Public Parks and playgrounds on Hilton Head
Barker Field
Barker Field is where many ball games are played by local leagues, but it does have a playground as well, and is available for private groups. Locate off Beach City Road.
Chaplin Community Park
Located mid-island off Burke's Beach Rd. This park provides tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields, and basketball courts and it is also one of the beach access points. It includes the Best Friend's Dog Park, a place your dog can run and play with other dogs free in a fenced area and there is a playground for the kids. Restrooms, picnic shelters and parking are included.
Crossings Park
This park is located on the way to the Palmetto Bay marina, just off Arrow Rd. close to the intersection at Palmetto Bay Rd. on Helmsman Way. It includes lighted ball fields and a regulation soccer field. It also boasts the Bristol Sports Arena, with it's basketball and roller hockey rink, a kiddies playground, and a facility for stunt skateboarding.
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Fish Haul Creek Park
This is Hilton Head's most pristine park, largely left to nature, with gigantic oak trees decorated with Spanish Moss. It has restrooms, a small pavilion with two picnic tables and a pier out into the tidal marsh. You can walk to a beach on the Port Royal Sound (about 0.3 miles from the parking lot), where clamming is popular. Truly wonderful for nature lovers, but close enough to the airport that the sound of aircraft is more than obvious. It's almost at the end of Beach City Road.
Green Shell Park
This park is on the North end of Hilton Head, off Squire Pope Road (the first traffic light coming on to the island). It has basketball courts, restrooms, a playground, a historic cemetery and great views of Skull Creek.
Harbour Town
This is a kiddies playground located at the Harbour Town Marina parking lot in Sea Pines Plantation. It includes a tree house, swings and other playground equipment.
Hilton Head Park
This park is on highway 278 at mile marker 2 (Wild Horse Rd.) and has tennis courts, basketball courts and a soccer field.
Island Recreation Center
This is an extensive recreational facility with a heated swimming pool, ball fields, a playground, a gymnasium, basketball courts and volleyball courts. Located off Gumtree Rd. Near the Cross-Island expressway off ramp.
Jarvis Creek Park
This public park opened May 5, 2003. It is a 53 acre park with an 11 acre lake. Amenities include rest rooms, barbeque grills, playground, floating dock, picnic pavilion, boardwalks through wetlands, and asphalt and mulch trails. The lake is stocked with Blue Gill and Largemouth Bass for catch-and-release fishing. The asphalt trail is connected to the town bike paths.
The park is also part of the rainwater management system for runoff from Hilton Head Plantation and surrounding areas. Runoff is pumped into the lake, where sediment settles, then is filtered through the wetlands before being released into Jarvis Creek.
The $1 million park was funded by the sale of dirt that was removed to form the lake and by grants.
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Palmetto Bay Boat Ramp
Opened in late 2005, the Palmetto Bay Boat launch facility is the only such facility on the Island where boats can be launched at any tide level. There is no charge for using this facility. It includes ample parking for vehicles with trailers attached, and, at this writing, has portable toilets. Fishing is permitted from the dock, although boat traffic has precedence.
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Sea Pines Forest Preserve
In addition to being a wildlife refuge, the Forest Preserve has picnic tables, a barbeque, and fishing piers.
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Shelter Cove Community Park
This is where concerts and festivals are usually held. There is no playground, but, between events you can relax or toss a Frisbee™ there.
Shelter Cove Harbour
There is a playground in Shelter Cove Harbour that features a climbing structure, swings, etc. This is where Tuesday night fireworks are held in Summer and Shannon Tanner entertain families.
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To see a great map showing town parks and the beach parks, click here. You need Adobe reader and a bit of patience, but it's worth it. You can click on the magnifying glass on the Adobe toolbar to get details.
Compass Rose park
This is Hilton Head Island's newest park. It's urban in nature, with reflecting pools and terraces. It's at the corner of New Orleans Rd. and Pope Ave. It was built to honor Charles Frazer and is a place to relax and contemplate. It's blocky looking from outside, and the "natural" landscaping looks unkempt, but inside it's an oasis of calm, with plenty of flowing water and serene beauty. A good place for adults to pack a lunch.
Veterans Park
Veterans Park is a new addition to Shelter cove Community Park and is connected by a walkway. Here is a monument to war veterans, picnic tables, and great marsh views.
Beach Parks
For a list of beach parks, click here.
Updated 05/24/2009