To enjoy the most beautiful and natural gifts Hilton Head Island has to offer, you should leave the roadways and golf courses and journey out through the tidal creeks and marshes that surround this barrier island.  Whether it’s breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, dolphins covorting, or the simplicity of our scenic waterways, kayaking will present you with some of the best photo opportunities of your vacation.

    This is a wonderful activity for all ages.  Once you’ve checked in and selected your flotation vest, instructors will teach you how to hold the paddle and steer the kayak.  If you are going out on your own, they will provide you with maps showing you “no go” areas such as oyster beds and sand bars.  Then paddle away and enjoy. Race, drift or splash – it’s up to you.

    In addition to renting kayaks and going it on your own, most local companies offer guided tours.  Experienced and knowledgeable guides will take you on tidal creek explorations, dolphin tours, evening fireworks paddles, tours of Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, and photography expeditions as well as sunrise, sunset and full moon trips.  Some offer day-long special interest trips.

    Kayak Hilton Head (843-684-1910) specializes in beginner and family tours with special kid’s activities included on each tour.  They also provide excursions for the more experienced paddler.  They have two locations for both rentals and tours. Their Broad Creek location at Simmons Landing (right next to Broad Creek Marina at 11 Simmons Road off Marshland Road) is just 100 yards from the dolphins’ favorite feeding area.  From their North End location (843-684-1912) at the Hilton Head Harbour, it’s only a 10-minute paddle to the beautiful shoreline and exciting wildlife of Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge.  The Harbour is located at 43-A Jenkins Road off William Hilton Parkway (US 278, Mile Marker 1).

    Outside Hilton Head (800-686-6996) has been offering outdoor recreational activities since 1979.  They have developed a unique approach with trained interpretive naturalists.  They offer two-, four-, and six-hour kayak tours aimed at highlighting the connection between us and this area’s wildlife.  Tours include Broad Creek, Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge, the May River, Bull Creek, and to Daufuskie Island and their exclusive outpost on Page Island. 

    They also conduct a leisurely kayak tour through the black waters of the New River.  This is an easy paddle that meanders through rich Tupelo and Sweet Gum swamp land.  No experience is necessary.  Or sign-up for the full moon, sunset, and sunrise paddles.  During the summer, they conduct a Tuesday night Fireworks Paddle and a two-hour Teen Tour. 

    New this year is their offering of tours in the amazing Hobie Mirage Drive Kayaks. This revolutionary new propulsion system makes it simple and easy to use. Your feet rest naturally on the pedals and you pedal effortlessly similar to a bicycle. It is quiet, creates no splash, and leaves your hands free for fishing, photography or holding a drink. 

    No experience is necessary with OHH.  Instruction and equipment are included and the minimum age is three years old.  Rentals are available at their Shelter Cove Marina location (1 Shelter Cove Lane).  Tours depart daily year around from their Shelter Cove location as well as from their Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge Kayak Center, located next to Hudson’s Restaurant (3 Hudson Road off Squire Pope Road).

    Outside Hilton Head also conducts historic tours of Daufuskie Island and the village of Bluffton, and offers Hilton Head-based Kid’s Camps:  “Discovery Days Camp” for ages 7-10, a nine-hour program (over three days) combining kayaking, water games, beach walks, marsh meanders, and crabbing; “Eco-Ventures Camp” for ages 11-14, an introduction to sea kayaking, coastal ecology, and outdoor skills; and “Adventure Island,” a five-hour program on Page Island (a 30-acre chain of islands located behind Daufuskie Island) where teens aged 11-17 will enjoy kayaking, tubing, wakeboarding, ropes courses, and compass orienteering.

    Don’t miss chance to try the two new additions to Outside Hilton Head’s catalog of fun activities: the GPS Scavenger Hunt for a unique tours of Hilton Head, and the increasingly popular stand-up paddle boarding. 

    Palmetto Bay Watersports (843-785-2345) rents single and double kayaks by the hour at their Palmetto Bay Marina location on Broad Creek (at 86 Helmsman Way at the foot of the Cross Island Parkway).  They also offer two-hour guided as well as self-guided eco-tours of Broad Creek and its tributaries.  Don’t  miss a chance to rent one of their pontoon boats or run-abouts for a cruise around the Island, or one of the wave runners for a thrill ride.

    Triple Threat (843-689-3337) offers something new in kayaking – motorized pontoon kayaks with bimini shades.  Don’t paddle in the sun when you can relax and motor in the shade.  The kayak’s electric motors are whisper quiet and its pontoon style makes it very safe and stable, even while standing up, excellent for fishing.  Triple Threat employs these kayaks for guided nature tours as well as fishing tours led by professional anglers.  The kayaks are also available for rent by the hour. 

    Triple Threat also offers deep sea fishing aboard the Island’s fastest charter fishing boat, a 34-foot Fountain Center Console with tournament-rigging and three 275 horsepower engines (that’s a total of 825 hp). 

    Triple Threat is conveniently located mid-Island at the Broad Creek Marina, 18 Simmons Road off Marshland Road.

    For more information, see our Ad Directory under Kayak Tours & Rentals.

    Also see “Things To Do” #4, #7, #19, #30, #36, and #62.

Photo © Eric Horan