War II. It was restored in 1985 and renovated again in September of 2019. REAR RANGE LIGHTHOUSE FACTS FROM WEBSITE: * Originally, a lighthouse was proposed as far back as 1854, but the price of the land was too high. * Two lighthouses were eventually built on Hilton Head Island in 1863. The rear light was blown down in 1869. ​* Current lighthouse was built as part of a pair in 1879 for $40,000. * Lighthouse Board decided to delay activation of the lights until August 1, 1881, when the range lights on nearby Parris Island would be complete. ​* The lantern and Watch Room at the top were originally built of cypress wood. The range light was originally fixed red. In 1893, the original Hains Oil lamps were replaced with Funck-Heap lamps. The Lantern Room is above the Watch Room, and housed a Fresnel Lens. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO - You must attain a day pass at the Palmetto Dunes Guard House to access the lighthouse, since it is in a private gated community. There is currently no fee for the pass, but you are also not allowed to park on the lawn near the lighthouse entrance. FINAL THOUGHTS If you are a fan of lighthouses, this one should be on your list! Sharing the same property is a gorgeous live oak tree said to be one of the oldest trees of its kind on the island. Guestimated at around 450 years old. 2020 / 114

One of the oldest lighthouses, if not the oldest lighthouse on HHI. Found out about this one after…read moreI left town last year. Figured I'd find it on this trip. So I googled it and got the directions. I grabbed my lighthouse partner and we went over! It's on a golf course inside of a gated community, so make sure you stop at the guard station. They're pretty friendly. If it wasn't for them, I probably would have gotten lost in there. The only downside is that you can't go up!

The Armstrong-Kessler House, built in 1919 by George Armstrong, a shipping magnate is today a…read moreprivate home that a few times a year opens up as an event space, mainly for High Society weddings and very exclusive social events...It is not open to the public but many tours stop in front of it and talk about its history and beauty. George Armstrong built this home for his wife. But she preferred living off the lake in North Carolina, so after George's death she donated the home to the city and it became Armstrong College. It remained as Armstrong college for many years until the school outgrew the location. Jim Williams used it during the 1960's as his antique shop, but it didn't work out too well, because he kept locking people in at night, not realizing they were still shopping. Later it became a law firm until 2017, when it was purchased by local hotelier, Richard Kessler. This 25,000 square foot house serves as Kessler's private home today, which can be rented for special occasions. The mansion has become the only Savannah home to be listed in the Italian Renaissance Style in the "Field Guide to American Architecture," as a national best-in-class example of its style.

I was visiting Savannah for the weekend and this landmark was on my list of buildings to visit…read more It's not open for public, it's just open for private and exclusive events. But you can just walk around the building to check it out. It's a registered national landmark. Built in 1919 by George Ferguson Armstrong and designed by world renown architect Henrik Wallin, the original mansion is the only Italian renaissance revival home in Savannah listed in the "A Field Guide to American Houses". It is now a residence to Richard C.Kessler, it was restored by him in 2019. The mansion from the outside looks absolutely stunning and has gorgeous architecture. It's across the famous Forsyth park. Highly recommend taking a stroll around this mansion when you are in Savannah.

We came here on a Friday afternoon and the history center was opened until 4 PM. Two of the…read morevolunteers there were very friendly and very knowledgeable about the history of the area. We watched a 25 minute video of the history of the fort and the war. There is a sheltered picnic area and a natural path to the beach.

The general motion of travel around here will be from Beaufort to the ocean, which is Hunting…read moreIsland State Park. However, this detour is interesting. There is a separate parking area, from which one walks to the historic fort. It certainly looks cool, and signage explains the context. There is a visitor center which was closed when I was there on a holiday, but to their credit they left the bathrooms open and it was a very nice modern facility. The fort is a prelude to a beach however; it's not the ocean beach but it is quite a nice view and the very light waves are safe for those who don't want the ocean. There are residences lining the area with signage very strictly telling visitors to keep to the beach and not go on anyone's yard. But the public area is free and is worth visiting.

