Hilton Head Island Sports & Outdoors Tips by grandmaR Top 5 Page for this destination

MM 564.5 Harbour Town Yacht Basin

I have not been to this marina by boat, but you can see the fake lighthouse from the ICW. You can climb the lighthouse for a fee. The marina is near exclusive shops and restaurants that are around the circular bay, and there tennis courts and a swimming pool. There is a golf course which reportedly has very large greens fees.

Equipment: If you want to know why we've never been here, in 2003-4 the rates (hold onto your wallet) were

Daily
30'-49' $1.90 per foot per night
50'-79' $2.25 per foot per night
80'- UP $2.50 per foot per night

Weekly (WEEKLY RATE BASED ON A 7 NIGHT MINIMUM STAY)
30'-49' $1.65 per foot per night
50'-79' $1.90 per foot per night
80'-UP $2.15 per foot per night

Monthly
RATES ARE PER FOOT PER MONTH
BASED ON GREATER OF BOAT OR SLIP LENGTH
Jan $16.00 July $16.00
Feb $16.00 Aug $16.00
March $16.00 Sept $16.00
April $75.00 Oct $27.00
May $27.00 Nov $27.00
June $27.00 Dec $16.00

MONTHLY DOCKAGE IS ON A SPACE AVAILABLE BASIS AND IS BILLED ON THE CALENDAR MONTH

By land you have to pay $5 to get in to the marina, and you are not allowed to ride a bike in.

Address: 149 Lighthouse Road

Directions: East of the ICW 0.9 mi inside the basin

Phone: 843-671-2704

Theme: Boating/Sailing

Horse Back Riding

When we took the tour from the museum, the guide told us that this roan pony was a descendant of the Conquistador horses brought by the Spaniards. Since I knew to be false many of the stories that the guide told us, I suspect that this story has been embroidered a bit.

There is horseback riding available.

Equipment: Lawton Stables, located in Sea Pines plantation, offers guided trail rides for people 8 years old and up through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, a 600 acre preserve where many plants and animals can be observed. Also available are pony ride for kids 7 and under, hayrides (also through the Forest Preserve) and professional training and riding lessons.

Sea Horse Farms, on Mitchellville Road, offers trail rides, part of which are on the beach, for those 8 years old or more (250 Lb. maximum). They also offer pony rides geared to kids birthday parties, with the ponies rented by the hour, currently for $100. .

Other Contact: 843-681-7746 Sea Horse Farms

Phone: 843-671-2586 Lawton

Tennis and Biking

Bike Trails are everywhere and most places on the island have bike rentals, and Tennis is apparently as much of a Hilton Head sport as Golf.

There are hundreds of courts all over the island, and Hilton Head is also home to two famous tennis pros: Dennis Van der Meer and Stan Smith. All three Grand Slam playing surfaces are available and there are lighted courts for night play.

Public courts
CLUB COURTS TELEPHONE
Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center 23 clay, 2 hard 8 lighted 843-785-1152
Port Royal Racquet Club 10 clay, 2 grass, 4 hard. 6 lighted 843-686-8803
Sea Pines Racquet Club 24 clay, 5 lighted 843-363-4495
Shipyard Racquet Club (Van der Meer) 13 Har-Tru, 4 hard, 3 indoor 843-686-8804
South Beach Racquet Club 11 clay, 2 lighted. 843-671-2215
Van der Meer Tennis Center 17 hard, 4 covered 800-845-6138

Two courts are available at the Fairfield Station County park on the north end, where Mi Tierra restaurant is. They are under the supervision of the Beaufort County Parks and Leisure Services.

Hilton Head High School has six courts and Hilton Head Middle School four more which are available weekend and evenings when school is in session and anytime in the summer. These courts have no user fee

Equipment: There are 8 public tennis courts on Hilton Head Island under the supervision of the Island Recreation Center and with the cooperation of Public Tennis, Inc. All are lighted for night play.

Four are at the Chaplin Public Tennis Center in the Chaplin Community Park and four more are at the Cordillo Public Tennis Center on Cordillo Road between DeAllyon Ave. and Pope Ave. These courts are intended for use by islanders.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day fees are charged for the use of these courts. They are open from 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM unless reserved for lessons or USTA use. For more information call Cameron Everett at 843-681-7273.

Bikes rent for about $27/week.

Other Contact: https://wind.he.net/~bicycle/res

Phone: 800.995.4319 (bike rental)

Theme: Biking

Website: http://www.hhisleinfo.com/tennis.htm

Golf

Hilton Head is well known as a golf destination. There are lots of courses and some have been designed by very famous golf architects. Because we were there in the winter, the courses were a little less green, but they still were impressive.

According to one website, "The ultimate vote of confidence comes from the Fodor's Golf Digest Places to Play fifth edition where the courses at Palmetto Dunes received high rankings from the golfers who know them from first hand experience. The Arthur Hills course rated an impressive 4.5 stars and was noted as an "excellent course and treated like a king; great condition; last three holes unbelievable". The George Fazio rated an outstanding 4 stars. The Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course received accolades from Golf Magazine as 'The Pick of the Month' in March 2003.

I don't play golf. I did go onto the Arthur Hills course in Palmetto Dunes to photograph the rear range light - the only real lighthouse on Hilton Head

Equipment: Golf packages and golf lessons are available and the courses have pro shops. Golf Packages starting as low as $69.00 * Per Golfer/Night for 7 night 5 rounds (four golfers)

Theme: Golfing

MM 556.5 Outdoor Resorts Marina

Mile 556.5 on the ICW The rate here is $1.00/foot and $3/electric, but they gave us the BoatUS discount so that the rate was $.85/foot. They gave us the volume fuel discount (which there's no way we would use enough fuel to get) instead of the BoatUS discount because the volume fuel discount was more. I think the fuel was about $1.43 (diesel). There's no cable TV, but they will let you use the fax line in the office to download e-mail. They have an RV park, a large laundry room, a mail room, showers, and another one of those fancy smashy restaurants. There is a pool (closed now - it's outdoors) and a sauna. Haven't found the ice yet.

Equipment: The people here were decorating for Xmas and stringing lights when we were here. Everyone was very nice, but the problem with this marina is the tides - we are aground in the slip at low tide, and can't get out the entrance until the tide is nearly high.

Address: 43 Jenkins Island Rd.

Phone: 843-681-3256

Theme: Boating/Sailing