Active Pursuits

You can have an active vacation here any time of year; Hilton Head's subtropical climate ranges in temperature from the 50s (teens Celsius) in winter to the mid-80s (around 30°C) in summer. And if you've had your fill of historic sights in Savannah or Charleston, don't worry -- the attractions on Hilton Head mainly consist of nature preserves, beaches, and other places to play.

The Coastal Discovery Museum, at historic Honey Horn, PO Box 23497, 70 Honey Horn Dr., 100 William Hilton Pkwy., Hilton Head Island, SC 29925 (tel. 843/689-6767 or 689-3033; www.coastaldiscovery.org), provides a concentrated dose of information about the Low Country's ecology, history, and sociology. In 1990, the Town of Hilton Head bought 68 acres of landlocked flatlands (Honey Horn) historically used to grow cash crops such as rice and indigo, as a means of protecting it from development as a shopping center. The site contains about a dozen historic buildings, a few of them from before the Civil War. Today, the site is administered by the Coastal Discovery Museum and used for municipally sponsored events such as picnics, concerts, charity drives, and sporting events. Guided tours go along island beaches and salt marshes or stop at Native American sites and the ruins of old forts or long-gone plantations. Children can search for sharks' teeth with an identification chart. The nature, beach, and history tours generally cost $12 for adults and $7 for children. The dolphin and nature cruise costs $19 per adult and $13 per child, and a kayak trip goes for $27 per adult and $25 per child. The museum's hours are Monday to Saturday 9am to 4:30pm and Sunday 11am to 3pm.

Beaches

Travel + Leisure ranked Hilton Head's beaches among the most beautiful in the world. The sands are extremely firm, providing a sound surface for biking, hiking, jogging, and beach games. In summer, watch for the endangered loggerhead turtles that lumber ashore at night to bury their eggs.

All beaches on Hilton Head are public. Most of the land inland from the beaches, however, is private property. Most beaches are safe, although there's sometimes an undertow at the relatively isolated northern end of the island. Lifeguards are posted only at major beaches, where concessions are usually available for the rental of chairs, umbrellas, and watersports equipment.

There are a number of public-access sites to popular beach areas. Coligny Beach at Coligny Circle at Pope Avenue and South Forest Beach Drive is the island's busiest strip of sand with toilets, sand showers, a playground, and changing rooms. Alder Lane, entered along South Forest Beach Road at Alder Lane, offers parking and is less crowded. Toilets are also found here. Off the William Hilton Parkway, Dreissen Beach Park at Bradley Beach Road has toilets, sand showers, and plenty of parking as well as a playground and picnic tables. Of the beaches on the island's north side, we prefer Folly Field Beach, on Starfish Road, which has more limited parking but offers toilets and sand showers. The Town of Hilton Head has made efforts to make many of the beaches wheelchair accessible.

Biking

Enjoy Hilton Head's more than 50 miles of bicycle paths. There are even bike paths running parallel to U.S. 278. Beaches are firm enough to support wheels, and every year, cyclists seem to delight in dodging the waves or racing the fast-swimming dolphins in the nearby water.

Most hotels and resorts rent bikes to guests. If yours doesn't, try Hilton Head Bicycle Company, off Sea Pines Circle at 112 Arrow Rd. (tel. 800/995-4319 or 843/686-6888; www.hiltonheadbicycle.com). The cost starts at $27 per week. Baskets, child carriers, locks, and headgear are supplied. The inventory includes cruisers, BMXs, mountain bikes, tandems, and bikes for kids. Hours are daily 9am to 5pm. The company also offers free delivery and pickup.

Another rental place is Peddling Pelican (tel. 843/785-3546; www.pelicancruiser.com), offering beach cruisers, tandems, child carriers, and bikes for kids. There's free delivery to any area hotel or resort. Cost is $15 for a full day, or $25 for 3 days. Hours are 9am to 6pm daily.

Cruises & Tours

To explore Hilton Head's waters, contact Adventure Cruises, Inc., Shelter Cove Harbour, Ste. G, Harbourside III (tel. 843/785-4558). Outings include a 1 3/4-hour dolphin-watching cruise, which costs $20 for adults and $11 for children.

Another outfitter, Drifter & Gypsy Excursions, South Sea Pines Drive, South Beach Marina (tel. 843/363-2900; www.hiltonheadboattours.com), takes its 65-foot Gypsy, holding 89 passengers, on dolphin-watching cruises, sightseeing cruises, and nature cruises. Call for more information to see what's happening at the time of your visit.

Fishing

No license is needed for saltwater fishing, although freshwater licenses are required for the island's lakes and ponds. The season for fishing offshore is April through October. Inland fishing is good between September and December. Crabbing is also popular; crabs are easy to catch in low water from docks, boats, or right off banks.

