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Huntington Beach State Park
Huntington Beach offers its visitors the best preserved beach on the Grand Strand.
The park’s freshwater lagoon, saltmarsh, maritime forest and beach are outstanding examples of the state’s natural coastal environment. These also provide such prime habitat for birds that the park is widely recognized as one of the best birding sites along the East Coast.
Huntington Beach is also the site of the historic “Atalaya” castle. The former winter home and studio of noted American sculptor, Anna Hyatt Huntington, and her husband, Archer Milton Huntington, Atalaya is also listed as a National Historic Landmark.
The prestigious juried "Atalaya Arts and Crafts festival" is held at the castle and attracts thousands of visitors to the park each September.
GENERAL
* Counties: Georgetown
* Acreage: 2500
* When & How PRT Acquired: Leased in 1960 from Brookgreen Trustees
* Pets: Pets are allowed in most outdoor areas provided they are kept under physical restraint or on a leash not longer than six feet.
* Tour and Programs Information: The park also features its Coastal Exploration program. From March to November, "field trips" allow visitors to join staff educators for alligator viewing, marsh and nature trail exploration and more, including a close-up look at the history and mystery of Atalaya.
* Significant Natural Features: Perhaps the best known "studiers" of wildlife at Huntington Beach State Park are the birders who for years have been coming to see some of the more than 300 species that have been recorded here, giving the park a reputation as a top spot on the East Coast. A birding checklist is available for enthusiasts to print.
In addition to three miles of beach, much of the park is salt marshes, one of the world’s most productive eco-systems.
Much of Huntington Beach’s marsh is now registered under the South Carolina Heritage Trust Program to help preserve its unusually pristine nature.
* Historical Significance: Atalaya, a National Historic Landmark, stands as monument to the creativity and generosity of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington.
A noted scholar of Spanish culture and art, Archer Huntington modeled the couple’s winter home in the style of the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
HOURS
* Admissions: $5/adult; $3.25/ S.C. Senior; $3/youth age 6-15; Free for children 5 and younger.
* Office Hours: 9am-4:30pm
* Days and Hours of Operation: Sat-Th 6am-6pm; Fri 6am-8pm (hours are extended to 10pm daily during Daylight Savings Time)
16148 Ocean Highway
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576-5064
843 237 4440
Open Hours6am-10pm daily; Office: 9am-5pm daily
Check Out the map below..
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