Beaufort, South Carolina, Recreation

Beaufort Recreation Provides it All For Locals and Buyers of Beaufort Real Estate

Outdoor Sports
Beaufort real estate owners are as at home on or in the water as they are in their living rooms. Boating, sailing and kayaking are year-round activities. Swimming is comfortable during six months of the year.

Beaufort Fishing
Fishing by fly rod, spinning gear or cane pole is an all-year activity for owners of Beaufort real estate, but the catch varies from season to season: redfish and spotted sea trout in fall and winter; the mighty cobia, Spanish mackerel and bluefish in spring, and the “silver king” – tarpon – in summer.

Bait shrimping is permitted in the fall. The season usually starts the Friday on or before Sept. 15 and continues for 60 days. It is the only time when it is legal to use bait to attract shrimp, and locals and Beaufort real estate owners are fanatical about catching shrimp to fill the freezer for winter. Licenses to bait shrimp are $25 for residents and owners of Beaufort real estate and $500 ($500 is correct!) for out-of-staters.

Beaufort Hunting
Hunting is popular in Beaufort, SC. Over the years hunters have joined together to purchase or lease Beaufort land for hunt clubs where they can pursue wild game such as deer, pigs, ducks and turkey. The deer season is the longest in the nation, beginning in August and ending in December.

Beaufort Golf
Golf is a major pastime for buyers of Beaufort real estate, the Beaufort SC area having more than a dozen courses laid out by world-class golf architects plus a nine-hole par-three. Please don’t hit the alligators when you play. There are public tennis courts in Beaufort, and most golf courses have courts. Trails for biking and walking were recently constructed in the Pigeon Point area and along the Sea Island Parkway on St. Helena Island, stage one of an extensive trail network. Port Royal welcomes bikers on its streets.

Wildlife
The magnificent coastal area from Beaufort, SC, to Charleston contains the ACE Basin. It is one of the largest watersheds in the world, consisting of about 350,000 acres. where the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers flow into the sea. Rice plantations once produced crops here that made Beaufort real estate owners wealthy beyond their dreams. Now in decay, those same plantations create an extraordinary wildlife refuge. Walking is easy on trails along the rice dikes. Some are open only part of the year when nests will not be disturbed. Birds and animals scarcely notice someone paddling by in a canoe or kayak, an intimate way to observe the wildlife. Wood storks and bald eagles are on the increase in the ACE.

Hunting Island
Hunting Island is a state park at the southern end of U.S. Hwy. 21. Universally acclaimed by its campers as a national favorite, Hunting Island is a maritime forest with four miles of gorgeous beach, the only lighthouse in the state open to the public, a spacious campground and a few cabins for rent. A nature center has classes on how to crab and shrimp, and on a variety of nature subjects. The park has more than 1 million visitors each year, many of which are faithful locals and owners of Beaufort real estate.

Beaufort County Sponsored Activities
Beaufort County's recreation department has an array of programs for Beaufort real estate owners and locals, including senior citizen activities, public ball fields, fitness and wellness. Beaufort County also maintains boat ramps in various convenient locations.  //