Off Hilton Head, you can go deep-sea fishing for amberjack, barracuda, shark, and king mackerel. Drifter & Gypsy Excursions, South Sea Pines Drive, South Beach Marina (tel. 843/363-2900), features a 50-passenger, 60-foot drifter vessel that offers 3-to-5-hour offshore and inshore fishing excursions ranging in price from $53 to $63. The 32-foot Boomerang fishing boat is available for private offshore and inshore custom fishing charters lasting up to 8 hours.

Harbour Town Yacht Basin, Harbour Town Marina (tel. 843/671-2704), has five boats available for rentals. The Hero and The Echo are 32-foot ships. Their rates for a group of six are $450 for 4 hours, $675 for 6 hours, and $900 for 8 hours. A smaller four-passenger inshore boat is priced at $390 for 4 hours, $585 for 6 hours, and $780 for 8 hours. The Proving Ground and The Judith E are 6-passenger boats available for $525 to $800 for 4 hours; $775 to $1,200 for 6 hours; and $1,000 to $1,600 for 8 hours.

A cheaper way to go deep-sea fishing -- only $47 per person -- is aboard The Drifter (tel. 843/363-2900), a party boat that departs from the South Beach Marina Village. Ocean-bottom fishing is possible at an artificial reef 12 miles offshore.

Golf

With more than 20 highly challenging golf courses on the island itself, and an additional 16 within a 30-minute drive, this is heaven for both professional and novice golfers. Wide, scenic fairways and rolling greens have earned Hilton Head the reputation of being the resort with the most courses on any number of the "World's Best" lists. To receive a copy of the island's Golf Planner, a guide to the golf courses and golf packages on Hilton Head Island, call tel. 888/465-3475. For additional information about golf on Hilton Head, go to www.golfisland.com or www.hiltonheadgolf.net.

Most of Hilton Head's championship courses are open to the public, including the George Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort (tel. 843/785-1130), an 18-hole, 6,534-yard, par-70 course that Golf Digest ranked in the top 50 of its "75 Best American Resort Courses." The course has been cited for its combined length and keen accuracy. The cost is $58 to $125 for 18 holes, and hours are daily from 6:30am to 6pm.

Old South Golf Links, 50 Buckingham Plantation Dr., Bluffton (tel. 800/257-8997 or 843/785-5353; www.oldsouthgolf.com), is an 18-hole, 6,772-yard, par-72 course, open daily from 7:30am to 7pm. When it opened in 1992, it was recognized as one of the "Top 10 New Public Courses" by Golf Digest, which cited its panoramic views and setting ranging from an oak forest to tidal salt marshes. Greens fees range from $55 to $95. The course lies on Hwy. 278, 1 mile before the bridge leading to Hilton Head.

Hilton Head National Golf Club, Hwy. 278 (tel. 843/842-5900), is a Gary Player Signature Golf Course, including a full-service pro shop and a grill and driving range. It's a 27-hole, 6,779-yard, par-72 course with gorgeous scenery that evokes Scotland. Greens fees range from $55 to $95, and hours are daily 7am to 6pm.

Island West Golf Club, Hwy. 278 (tel. 843/689-6660), was nominated in 1992 by Golf Digest as the best new course of the year. With its backdrop of oaks, elevated tees, and rolling fairways, it's a challenging but playable 18-hole, 6,803-yard, par-72 course. Greens fees range from $37 to $68, and hours are from 7am to 6pm daily.

Robert Trent Jones Ocean Course at the Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort (tel. 843/785-1138) is an 18-hole, 6,710-yard, par-72 oceanfront course. The greens fees are $89 to $165 for 18 holes, and hours are daily from 7am to 6pm.

Horseback Riding

Riding through beautiful maritime forests and nature preserves is reason enough to visit Hilton Head. We like Lawton Stables at the Sea Pines Resort, 190 Greenwood Dr. (tel. 843/671-2586; www.lawtonstableshhi.com), which offers trail rides for both adults and kids (kids 7 and under ride ponies instead of horses) through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. The cost is $60 per person for a ride that lasts somewhat longer than an hour. Riders must weigh under 250 pounds. The stables are open Monday to Saturday 7:30am to 5:30pm. Reservations are necessary.

Jogging

Our favorite place for jogging is Harbour Town at the Sea Pines Resort. Go for a run through the settlement just as the sun is going down. Later, you can explore the marina and have a refreshing drink at one of the many outdoor cafes. In addition, the island offers lots of paved paths and trails that cut through scenic areas. You can also jog on the new pedestrian paths along U.S. 278, the main artery.

