How busy was Hilton Head on July 4th weekend? Take a look at the numbers
The busiest week on Hilton Head Island was going to feel different this year, no matter what.
Between pandemic-induced precautions and the Saturday July 4th holiday, there were mixed expectations for the week that typically draws thousands to revel at firework shows and kick back on beach days.
While the fireworks shows were canceled and the Town of Hilton Head Island recently enacted a mask requirement for commercial spaces, restaurants and hotels were busy for the holiday weekend, and the beach saw a typical amount of illicit firework displays.
In the week leading up to the holiday weekend, Island Packet reporters interviewed visitors about their vacations and what kind of precautions they were taking during the pandemic.
“It’s been good,” Ashley Palmer said on the last day of her family’s weeklong trip from the Raleigh area. “Just a little stressful because no one’s wearing masks, and so we’ve been really limited as to how often we’re going out.”
Others were less concerned.
“It’s not a zoo,” Brian Chiappetta said, in reference to recent remarks by one PGA Tour golfer which suggested Hilton Head hasn’t taken the pandemic seriously. “This has been a paradise.”
Here’s how July 4th weekend shook out:
Beach litter and fireworks
As people flocked to the beach to enjoy the sunny weather, some also appeared to forget other rules.
The Sheriff’s Office gave out more than 50 warnings to people illegally drinking on the beaches, according to Bromage.
That’s more than double the number of warnings deputies gave out on Memorial Day weekend.
Hilton Head traffic on July 4th weekend
The S.C. Department of Transportation records the number of vehicles that cross Hilton Head Island’s bridges each day.
On the July 4th weekend, July 3 is typically the highest traffic day.
This year was different, though, since the holiday was observed on Friday, July 3. SCDOT traffic counters show the busiest traffic day was July 2, as people took advantage of the extra day before the holiday on Saturday.
On Friday, 32,957 vehicles crossed the Hilton Head bridges heading east to the island.
That’s about 3,000 fewer cars than the busiest eastbound traffic day during July 4th weekend in 2019.
It’s also 3,800 fewer cars than the busiest traffic for eastbound cars on the holiday weekend in 2018.
In those cars were residents, island employees, vacationers and day-trippers from the Lowcountry and beyond. While bridge traffic counts aren’t indicative of tourist travel patterns, they show that more people were out and about over the weekend after months of social distancing and quarantining.
Here’s a breakdown of July 4th weekend traffic patterns for Hilton Head’s bridges:
