Have you ever heard of Hardeeville, South Carolina? We found this little town in the southern tip of the state to be the perfect home base for exploring both Hilton Head and Savannah. It is only about 30 minutes from each town and is an easy drive in either direction.
On Monday, February 4th we left Florida and headed north on I-95 towards South Carolina. It was an easy 4.5 hour drive to get to Camp Lake Jasper RV Park in Hardeeville. The campground had spacious parking spots in addition to a very nice dog park, big lake, canoe rentals, and access to hiking trails.
We explored Hilton Head island first, playing golf with new friends Bob and Dana. We also had fun bowling and playing board games in the evenings. We’ve only been traveling for a few months now, but we have met some dear friends along the way. We hope to eventually catch up with them again down the road.
Sea Pines Plantation Resort is a huge area of over 5000 acres on the southern tip of the island. We rode bicycles on their 15 miles of bike trails, saw the Harbor Town Lighthouse, and stopped for drinks at one of the many shopping and restaurant areas. If you are not able to bring your bikes, there is no need to worry. I counted 14 different places to rent a bicycle on this small 12-mile long island!
A walk on the beach is a must at Hilton Head. Even though it wasn’t quite swimming weather, it was fun to walk along the peaceful shoreline and look for seashells. I was so excited to find a restaurant we had visited 12 years ago still going strong —Skillets Cafe & Grill had great food and fabulous desserts. There is no shortage of outlet stores in this area, so we also got in a little shopping one day. Somebody got a new putter and some golf outfits for her birthday
The Coastal Discovery Museum is high on the list of tourist destinations. We enjoyed learning about the natural history and cultural heritage of this 68-acre property in the Lowcountry with its trails, gardens, butterfly enclosure, and horses. Another great nature area to visit is the Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge. One of seven national refuge areas, it encompasses 4000 acres sure to please cyclists, hikers, and nature photographers.
It was also easy to venture into Georgia to see Savannah while we were staying in Hardeeville. We enjoy taking trolley sightseeing tours of large cities we visit. It’s an easy way to get an overview of the main sights and learn about the city’s history. Old Town Trolley Tours of Savannah didn’t disappoint, and we enjoyed the ability to get on and off as we chose to along the way.
Some of our favorite stops were the beautiful Cathedral of St John, Leopold’s famous ice cream shop (top 5 in the nation and wait can be up to 2 hours!), and the River Street area. One day we participated in a 10K Chocolate Run to raise money for a church’s mission trip. If you need a little motivation to exercise, chocolate always does it for me!
There were so many great things to see and do in Savannah and Hilton Head. As always, we could have stayed longer to see more sights….but that will just give us a reason to come back!
I always thought SC was beautiful when we lived there but you’ve seen some really pretty places and so much to enjoy.