South Carolina Lighthouses

Governors' Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located within sight of Highway 17, in the "restaurant row" area north of Myrtle Beach, between Myrtle and North Myrtle Beach.  It is a facsimile llighthouse located in Light Keepers Village, which is in the Cogulna Harbor area of the Little River, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.  It was built in 1985 as a landmark and to honor South Carolina governors.

Georgetown Lighthouse

The only way you can see the Georgetown Lighthouse is by boat.  It is located on North Island, at the entrance to Winyah Bay, which is the bay where about four rivers empty into the Atlantic at Georgetown.  There are at least two cruise services available.  We took the Carolina Rover on Wednesday, April 11, 2007.  This offered a "shelling and lighthouse cruise" which was advertised as the "only tour to the lighthouse".  It wasn't the only tour and it didn't go to the lighthouse.  While we were there, another boat labeled "Low Country Tours" was also there.  In addition, we went by the lighthouse (as the pictures show), but we beached about a half mile from it and were instructed to go to the right of where we beached and not toward it.  In fact, the other tour boat was about 200 feet closer to it than we were.  The lighthouse is now US federal property and is a Coast Guard facility and is not open to the public.  Also, our tour was $28 a person compared to $25 ($3 off with a coupon) for the Low Country tour!

Cape Romain Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located on Lighthouse Island in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.  The island is about seven miles offshore from McClellanville and can only be seen by boat.  Apparently the boat excursions must be set up in advance.  We have not yet visited it, but hope to in the future.

Charleston Lighthouse

The Charleston Lighthouse is located on Sullivan's Island, on the north side of Charleston Harbor.  We visited there on April 9, 2007.  The lighthouse is accessible by car and you can practically park in its shadow.  You can not climb it, however, because it is not open to the public.

The Morris Island lighthouse is located in a bay off the south end of Charleston Harbor.  It is somewhat of a misconception to call it an island, because the lighthouse is the island!  It once stood on an island, but over the years, the waves and tides have eroded the base of the tower and today, the lighthouse is truly on its last leg.  Efforts are being made to restore the tower, but, if those efforts are not successful, the tower may not be around long.  We visited here on April 9, 2007.   You can park your car and then walk about 1/2 mile to the shore you see above.  This is as close as you can get without a boat.  Obviously, the lighthouse is not open to the public.

One of the pictures in the slideshow shows two people on the beach with a lighthouse in the distance.  We don't know who those people are, but that is the Morris Island Lighthouse as seen from the beach at the Charleston Lighthouse.

If we hadn't taken the time to try and see the Parris Island lighthouse ... see below ... we would have arrived at the Hunting Island Lighthouse in time to see it.  This light is located in the Hunting Island State Park.  We were there on April 13, 2009 and the lighthouse closed at 4:45.  We arrived at 5:10.  Even though we were only going to be there a few minutes and it was raining when we arrived, the very nice lady at the gate charged us the full amount of $4 per person to enter.

All of the above is true and serious except for the very nice lady part.  The 50-something attendant needed some lessons in etiquette and attitude working with the public.  What a grouch!  She must have been near the end of a very long workday.

Living in an area with a military installation nearby ... Fort Drum, New York ... and having a daughter that used to work on it ... Kristin ... we know that security is really tight now.  Basically, you and your car need a pass to get on the facility.  We went to Parris Island anyway in hopes of getting a view of the light.  A very polite young Marine greeted us at the gate.  We asked if civilians could get in to see the light and he went in to ask his superiors.  When he came back out, we got the answer we suspected ... no!  Supposedly, permission may be obtained in advance.

Our information told us that this lighthouse was located at holes #5 and 15 of the Arthur Hills Golf Course at Palmetto Dunes Resort.  It also told us that when we came to the guard shack of the island, we could tell the attendant that we wanted to visit the lighthouse and he would give you a free pass.  On our visit on April 13, 2009, our guard apparently had a secret urge to perform in Vegas.  When we told him what we wanted to do, he started to make out the pass and told us it would cost $150 per person to get in.  Then he looked at us very seriously before grinning and handing us the pass and saying, "nah, I'm just kidding!"  The guard at the golf course gate was much more conservative.  He just gave us directions and let us through.

We are curious as to why this light is there.  It must have been built before the trees were planted because most of them are taller than it is.  You can't even see any water nearby, but it must have served a purpose at one point.

Harbour Town is located near the southern end of Hilton Head Island.  This is a beautiful, exclusive residential/resort area and this was the first time we had ever been there.  There was a $6 charge to enter the gated area of Harbour Town.  We knew there was a fee to climb the light ... $3/person the day we were there ... but our advance info didn't mention the gate fee.  This may have been an oversight in our info, or it may have been because on April 13, 2009, the day we were there, the Verizon Heritage Golf Tournament was being held on the Harbour Town Golf Course there.  It was so crowded when we were there, they weren't even letting normal traffic into the area.  We had to park in a parking area just inside the gate and take a shuttle bus into Harbour Town.  There was no additional charge for the shuttle.

We took pictures of the lighthouse, the area around it, from inside and from the top looking at the surrounding area.  A sign at the top indicated that from that point, we were looking down the 18th fairway of the golf course.  Often, the lighthouse can be seen from media cameras covering the tournaments there.  We took several pictures of that area but didn't see Tiger Woods!

The Haig Point Lighthouse, aka Daufuskie Island Lighthouse is located on the northeast end of Daufuskie Island, supposedly opposite the Harbour Town Lighthouse.  We say supposedly because we were at the Harbour Town light and couldn't see Haig Point.  Our information told us that this light is in the exclusive and private residential area of Haig Point.  The best way to see the light is by boat, but distant views may be possible from Harbour Town.  Skies were overcast on the day we were there and we couldn't see it.

Located on the southern end of Daufuskie Island, this lighthouse is on private property.  It can be seen from Daufuskie Island Resort's Bloody Point Golf Course.  An obstructed view is also apparently possible from a nearby road.  To get these views you must either take a ferry from Hilton Head, if you are staying there overnight, or from Savannah, Georgia for day guests.  We have not yet visited this light.