A trip to Hunting Island will cost more in 2020. Here’s how much and why
Starting Jan. 1, admission prices for some state parks, including Hunting Island, will increase as much as 60 percent.
Admission for Hunting Island will be $8 for adults, a $3 increase from $5. Seniors will pay $5, up from $3.25, and youths ages 6 to 15 will cost $4, up from $3. Admission for children 5 and younger will remain free.
“This will put us in a much better situation,” said Hunting Island Park Manager J.W. Weatherford, who noted the park has seen a drop in revenue since Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016.
The same price increases for Hunting Island will apply to Edisto Beach, Huntington Beach, Myrtle Beach and Devils Fork state parks.
For Charles Towne Landing in Charleston, prices will be $12 for adults, $7.50 for seniors, and $7 for ages 6 to 15.
Givhans Ferry, Jones Gap, Landsford Canal, Paris Mountain, Sesquicentennial and Table Rock state parks will be $6 for adults, $3.75 for seniors, and $3.50 for ages 6 to 15.
All other parks are either $3 or less.
Hunting Island will be undertaking major improvement projects in the next 18 to 24 months. Among them: renovating the lighthouse for $2 million, much of it to replace rusted cast-iron parts; renourishing the beach; repaving roads; reopening the pier, and remodeling the lighthouse gift shop.
“The money we make in the parks stays in the parks,” Weatherford said. “This will help alleviate the price of some major capital project improvements we’ve been needing.”
The price increase was announced last week by park leaders.
“We recognize that these increases, while not substantial at most sites, will certainly have an impact on our state park visitors,” State Park Service director Paul McCormack said in a recent news release. “Knowing this, we want to assure you that these decisions were not made lightly and that South Carolina State Parks will remain one of the best values around.”
The current prices will be effective through 2019. Park Passports, which allow a year of unlimited entries into any state park, will increase to $99 Jan. 1. However, purchasing a 2020 pass in December for the current fee, $75, will provide 13 months of entries, a savings of $24.
In addition to the planned improvement projects, Weatherford said Hunting Island will offer a new program, “No Bones About It,” a ranger-guided tour through the “boneyard” of driftwood trees on South Beach.
The park recently cleared much of the driftwood on the North Beach, he said, and some visitors don’t realize the park still has 2 miles of boneyard, a Hunting Island “staple,” along the southern end of the island.
The boneyard tour, in which a ranger explains how the driftwood trees ended up on the beach and why they are so uncommon in South Carolina, is free with admission.
