Hunting Island State Park/Harbor Island

[Larry Tank]

Taking the family for the week next week. Never been to either, any advice, do's, or don'ts? Will not have a boat but plan to surf fish.

[Chuck the Duck Slayer]

Watch out at night for the raccoons, last time I was there they were going through trash cans like crazy

[scatter shot]

^^^ Truth.

We were down there a few years back. Woke up the next morning, stepped out the camper and found a coon sitting in my 100qt cooler eating watermelon.

[mudminnow]

I always enjoy going up the lighthouse on Hunting island.

[kquinn]

Grab a burger at Beedos

[Black Bart]

Try Chester's Pit Stop, too. Good, cheap roadside food.

[FishSticker]

Ther're not going to Little Ohio....Beaufort with a U.

Can't offer much to do without a boat other than the lighthouse, as has been said.

ETA: Check out the Foolish Frog if you have not yet been...

[Model12]

I always enjoy going up the lighthouse on Hunting island.

I climbed it many times back when it was FREE......Won't pay to do it now.........Johnson Creek Landing is a good place to eat........They have $1000's of $1 bills stapled to the walls and ceiling. It's hidden on the left before you get to HI. We eat there about every trip down that way.

[SilverFox]

Take plenty of food... It's a trip anywhere to get anything unless it's changed recently.

Edit...

Take plenty of bug spray as well!

[bnicknad]

I recommend Beedos, Shrimp Shack, Another Slice, Johnson Creek Tavern, and Foolish Frog. There is a little town called Port Royal just on the other side of Beaufort and they have a really good brewery called Shellring Ale Works and next door to the brewery is FishCamp on 11th. Both are extremely busy most nights during the summer and the waits for seating and food can be in excess of 1 hour. There is a bait shop called Tightlinez that will have everything you need for surf fishing. Fresh cut mullet and fresh shrimp near the rocks will be your best bet. I have caught plenty of redfish, black drum, and croakers by those rocks on the incoming tide. Walmart and Publix are only 6 miles away from Harbour and Hunting Island for all your other needs. As others have said lock everything up, those damn trash pandas will get into everything!

[Glenn]

^^^ Truth.

We were down there a few years back. Woke up the next morning, stepped out the camper and found a coon sitting in my 100qt cooler eating watermelon.

Mamma just chased 'em off with a broom.

[Black Bart]

Not coons, you idiot.

[Glenn]

[Tater]

Damn. I’m going back to the baseball thread.

[scatter shot]

Mamma just chased 'em off with a broom.

It was an interesting set of circumstances that befell us on this trip.
When we had arrived the night before my BIL and his family was already there and had his 5th wheel set up. We rolled in and I popped up one of those tent thingys with a mosquito net and a cafeteria table. We set the coolers and various other things under the tent.

The next morning before daylight ( as I often do, I get up early and leave for a 2-3 hour Bake and Wake tour of the locality while the others were still sleeping) and had stepped down out of the camper and was walking towards my truck when I heard a noise to my left. Swinging my flashlight towards the noise I saw the lid on my 100qt cooler open and as I approached I found the fat little bastard sitting inside the cooler with the last piece of sliced watermelon in his grubby little hands. He and his little bastard friends had eaten a large bowl of sliced watermelon, another bowl of sliced cantaloupe, strawberries and grapes, and various other items. The little fucker was so full he could hardly get out of the cooler and run away as I approached closer. Sort of funny in a way...
Now keep in mind, the sand/dirt down there is a fine black substance that gets all over everything including your feet or shoes just from walking a short distance. The inside and outside of the cooler was literally covered in a thousand little black footprints, the cooler also had a few piles of coon shit in it. Pretty nasty deal all together.
Upon quick reflection and considering the early morning hour, and the fact that everyone else was sleeping peacefully, I turned to my truck and went in search for a cup of gas station coffee then headed to the South end of the island for a little surf fishing. Around 0830am or so I called my SIL ( a much better choice than my wife under the circumstance ) and found them awake and having coffee inside the camper. She knows me all to well and when I asked her if they had been outside yet she said no and immediately asked me what the hell was outside? When I started laughing her alarm bells were ringing and I could hear her getting up and heading out the door with the others following to hear her exclaim, "Holy shit......" Apparently, it was much worse in the light of day than thru the lens of my headlamp. Regardless, SIL is a tough gal and they had everything cleaned up by the time I got back with a few fresh flounder that I fileted and cooked with eggs and hash browns for breakfast.

Yup, them coons are some thieving little bastards down there on the sea islands.

[2thDoc]

i think its wake and bake not bake and wake. bc you gotta wake up first, you know.
great story though

[FEETDOWN]

Yes, great story, and yes, its "wake and bake"

[Larry Tank]

Great Story Scatter, all great replies and feedback. We're staying on Harbor Island and will make sure to keep the lids locked and doors shut.

Appreciate all of the information.

[scatter shot]

i think its wake and bake not bake and wake. bc you gotta wake up first, you know.
great story though

My bad. I may have been baked when I typed that.

[Glenn]

Great Story Scatter, all great replies and feedback. We're staying on Harbor Island and will make sure to keep the lids locked and doors shut.

Appreciate all of the information.

Don't forget your broom.