Author: Stan Deatherage | Published: November 13th, 2009

Great Big Beaches, Swimming in Warm Waters Well into October ...

  Or you could just play golf or tennis. Hilton Head Island, the island that resembles a basketball shoe, is world famous for its number of championship golf courses, including The PGA sponsored Verizon Heritage Golf Tournament held at the Harbour Town Golf Links, located on Calibogue Sound near the southern toe of the island.

  I am not a golfer; however, and it was too hot to play tennis when I visited in June and August, so I spent most of my free time at the beach or riding my bike, with my family over much of the island's bike paths, exploring its development and parts of the island that will remain natural, and beautiful with palm trees interspersed with the abundant live oaks. The beaches of Hilton Head are large and wide, with the characteristically calm Atlantic Ocean breaking gently on the soft sand. The waves are so gentle; it is truly bathing at the beach in Hilton Head.



Click on map of Hilton Head Island (notice the basketball shoe shape of the island) for larger version of the area: Above. Riding bikes on the beach as well as the bike paths is a great avenue to exercise: Below.



  I am not alone in enjoying the calm Atlantic shoreline along Hilton Head's long island coast. Wind surfers are encouraged to use the Ocean Side of the island due to the calm ocean waters and the easier access. Below are a number of pictures of those thrill seekers flying about and slicing through the surf.











  As these young men use the wind in their sails to tare up the surf, the regular folks play frap, or fish or just read a book while enjoying the renewing solar force of our planetary system's one star.







  When I visited Hilton Head, I stayed at one of the many timeshare resorts that share the recreational facilities within the sprawling campus of Shipyard Plantation, located on the Ocean side of the island. Shipyard Plantation is known for their long trails, where jogging, walking or bike riding is an invigorating exercise. As nice as that may seem, these trails are no substitute for an early morning run on the beach.



  On one morning's bike ride, before the warming sun got too high in the sky and hot on the ground, we found an inland lagoon full of an underwater herd of huge loggerheads that later we found out were substantial food stuffs for a number of very large gators. When one is as far south as Hilton Head Island, one may have the chance occurrence to happen upon alligators in the wild as we did that morn.

  The subject gator was about 10 feet long and as you can tell from picture quite well fed. How powerful was he? Let's just say it took just three good bites to finish off a loggerhead that had to have had a diameter of 16 inches - shell and all. When I got too close, the gator charged me, and I must say, the gator was fast. But that early morning as I jockeyed to get a few good pictures, I discovered ole Stan still has a quick first step.



  In the evenings, we would often explore many of the quaint shops and restaurants along the waterways on the west side of the Island, and almost without fail, each of the inlets would provide a safe deep harbor for boats of all lengths.





  In Hilton Head, the days were mostly sunny and the evenings were cooler and perfect for a stroll in the natural splendor of one of the least disturbed (in terms of nature) of any beach I have visited south of Ocracoke, North Carolina and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the north. Regardless, it has many splendid beaches, bike trails, a late Indian summer well into October, and if you love to return to the seashore, as most living creatures do, you have to visit Hilton Head Island. I will again and I shall report my findings in a story told in words and pictures. Until that moment in our lives: I pray that you have safe and happy travels.

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