Once you step onto the beach with your
dog at Hunting Island, just down the road from Charleston, South
Carolina, you won't have any trouble understanding why this beach
was chosen to depict the Vietnam jungle scenes in Forrest
Gump. The palmetto forests - the South Carolina state tree
- come right down to the shoreline and provide the backdrop to
the beach.
The 5000-acre island was once a hunting
preserve, hence its name. Before that it was a stopover for sailors
and pirates. Much of the park was developed as a Depression-era
project and its 1120-foot fishing pier is one of the longest
on the East Coast. The lighthouse in the park, built in 1859
and destroyed in the Civil War before being rebuilt with cast
iron plates designed to be dismantled and moved, is the only
public light in South Carolina. You can climb the 167 steps -
without your dog - to the top for a commanding view of the shoreline.
Hunting Island State Park is one of the best places you can bring
your dog. Dogs are allowed on the park trails and the ocean beach
- three miles of natural sand. The formal trails include a one-mile
nature trail and a 4-mile long hiking trail. Both are easy going
for you and the dog. A marsh boardwalk has been constructed over
a salt water marsh overlooking Johnson Creek.
You can also camp right at the beach as well. The park is 16
miles east of Beaufort. From Charleston, take Highway 17 (Savannah
Hwy) South to Gardens Corner, then take a left on Hwy 21 to park.
To find it on the web, check out www.huntingisland.com.
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