31 Fun Things to Do in Hilton Head with Kids (Updated) – 2024
Hilton Head Peninsula is a renowned vacation island in the state of South Carolina with Twelve picturesque kilometers of Atlantic Ocean beachfront.
Given the numerous touristy places, Hilton Head retains its tropical atmosphere and offers a variety of leisure activities, including swimming, kayaking, trekking, diving, animal watching, birdwatching, animal observation, and much more.
If you are planning a trip, let it be to Hilton Head. Here are some fun things to do in Hilton Head with kids.
Best activities for children in Hilton Head
1. Shelter Cove Harbour — Palmetto Dunes
Shelter Cove Harbour, situated in the center of Hilton Head, is among the most beautiful attractions to explore in the whole of South Carolina.
Why visit?
Shelter Cove Harbour provides restaurants, retailing, music, excursions, and boat tours for your family.
Annual regular water activities include rowing, fishing, hunting, boating, cruising, and whale viewing.
There are additional festivals to attend that belong to the best free child-friendly activities on Hilton Island.
Most of Hilton Head’s greatest child events are available at Shelter Cove Harbour, and visitors of all ages are encouraged to participate.
2. Sandbox Children’s Museum — Shipyard
The Sandbox Science museum, which has been operating since 2005, has also emerged as one of the prime family locations in the city due to the wide range of children’s activities it provides.
Why visit?
Among the finest things to do while visiting Hilton Head with children is to explore the Eleven immersive displays at the Sandbox Children’s Museum.
The Sandbox’s colorful and instructive displays will enlighten the youngsters about creativity, culture, and the globe: An Foreign Marketplace, Engine Room, Builders of Future, Rhythm and Hues Studio, Grocery Lane, South Credit Union, and numerous other delights beckon the kids.
The Sandbox Children’s Museum offers fun activities for parents with babies, toddlers, and kids under 13.
3. Adventure Cove — Folly Field
For decades, Adventure Cove has provided excellent experiences for children as Hilton Head’s unique leisure facility featuring mini golfing and board games.
why does it suit the children? or
Why visit?
Here at Adventure Cove, including its tunnels and lush green canals, you may appreciate the beautiful scenery of a small utopia while testing your talents in golfing and slot machines.
Paradise Waterfall & Lost Lake are two eighteen-hole golf Caribbean-style fairways at Adventure Cove.
Their arcades also feature both old and new multiplayer experiences.
You may win fantastic items from their conversion facility if you earn sufficient tokens, like an Xbox, a Sony Playstation, or a set of Wireless earphones, among others.
If you’re wondering where to take kids for fun while also having a fun time, this is definitely the place to visit
4. ZipLine & Aerial Adventures — Marshland
Hilton Head’s sole cable car is about fifteen minutes drive from the Shelter Cove Port.
The zip line activity at this environmental amusement park launched in 2012, and the thrill activities 2 years post that.
Why visit?
Cable Car and Airborne Activities will stretch you above the clouds!
Including its fun circuits and Eight zip lines, this environmental resort and airborne entertainment allow you to soar as high as 100 meters above the earth.
Consider aerial bridges, cable courses, as well as other hurdles guided by expert hikers.
You may be certain of a new perspective on Hilton Head’s scenery and be delighted in the meantime.
The fascinating activities at ZipLine & Airborne Experiences are designed for customers aged six and above.
5. Lawton Stables — Sea Pines
Lawton Stables, situated in the Sea Pines Nature Reserve, has approximately 600 hectares of the city landscape.
Why visit?
At Lawton Stables, you may gear up and mount a stallion or a horse.
The Western-style wildlife walk features lakes, woodlands, marshes, butterfly meadows, and animals, making it among Hilton Head’s most engaging locations to visit with children.
Besides horseback riding, there is also a wildlife ranch to explore.
Encounter their sheep, horses, cattle, piglets, chicks, llamas, horses, and chick’s close quarters.
You may also purchase farm food to give to the little creatures directly.
Hike excursions at Lawton Stables are appropriate for kids aged seven and older, while they recommend horse excursions for children aged 19 or above. Whereas the wildlife ranch is open for all.
6. Station 300 Bowling Lanes — Bluffton
Station 300, which debuted in 2012, is a 34000 sq foot advanced technology family entertainment unit with 28 bowling courses, arcade machines, and a comprehensive nightclub.
Why visit?
Station 300 Bowling Lanes offers fresh and enhanced bowlers expertise for parents.
Every bowling alley has a drop-down display where you may select programs, activities, or films.
This entertainment unit has exclusive amenities such as lighting and reflectors as you compete, flippers that can be programmed with personalized initials, and lane-side restaurant work.
The excitement that awaits your group at Station 300 is appropriate for guests aged six and above.
7. The Gregg Russell Family Concerts — Sea Pines
Gregg Russell has built a reputation for himself over the past four decades, performing his original compositions for thousands of individuals of all ages underneath the ancient Liberty Oak tree in Port Town.
Why visit?
He is such a prominent figure in Hilton Head that even a stadium is dedicated to him.
You might wonder what makes this old singer so well-known on a peninsula that thousands of visitors flock around a bush merely to watch him live.
Gregg Russell, on the contrary, has people of all ages applauding to the rhythm of his family-friendly tunes and smiling and dancing all night long each summer. In addition, perhaps one of his compositions was the inspiration for a screenplay.
8. Coastal Discovery Museum — Honey Horn
The 120 hectares Coastal Discovery Institute, which was established in mid-1980, debuted in Hilton Head in 2007 and today provides a number of the most intriguing activities to do in the city with children.
Why visit?
At the Coastal Discovery Institute, you may learn about theoretical physics, archaeology, and civilization via hands-on experiences.
As kids tour this magnificent yet vulnerable area, they may enjoy outfits, games, puppetry, sculptures, and treasure quests.
This exhibit motivates tourists to care for and conserve the region’s ecology and culture by housing old trees going all the way back to the 16th century; clam rings stretching back four thousand years ago, a Discovery House erected in the late 1850s, and many more fascinating wonders.
Visitors of all generations will enjoy the entertaining and instructive activities that this place offers.
9. Coligny Plaza
Coligny Plaza has been serving families with food, leisure, and music since the mid-1950s.
Why visit?
Coligny Plaza has over Sixty establishments to browse, including eateries, bakeries, cafés, and pubs, as well as apparel, cosmetics, souvenirs, services, department stores, home improvement stores, and whatever else you could dream of.
And there is a cinema that is accessible from Monday to Sunday.
Greatest of all, the mall is near the ocean and hosts fun family activities.
Check out their schedule if you’re searching for something to do at the courtyard tonight or this month.
Guests of all ages enjoy the variety of businesses and activities at Coligny Plaza.
10. Bristol Sports Arena — Wexford
The Bristol Sports Arena was originally titled after the Bristol family because their contributions helped finance the rink’s construction in 2011.
Why visit?
If you have a clan of sports enthusiasts and athletes fans, the Bristol Sports Arena has a skating park and multifunctional rink, a baseball stadium, a play area, and a sports field, in addition to toilets if you plan on staying more than you anticipate.
Each week, an advanced roller hockey match is held at the arena, which is accessible to the general public.
The Bristol Sports Arena is ideally suited for youngsters aged six and above who like hockey, particularly teenagers.
11. Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
The Pinckney National Historic Wildlife Reserve was titled after Confederate General Pinckney, who bought the area in the mid-1710s and passed it down to his heirs for the next two centuries.
Why visit?
The four thousand-acre Pinckney National Historic Animals Refuge is a shelter for wandering biodiversity.
This woodland refuge also contains 120 ancient sites going back to 8000 B.C.
Explore this vast stretch of wetland, tree plantations, brushland, and saltwater pond by trekking, swimming, bicycling, birdwatching, or stalking.
Remain on the pothole-ridden walkways and allow the creatures alone if you come across any reptiles underneath the overgrowths or beside the lakes.
Because there are no visitor facilities at this sanctuary, it may be advisable to visit it with youngsters above ten.
12. Shelter Cove Towne Centre — Palmetto Dunes
Shelter Cove Towne Plaza may appear to be a private hamlet, but it is a bustling place with 3 million square feet of dwellings, stores, cafes, events, and amusement.
Why visit?
Shelter Cove Towne Complex, a local facility featuring concerts and exhibits, a daycare, a gazebo, picnic areas, and stunning ocean views, attracts both residents and tourists.
There will be many bike routes, bike paddocks, a tire pressure refill facility, and drink stations that you can use as you pedal between Shelter Cove Port to the headquarters.
If you just want to watch competitions or enjoy the remainder of the day relaxing with lunch, there is something for everybody of just about any age here.
13. Driessen Beach Park
Driessen Beach offers a significant number of parking bays of any beach in the city.
It is titled after the Driessens, a culturally notable small family in Hilton Head who had resided nearby over decades.
Why visit?
We’ve discussed rivers, pools, and amusement venues near the shore.
Let us now present to you a few of the greatest family beachfront in Hilton Head that can provide you with inexpensive family entertainment.
Driessen Beach Resort is a treasure chest that is accessible to the general public and very remote.
Driessen Beach Park features picnic pavilions, barbecues, a coffee machine, seaside rentals, a daycare, restrooms, drinking fountains, and air baths if you wish to avoid the crowd. Driessen Beach Park, with its excellent white sand as well as guarded shoreline, attracts visitors of all ages.
