An egret poses in Huntington Beach State Park, S.C. (Compass Points Media / flickr)
Ten minutes was all it took. I saw more wildlife in Huntington Beach State Park along the coast of South Carolina during my first 10 minutes than I had in any other state park any where else.
Elegant white egrets, shaggy blue herons, crabs the size of silver dollars, an abundance of oysters, snapping shrimp and even an alligator floating like a lazy log in the freshwater marsh — a hiker couldn’t ask for a more exciting introduction to a state park.
Huntington Beach State Park is tucked away along the Grand Strand Coast and feels a continent away from its over-developed and brightly lit neighbor to the north, Myrtle Beach. Access to the state park is $5, but the fee grants you access to one of the best bird locations in the United States and a leisurely stroll for 6.2 miles through pine forests, marshland and sweet Carolina beach.
DIRECTIONS: From Myrtle Beach, travel south on Route 17. The park entrance is to the left three miles south of Murrells Inlet. Entrance fee is $5 for adults, $3.25 for seniors, $3 for children ages 6-15 and free for younger children.
HIKE ON: Park at the lot for the education center and marshland boardwalk. Walk out onto the boardwalk for a birding experience of great opportune. Watch for egrets and blue herons plus the popping sounds of snapping shrimp, which are hunting for small fish, as the boardwalk reached into the spartina grass and watery avenues.
A sail boat rests along the shore of Huntington Beach, S.C. (Compass Points Media / flickr)
Return to the parking lot and find the trail head for the Sandpiper Pond Trail. Follow that for 1.2 miles into a pine forest marked with white blazes. Keep an eye open for a series of observation platforms looking out over the pond, perfect vantage points for spying more birds.
At the end of the Sandpiper Trail you arrive at a parking lot. Follow the boardwalk out of the parking lot through the dunes and finally to the beach. Turn northward and walk the beach for 1.3 miles, looking for eye-catching yellow and burnt orange shells in the sand. At the end of the beach is Murrells Inlet, a pair of jetties through which boats pass full of tourists or fishermen and women.
Turn back onto the beach and stroll down the coast, keeping an eye on the ocean for schools of dolphins and flocks of pelicans while glancing occasionally to the dunes where endangered loggerhead turtles build egg nests. The park service attempts to keep these nests protected, so don’t disturb them.
And if you feel so inclined, take a refreshing dip in the ocean.
After about 2.6 miles of beach walking, arrive at a path that leads to the right to a shower/bathroom house. Follow the road for about 0.6 mile back to the parking lot and your car.
