Sea Pines wouldn’t let him through the gate. Now he says Hilton Head discriminates

It was a warm December day, with clear skies and full sunshine. If you asked Dave Wenner, he would tell you “it was a perfect day for riding.”

Wenner, 54, and his wife Jenny set off last week from Mount Pleasant and rode their Honda Gold Wing motorcycle about three hours down to Hilton Head Island.

They paid the $1.25 toll and were headed first to the Harbour Town lighthouse and then to the Leamington lighthouse, which was constructed in 1880.

At both gates, however, they were told they turned away.

“We were shocked,” Wenner said. “It’s a 2010 — a beautiful bike, the big Honda touring one. For them to say it’s because of the noise, I thought you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Wenner and his wife have toured the country on their motorcycle, riding down Route 66 and now visiting as many lighthouses as they can. They had never before been turned away on their bike, he said.

“That’s the problem with the United States when our government turns over historical site areas to private landowners. ... It’s sad,” he said. “I can understand if a lighthouse is bought by a private owner and you can only see it from the outside to get a photo, but not where you can’t get anywhere near it.”

The Sea Pines Community Services Associates board decided to ban motorcycles more than 25 years ago, said Toby McSwain, director of Sea Pines security.

McSwain said the board revisited the rule within the last year, but “no move to change any rules about motorcycle access is being considered at this time.”

Wenner’s biggest complaint was a lack of notification.

“There was no warning about it,” he said. “Even at the toll booth, the woman took our $1.25 going into town and never said a word about it. They need to have signs up, and they need to publicize it on every site — restaurants, attractions, TripAdvisor.

“They should have a big banner that says, ‘We discriminate against motorcycles. You’re not welcome.’”

On the Sea Pines resort policies webpage, it clarifies that motorcycles are not permitted. However, merely looking at the pages on Harbour Town, a visitor would find no information about the ban.

Wenner is not the first person to have a complaint about the Sea Pines policy.

A review written on TripAdvisor in March 2016 said: “... Apparently motorcycles are too loud. It’s not like we are in a gang — It was 1 motorcycle ... Never in my life has this happened and we have ridden all over the country. Since this was our only mode of transportation we cannot see the lighthouse.”

Again in May 2016, a woman wrote a TripAdvisor review that said, “We were turned away because we were on a motorcycle. Wanted to see Harbor Town. Felt like we were discriminated against. We are two people in our late 50s, who enjoy taking motorcycle trips. How did this happen?” she wrote.

Hilton Head is losing tourism dollars from a big part of the population because of the rule, according to Wenner.

“There is a lot of money bikers spend that (Hilton Head businesses) are missing out on,” he said.

After his experience on Hilton Head, Wenner decided to warn other bikers by telling his story on multiple Facebook groups devoted to motorcyclists.

The response was fairly unanimous.

“Good to know. Will take this area off my riding list,” one person replied.

“If you don’t want my motorcycle, you must not want my tourist dollars either,” another wrote.

Wenner, also an avid golfer, said he had always wanted to visit Hilton Head. After last week’s experience, however, he will not be returning.

“It was a big disappointment for us, because we didn’t get to see the sights we thought we were going to,” he said. “You can go there for the lighthouses, the beach, the golf courses and make a whole day’s itinerary. But go down on a motorcycle and you can’t do anything. It’s just discriminatory.”

Motorcycles are prohibited in Sea Pines, Hilton Head Plantation, Leamington and Palmetto Dunes, according to a review of online rules.

Several other Hilton Head communities, including Wexford Plantation, Long Cove Club, Shipyard Plantation, Port Royal Plantation and Windmill Harbour, allow motorcycles with certain restrictions. For instance, in Wexford Plantation and Windmill Harbour, owners — but not guests — are allowed to operate the vehicles.

For other Hilton Head gated community rules you might not be aware of click here.

This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Sea Pines wouldn’t let him through the gate. Now he says Hilton Head discriminates."