14. Commander Zodiac — Sea Pines
For almost four decades, Commander Zodiac has provided outdoor trips, boating courses, and kayak rentals.
Why visit?
Hop onboard solid rafts and accompany whales across.
Nat Geo, Animal Planet, and the BBC have all broadcasted Commander Zodiac’s travels.
Just one hour of dolphin trip, a 2-hour whale and saline marshland adventure, and multiple dolphins and skim boarding excursions are all available.
Besides the pleasant, clever dolphins, you will also meet songbirds and other creatures.
Commander Zodiac has diversions for guests aged four and above.
15. Duck Donuts — Long Cove
Duck Donuts, which began in Duck Ville, Carolina (thus the title), has been providing a pleasant, inviting, family-friendly service to those who visit their locations since 2007.
Why visit?
Just once, give the whole family wonderful, personalized pastries! Duck Donuts’ personalized delicacy starts with the newly prepared signature vanilla icing donut, followed by your choice of frosting, topper, and glaze.
Not only are these pastries delicious, but you may also add personalizing the croissant to the list of exciting things to do when visiting Hilton Head with children on your agenda.
Duck Donuts is recommended for everyone from toddlers to the elderly but be prepared with scraps if they aren’t satisfied with their choice of toppings.
16. Hilton Head Island Bike Trails
Vehicles aren’t actually necessary in Hilton Head. The peninsula is small, at 12 miles in length and 5 miles broad, with no intimidating mountains to conquer. In actuality, there is nowhere you can’t go by bike.
Why visit?
To promote riding and prevent gas-guzzling & fumes autos, wise residents began creating a vast system of bike routes in 1960 and continue to build on it today.
On your relaxed bike ride, you may get from location to location while taking in breathtaking views. There seem to be sixty kilometers of cycling infrastructure and also more than 200 kilometers of public walkways. A fifth of the downtown streets features dedicated cycle paths or buffers.
There are great guides on all bicycle roads, but just let your wheels lead you to the area’s hidden gems that you might ordinarily overlook; travel beneath the foliage of oak trees and woods to uncover hidden coastlines and neglected gardens and landmarks. When you move gradually and soak everything in, you can really see a whole lot more.
17. Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
There is a lot more to accomplish in Hilton Head than just enjoy the beachfront and the breathtaking views.
Why visit?
A 350-couch auditorium in the middle of the island can easily deal with much larger and more well-known cultural venues in the nation. Annually, the passionate group of Hawaiians organizes interesting activities like the Flavor of Gullah, Holiday Season Light Display, and Youth ArtsFest, offering the inhabitants the finest in performance and creative arts.
Each year, they also stage several productions, plays, and sitcoms, entertain prominent composers, painters, and singers, and present visual arts art galleries at the Walter Greer Museum.
They offer amazing academic institutions for the young via performing and visual workshops, Informative presentations, and enjoyable outdoor excursions. When you’ve had your fill of diving and bicycling, find out what’s going on at the Art Museum; there’s something different nearly every day.
18. Live Oac Outdoor Adventure Company
When you visit a shore, it is extremely probable there is much more to explore on the peninsula than on it. Live Oac will assist you in discovering all of the secret elements. Throughout the 1990s, they have been Hilton Head Island’s top favorite adventure travel business, providing opportunities to watch whales playing in the ocean, predators feeding, turtles leisurely paddling, and birds hidden in the marshes.
Why visit?
Their amazingly comfy catamaran Odyssey features an extremely quiet generator with a voice blocker to avoid upsetting the creatures. Live Oac may bring you angling, canoeing, jet skiing, windsurfing, or sledding. You may tour the streams or simply cruise about the islands, seeing the wealth of aquatic and coastal species. Your skilled guide will also narrate fascinating tales and folklore of the islands.
19. H20 Sports
When you go to an island, you anticipate that you’ll have a fantastic time on the sea. At Hilton Head, this entails visiting the Harbour Town Port and enrolling in any of the H2O Athletic activities.
Why visit?
The only challenge is picking what sport to attempt first: flying a Rope tow, sea kayaking, renting a Jet Ski, riding a bouncy castle, seeing crocodiles, renting a yacht or a ship, exploring in a canoe, windsurfing, seeing whales, sledding or jet skiing. Even if your children are really active, these games will keep them engaged. H2O advisors are highly educated and qualified, and their gear is fresh and in outstanding condition.
20. Java Burrito Company
People began rushing in the instant Java Burrito Company launched its big and bright tortilla and espresso cafe. What is the key to their sudden achievement? They have had a responsible mindset, a great vibe, and excellent cuisine.
Why visit?
Knowing the address of the vessel that brought your seafood in, the identity of each and every farmer you deal with, and precisely what you placed on your visitors’ platters is all part of their approach.
