Located between the Port Royal Sound to the south and the St. Helena Sound to the north, Hunting Island is a pristine, dynamic barrier island, characterized by dense maritime forests, salt water lagoons, and marshes. Once a hunting preserve during the plantation era, Hunting Island became a state park in 1938 and remains perhaps the most popular park in South Carolina, hosting some 1.3 million visitors per year, under the authority of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (SCPRT). Littered with fallen trees, the remnants of a highway, and exposed marsh peat, Hunting Island received further extensive damage on October 8, 2016, when the eyewall of Hurricane Matthew struck Beaufort County. Thousands of interior trees were lost, lagoons were overwashed, and dunes were devastated. Despite the storm damage, Hunting Island’s 6.8 km of highly erosional ocean facing beach remain a prime loggerhead sea turtle nesting area, patrolled at dawn every day from May 1 until the end of sea turtle nesting season by the volunteers of the Friends of Hunting Island Sea Turtle Conservation Project (FOHI) in partnership with park staff. FOHI was recently chosen by the National Association of State Park Directors as the most outstanding state park “friends” group in the nation. The highly successful sea turtle project was identified as one of the primary reasons for recognition.
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In memory of our fellow turtlers Carol Welch, Susan Shaffer, Bonnie & Ken Wright, JoAnn Aspray, and Howard Whitehead your spirits will always be on Hunting Island.