Hunting Island State Park

This was our second stay and while I love the state park and setting the sand fly infestation absolutely ruins it for me. You can’t enjoy your campsite (or at times even the beach) without clouds of biting sand flies absolutely attacking you. No amount of Deet keeps them away, and screens only block of a few of these tiny terrors. Their bites hurt followed by mosquito-like itching for days. Google “sand fly parasites” and you’ll realize this campground is a potential public health disaster.

The rest of the state park only has normal amounts of sand flies so this is definitely a campground issue, not a regional issue. If you are okay avoiding the outdoors near the campground the hiking trails, island expeditions, Beaufort outings, marsh sunsets all deserve 5 stars.

Stayed here for 10 days - there just something amazing about coming over a big bridge to get to the park. Sites towards the beach tended to be more open and subject to the elements with mostly open sun; the sites towards the back were situated around tall trees and had more wind/weather breaks and were mostly shaded. We had site 159 W/E only pull-thru and mostly shaded. It seemed like all the sites required some effort to level; we took a while to find a reasonably level spot - leveling blocks on sand don't seem to work the best, so we avoid them. The roads around the park are narrow, but are mostly one way. There are a number of bathhouses around the CG. The showers are very tight, but water was plentiful and hot. There is one main hiking/biking trail that starts from this CG and can take you down the length of the island and towards the Nature Center. There is an interesting history exhibit around the lighthouse structure, but the lighthouse itself is closed for tours due to safety concerns. It is possible to walk from the CG along the beach to the other end of the island, but you'll need to plan it for low tide. Verizon service allowed us to stream shows and hold video calls; T-Mobile allowed for phone calls - did not use data here. There is a laundry facility here- 2 washers and 2 dryers.

Stayed last week of March 2023. Weather was great during the day and pleasant at night. Stayed in site 184 which was very private and level. Sites on the back loop are more private but front ones closer to the beach. Verizon cell service was 2-3 bars and good enough for streaming. Beach was not crowded and is beautiful. Get groceries on the way in just over the bridge from Beaufort . Gay fish company has fresh fish, shrimp and scallops for cooking also on the way in. Will definitely be back.

Camped at Hunting Island State Park in June 2022. Overall the experience was pleasant. The site was clean and ready to go upon our arrival. The bath house is a little bit strange here. There are two bath stalls located behind a door with a shared bench between the stalls. It is a little bit weird and doesn't feel comfortable going in behind a closed door to use the 2nd shower. This design could use some updating. Overall the bathroom facilities were clean. T-Mobile data coverage via our T-Mobile Home Internet gateway was non-working. I tried both inside and outside the RV and the modem just could not pick up a signal at this park during our stay. We do not use any external antennas or boosters with the T-Mobile data service. We do not have T-Mobile phones so it's possible phone coverage is available here but my review is only for data via 4G / 5G devices. Verizon data coverage was available but slow. Plenty of trails available although I wish more of them were paved for biking and not just hiking. Overall we had a pleasant stay here and plan to return again next year.

Our visit to Hunting Island State Park was wonderful with a great campsite and fantastic location to the beach. There is one issue that will keep of from returning though. In our years of camping we have never experienced this before at a state park or any other campground for that matter. On our check out day we were startled by very forceful knocking on our rv's door at 10:30am. It was an on duty ranger to make us aware that our checkout time was 12. It is hard to express intent in a online message but it was not a friendly interaction. We had our site cleaned and truck loaded so we felt this was quite intrusive especially with over an hour left from our checkout time. This really put a bad taste in our mouth for your park and made us feel extremely unwelcome. We will not be returning

We only stayed one night as we were traveling down the Carolinas coasts. But I would definitely recommend as a destination for several days. Campground is clean with nice shower houses. Easy walk to the gorgeous beach. We found sand dollars!!! There’s a lighthouse that you can tour close by—in fact we just walked the beach all the way to the lighthouse and back. Love this place and would love to come back.

All sites are a short walk to a wide, sandy beach, and the front two rows have a view. The park has done a great job of cleaning up the hurricane damage from a few years ago. But a large number of campsites are gone permanently, as the beach has been eroded. There are now 112 electric and water RV sites, numbered 89 through 200, as well as 25 tent-only sites. It doesn't feel crowded, however, as there is decent spacing between sites and an abundance of vegetation means you never see the entire campground. The front loop is more open, while the back loop has more trees and privacy. Sites are hardpacked sand, except for two concrete ADA sites that are quite spacious. The interior roads are narrow and wind among tall trees, and need to be repaved. Large rigs can make it, but the going is slow. Also, check the length of any site before you reserve. While there are many long sites, a few are quite short. There is plenty to do at the park and in nearby Beaufort and St. Helena.

Stayed here in November for a couple of nights. The beach is beautiful. Some sites are certainly more private. Sites up front and closer to the beach have no privacy and are just out in the open. Lots of biking and hiking opportunities. This park is close to a large military base, so there are lots of not-too-distant war sounds, ie, heavy artillery fire and bombs going off at random times. So if you cringe at the Sound of Freedom, this might not be your jam. Not many bugs at the end of Nov. Lots of raccoons so they only have trash receptacles at two main hubs. No dog waste stations due to raccoons who apparently like to eat that, too, so there is a fair amount of pet droppings. Overall a great little place to hang out. Plenty of restaurants nearby and shopping. Nice wine selection and local beers at the little store at Fripp Island. Fast enough up/download speed for video conferencing, even under the trees. Verizon at least 15 down and 5 up. Did not go in the bathrooms, so can't comment.