Bring the bug spray! Best ways to access the Sea Pines Shell Ring for visitors’ day later this month

Want to know more about the 4,000-year-old Indian shell ring in Sea Pines?

The researchers from Binghamton University in New York will be hosting a public day on July 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Visitors are welcome to stop by and tour the site, ask questions about the work, throw homemade spears and learn to make arrowheads — all free of charge, according to Matt Sanger of Binghamton University. Sanger, an assistant professor of anthropology and director of the public archaeology program, is leading a group of graduate students excavating the site in search of clues to the shell ring’s past.

For those unfamiliar with the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, finding the shell ring can be confusing. Here are the different routes one can take — some much shorter and likely less mosquito-ridden than others.

Quick walks:

• Take Lawton Canal Road by vehicle and turn right onto Fish Island Trail and park. Enter the forest preserve by the Lake Joe picnic area and follow the sign to the shell ring.
• Enter a trail opening to the forest preserve by Hilton Head Prep’s field house. Follow the Shell Ring Trail, which will lead to the dig site.

Scenic hike:

• Start at the Greenwood entrance by turning left off Greenwood Drive when you reach the forest preserve sign. Enter the dirt trail and go straight, cross the wooden platform known as the Rice Field Boardwalk, take a left when you reach the fork in the trail, follow Bridle Trail, and then turn right when you reach Fish Island Trail. Cross the boardwalk over Vanishing Swamp and stay on the Fish Island Trail until reaching Fish Island. Start on the Shell Ring Trail, which will lead to the dig site.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Bring the bug spray! Best ways to access the Sea Pines Shell Ring for visitors’ day later this month."