Hilton Head beaches ‘crowded but not crazy’ on Day 2 of reopening for residents
When Hilton Head Island reopened two beaches for residents Friday, there were no huge crowds.
That wasn’t the case on Day 2.
Hilton Head Town Council voted last week to reopen Coligny and Islanders Beaches for those with beach passes, which cost $30 and are only available to Hilton Head residents.
Town communications director Carolyn Grant previously told The Island Packet anyone without a beach pass will not be allowed into the parking lots, and anyone parking illegally would be towed. About 3,500 people currently have beach passes.
As of Saturday afternoon around 3 o’clock, 60 cars had been turned away from Islanders Beach and 372 had parked over the course of the day — enough that the town had to close the 151-car capacity parking lot twice as people came and went, town code enforcement officer Wendy Conant said.
At Coligny Beach, 21 cars had parked and 124 had been turned around, according to Conant. The lot can accommodate 375 cars.
“I can tell you the Coligny shops are getting hammered with beach parking, so I’m sure they’re not happy,” she said. “But that’s private, so we cant handle towing over there.”
The numbers represented a sharp jump from Friday.
Assistant town manager Josh Gruber said the Islanders Beach lot “was a quarter full” and just six cars were parked at Coligny Beach on the first day of reopening, with 17 turned away.
Conant described both beaches Saturday as “crowded, but not crazy.”
Asked about coronavirus-related rules, she said: “We’re not really seeing any masks. And social distancing, not so much.”
Hilton Head Town Council will meet again May 12 to discuss reopening other beach access points, including Fish Haul, Mitchelville, Burkes, Folly Field, Driessen and Alder Lane.