‘Summer’s big attraction’: Hilton Head’s first outdoor go-kart track to open in July
Hilton Head Island’s first go-kart track will open this summer on Broad Creek.
The electric go-kart track at Adventure Hilton Head, formerly known as Broad Creek Marina Adventures, will open in July and offer go-kart rides for children and adults for around $15 per ride.
Go-karts will be a new addition to the company’s zipline obstacle course, which will reopen in June after closing for renovations.
The go-kart track, which is 1,250 feet long, features single and double electric go-karts. The news release called the new track “summer’s big attraction.”
“We have to thank the Town staff and the passionate community for their continual support of this project which had its own curves along the way,” owner Roger Freedman said in the news release.
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Hilton Head go-kart drama
The curves along the way Freedman mentioned nearly stopped the business in its tracks.
Neighbors who didn’t want the expansion of the business to create more noise on Marshland Road challenged Freedman’s application to the town from the start in fall 2018.
The town’s Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved the outdoor track in July 2019 after supporters packed a public meeting and advocated on behalf of a new activity for locals and visitors.
But that wasn’t the end of the drama.
Just a month later, opponents of the go-kart track packed a Town Council meeting and shared their concerns about the noise the track would create in an otherwise residential area. One speaker compared the plans for the go-kart track to Myrtle Beach’s tourist district. Others worried the property would become an amusement park.
Neighboring gated community Indigo Run then filed a zoning appeal in the Beaufort County Court of Common Pleas in fall 2019, but Judge Marvin Dukes denied the appeal in January 2020.
That cleared the way for the go-kart track, which has been under construction while Zipline Hilton Head has been closed for renovations.
In addition to the go-karts and ziplines at Adventure Hilton Head, the adjacent Broad Creek Marina offers kayaking, skiff tours, parasailing, jet skis, dolphin tours and charter boats.
“I grew up here and now am raising a family here. Our adventure park expansion will be the perfect playground for young and not so young,” Adventure Hilton Head General Manager Nate Jones said. “We can’t wait to enjoy kids’ laughter again.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 11:07 AM.