Nice ferry ride over. Not at all what we expected. Poor maps of the island so many golf carters…read morewere lost most of the time. Lots of old, rundown trailers and houses. Some beach areas had houses that were simply boarded up. On the positive side, Blood Bay Beach was very nice. Calm water and lots of hard sand to walk the beach on.

Daufuskie is full of history from its plantation life before the Civil War to the union occupation…read moreduring the war to becoming a worldwide producer of Oysters in the early 1900's. After the oyster beds were ruined in the 1950's by pollution in the Savannah River the population of the island dropped to around 100 as residents needed to move "across the water" to earn a living. Today the island is primarily inhabited by tourists. The former Haig Point plantation has become a gated community similar to many of the plantations on Hilton Head and the rest of the island is supported by tourism. Don't expect to find a miniature Hilton Head, Daufuskie is still in very pristine condition. You won't be shopping and bar hopping. So if you'd like to spend a day surrounded by history and beauty on a largely unspoiled island in the low country I'd recommend you visit Daufuskie Island. https://youtu.be/zBUA0xiE4CA

Whether a visitor or a local, you MUST stop by the museum. There is so much to see and learn about…read morethe history of Port Royal. The museum staff is very informative and friendly. I encourage everyone to visit!

I absolutely love coming to this museum when I'm walking through the beautiful town of Port Royal…read more Their exhibits capture the history perfectly and I can't speak highly enough of the Docents who greet me every time!

Fun on rainy and clear nights…read more ----- ----- We visited Hilton Head Island for spring break, 2022. On the last night of our last trip, we saw Bill The Sky Guy, at Marriott's Grande Ocean, and we had a blast. This trip, Bill also visited Marriott's SurfWatch. Bill has four programs, four presentations, that he rotates in his visits across the different properties; he does this to offer new material / information to each audience, to "keep it fresh" for all visitors. On clear nights Bill has his telescope out, to see the moon, planets and some nebulae. This night it was cloudy, so we were inside, and Bill had a great program that shared the enormous scale of the universe, from earth to other planets and our solar system to other stars that are so big you can barely see our sun in comparison. Bill is friendly and entertaining and educational, but don't tell the kids! ; ) If he gets a chance, Bill may also share how he has built his own remote observatory, which he controls from his home, via the internet - it's impressive. Bill also has captured some wonderful Astrophotos that he shares in person and on his website. Thank you, Bill! See you next trip! March, 2022 visit ----- ----- -----

The boardwalk is a fishing pier that parallels the shoreline and provides for a viewpoint to look…read moreinto the marshes and perhaps view some wildlife. And then there's the observation tower, a four story wooden tower. Climb the steps (look out for splinters) and from the top, you can see for miles around the Battery Creek and the mouth of the Beaufort River. Completely free and there was no one else on the boardwalk when I visited in mid-March. [Review 19485 overall - 1057 in South Carolina - 455 of 2023.]

We really enjoyed our hike on this boardwalk. We weren't sure at first what to expect but it was…read morereally nice. The views were beautiful. The boardwalk was really nicely maintained. There were a lot of people fishing off the dock even had little benches for people to be able to fish with, it's a bit of a hike up the steps, but it's not bad

This historic marker sits in front of this gray building that would be easy to overlook. The marker…read moreis on two sides. The front reads, "This one-room frame school, built ca. 1937, was the first separate school building constructed for African-American students on Hilton Head Island. It replaced an earlier Cherry Hill School, which had held its classes in the parsonage of St. James Baptist Church. After the black community on the island raised funds to buy this tract, Beaufort County agreed to build this school." On the reverse, "This was an elementary school with one teacher, with an average of about 30 students. It had grades 1-5 when it opened in 1937, adding grade 6 the next school year. The black community helped pay for maintenance of the school and also supplemented teacher salaries. Cherry Hill School was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2012." The building is not open to the public but it's still worth a stop to check out and remember what things must have been like for black students before equality came around in the South. [Review 14527 overall, 24 of 2021, number 755 in South Carolina.]