Kayak Tours

Few other venues provide as close a view of the flora and fauna of the salt marshes as a kayak. Outside Hilton Head (tel. 800/686-6996 or 843/686-6996; www.outsidehiltonhead.com) offers well-orchestrated kayak tours of various Low Country waterways and salt marshes from at least two locations on island. Their busiest location is at 32 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head, close to Shelter Cove Marina. Their 2-hour Dolphin Nature Kayak Tour costs $40 (half price for children 11 and under). The tour takes you through the salt-marsh creeks of the Calibogue Sound or Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. The trip begins with instructions on how to control your boat.

A worthy competitor is Marshgrass Adventures (tel. 843/684-3296; www.marshgrassadventures.com), featuring sailing and kayak tours from a base at Broad Creek Marina. Every day between April and October, an experienced guide takes participants out on 2-hour kayak tours for sightings of egrets, herons, fish, crabs, and all manner of crawling critters. There's even the occasional spotting of dolphins from the low-slung, waterfront seat of your oared craft. The cost is $30 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under.

Sailing

Advanced Sail, Inc. (tel. 843/686-2582; www.hiltonheadisland.com/sailing), operating out of Palmetto Bay Marina, is a 2-catamaran charter operator piloted by Capt. Jeanne Zailckas. You can pack a picnic lunch and bring your cooler aboard for a 2 1/2-hour trip -- in the morning but more often during either the afternoon or at sunset. The cost for an excursion aboard the 53-foot-long Pau Hana is $32 for adults and $20 for children 11 and under. Flying Circus, measuring 30 feet in length, offers private 2-hour trips for up to six people priced at $220. Call for daytime special rates for fewer than six people.

H2O Sports, Harbour Town Marina (tel. 843/671-4386), offers jet-skiing, parasailing, eco-tours, and water-skiing. We especially recommend their eco-tours (or "enviro," as they are called). Passengers head out on Zodiac inflatable boats for close encounters with wildlife, including dolphin sightings and bird-watching. Rates are $24 to $51 for adults and $24 to $44 for kids 12 and under.

Spa Treatments

Hilton Head Island boasts a denser concentration of spas than virtually anywhere else in South Carolina. As such, you might be confronted with a barrage of publicity and brochures touting the virtue of various health-and-beauty farms, each offering a staggering array of treatments. They don't come cheaply though. We urge you to compare prices and treatment options, and then, if it's possible, to reserve your spa session as far in advance as possible, since space in each of them is limited. Your choices include the Heavenly Spa within the Westin (tel. 843/681-4000; www.westin.com/hiltonhead); and the Spa Soleil within the Marriott (tel. 843/686-8400; www.hiltonheadmarriott.com). You do not have to be a hotel guest to make a reservation. Spas less inclined to give priority to guests of any particular hotel or resort include Faces Day Spa (tel. 843/785-3075; www.facesdayspa.com); and the Sanctuary Day Spa (tel. 843/842-5999; www.sanctuarydayspa.com).

Tennis

Tennis magazine ranked Hilton Head among its "50 Greatest U.S. Tennis Resorts." No other domestic destination can boast such a concentration of tennis facilities. Hilton Head has more than 300 courts that are ideal for beginning, intermediate, and advanced players. The island has 19 tennis clubs, 7 of which are open to the public. A wide variety of tennis clinics and daily lessons are available.

Sea Pines Racquet Club, at the Sea Pines Resort (tel. 843/363-4495), has been ranked by Tennis magazine as a top-50 resort and has been the site of more nationally televised tennis events than any other location. Two hours of tennis are complimentary for guests of the hotel; otherwise, there's a $25-per-hour charge. The club has 23 clay courts (2 are lighted for night play). Sea Pines' most visible competitor, with a long history of teaching tennis techniques and an equivalent number of courts and equivalent prices, is the Van Der Meer Shipyard Tennis Resort, 116 Shipyard Dr. (tel. 800/845-6138 or 843/686-8804; www.vdmtennis.com).

Port Royal Racquet Club, Port Royal Plantation (tel. 843/686-8803), offers 10 clay and 4 hard courts. Charges range from $20 to $32 per hour, and reservations should be made a day in advance. Clinics are $20 per hour for adults and $15 for children. Private lessons are available.

Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center, Palmetto Dunes Resort (tel. 843/785-1152; www.palmettodunes.com), has 23 clay and 2 hard courts (some lighted for night play). Hotel guests pay $25 per hour; nonguests pay $30 per hour.

Windsurfing

Hilton Head is not recommended as a windsurfing destination. Finding a place to windsurf is quite difficult, but with the plethora of other sporting activities available, no one seems to mind. One windsurfer warns that catching a tailwind at the public beaches at the airport and the Holiday Inn could land you at the bombing range on Parris Island, the Marine Corps' basic-training facility.