Page 25 - August 2019

F or locals and nonlocals alike, Hunting Island State Park is In November of 2017, with help from the Friends of Hunting
Island, there was a clean-up day at Hunting Island and the park
nothing less than a beautiful sanctuary. With over 5 miles
of beach and thousands of acres of marsh and maritime
reopened on Thanksgiving Day. All of the trails were reopened,
forest, it is no wonder that the park attracts millions of
disrepair. The Lighthouse Nature Trail and the Lighthouse Magnolia
visitors each year. except for the Diamondback Rattlesnake Trail, which was still in
While the beauty of the beach and the view of the Atlantic from Connector Trail had both been eradicated during the storm.
the lighthouse are some of the most popular attractions for visitors,
the 9.5 miles of winding, elevating, magical walking trails make up
the heartstrings of the park.
The very first trail, the Maritime Forest Trail, dates back to the
1950s. It was originally used as a logging road as the interior of
the island was being thinned. In 1977, the Marsh Boardwalk Trail
opened as a designation from the U.S. Department of the Interior
and was included in the National Trails System.
The grid of trails that we have today opened in 1994, bringing
the trails up to approximately 8 miles. In 2008, the park received
a grant to make all of the trails more accessible. The trails were
widened and crushed granite was put down.
In October of 2016, as Hurricane Matthew stormed onto the
coast, Hunting Island did exactly what a barrier island is supposed
to do, protect the mainland. It did its job so well that the entire park
was shut down, and the trails were mostly destroyed, the ones The Friends of Hunting Island did some fundraising and provided
closest to the beach were completely flooded and the rest was $11,000 to the American Conservation Experience to come to
covered in piles of trees. Hunting Island and do a two-week clean-up project. And in August
of 2018, the Diamondback Rattlesnake Trail was finally reopened. It
had been closed for almost two years.
Each trail is beautiful and provide so much value to the park, we
chose to highlight four that you should visit the next time you are at
the park. There is truly a trail for everyone and everything.
Maritime Forest Trail - This original trail remains one of the most
beautiful at the park. It is 2 miles of sand dunes with cliffs that allow
you to see for miles over the maritime forest. The maritime forest is
affected by the ocean in many ways. The trees are pruned by the
salt, starting with the trees closest to the water, and rising at almost a
45-degree angle as they get further away from the ocean. The trees
are stunted in their growth from the constant stress of hurricanes and
tropical storms. This is a healthy environment doing its job: protecting
the mainland. Because of the stress that the trees endure, Hunting

www.BeaufortLifestyle.com | August 2019 25