Java Burrito Company uses high-quality components and does not utilize items containing MSG, additional chemicals, cortisol, or herbicides. This family-owned and operated restaurant delivers great sandwiches with strange yet delectable ingredients such as stingray, shellfish, and barrel salmon. Add a delicious cup of coffee brewed locally and handed in.
21. Folly Feild Beach Park
The Folly Field Beachfront Resort, affectionately known as “Local’s Beach,” is a cherished length of natural beachfront that is seldom congested and hence visited by Hilton Head residents.
Why visit?
The bay beachfront is lined by beautiful oak trees and stubby Palmettos and is accessible through residential development. Although many tourists to Folly Field Park might opt to occupy any of the nearby beach houses, the area is also available to day-trippers, having access to adequate space, open restrooms, bathrooms, and beach equipment like banners and loungers. The beachfront is ideal for children with little kids since the seawater is mild and also has a flat bottom. What’s your favorite aspect? You are allowed to bring your pets to the seashore and they will enjoy the trip too.
22. Daufuskie Island
Daufuskie Island, located midway between Savannah, Florida, and Hilton Island, SC, is a small sliver of a beach with just around 300 occupants. Just what a beach misses in landmass, it compensates for in facilities. There are two hotels in the area, as well as one luxury housing neighborhood. The area has been designated a historic area in recognition of its significance in the Civil War as well as its indigenous inhabitants, the Gullahs.
Why visit?
The archipelago is a premium haven, complete with high-end stores, excellent tennis courts, art exhibitions, and outstanding eateries. Due to the lack of bridges connecting the peninsula to the mainland, all movement is via ship or sailboat. The island exudes isolation and isolation; even the boat ride is exclusive.
23. Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks
Hudson’s eating experience begins well before the meal comes. Sipping the South Cackalachy Cocktail (Dragonfly Cherries Whiskey, Citrus, Blueberry Cognac, and Sugar Nectar) while at a table facing Point Royal Bay, you can watch the container ships arrive and offload the next day’s harvest.
It’s an exhilarating experience, and you’ll become engrossed in the ambiance as the marine treasure is delivered directly from the vessels to Hudson’s kitchen, prepared for processing.
Why visit?
The selection is broad and filled with delectable options, but why mess with excellence? Simply request the capture of the day. You may be confident that your food will be perfectly cooked because Hudson’s has been doing that for four decades. If you’re fortunate, there might be a live banjo for the perfect dining.
24. Audubon Newhall Preserve, Hilton Head, SC
The Hilton Head Island Pelican Organization was founded in the mid-1970s to promote and appreciate island ecology, animals, and habitats. The Organization controls and manages the Audubon Newhall environmental reserve, which spans 50 acres.
Biologists from the Society lead regular escorted walks of the Preserve’s diverse habitats, showing the flora and fauna that inhabit there.
Why visit?
This parkland is situated in the middle of the Hilton Head Islands and features numerous pleasant walking pathways through the woodlands. All along the pathways, there are seats and numerous native flora are listed. The path leads to a beautiful picturesque lake. The section that passes through the swamp is elevated onto a walkway.
25. Pau Hana and Flying Circus Catamarans
Catamarans are a wonderful and distinctive alternative to think about for a nautical twilight tour. They do not lean like other boats, therefore you will not lose your beverage. Pau Hana and Flying Carnival can teach you what more fun boating could be if you join aboard one of their whale tours, individual sailing classes, or simply go for a pleasant, casual voyage around the peninsula.
Why visit?
The catamarans navigate the Intracoastal Canal and Calibogue Sounds, which are both peaceful and sheltered. With the kites out, you will experience absolute silence, broken just by the sounds of the ocean. The commanders are highly skilled and, like all good mariners, have plenty of fantastic yarns to tell.
You may discover about the environment surrounding you plus the epic stories, you won’t have a dull moment here. It will be the calm in your chaos.
26. The Village at Wexford
The Village at Wexford is a fun adventure store; it is a luxurious, graceful, and sophisticated global retailer for both residents and visitors.
Why visit?
Tourists can explore the 30 premium businesses, get treated like royalty at the Faces Day Salon, soothe their puppies at the Tail Twirls, embrace the children with magnificent ice cream at the Pino Sorbet, shock your fiancée with a wedding ring, relish a fine meal, or simply sitting by the waterfall and take in the cool clear water vapor and live entertainment music.
The Village will always be crowded and full of melodies and cheerfulness; it is an extravagant teensy colony in the heart of captivating Hilton Head.
27. Mitchelville Freedom Park
Visit the Historic Mitchelville Independence Park to learn about a rich and wonderful narrative of freedom. Mitchelville, often considered the hamlet where “independence started,” was the first self-governing African American community established in the United States during the Civil War.
Why visit?
Mitchelville, founded in 1862, was a fully functional town populated by previously enslaved people from Caribbean Coast such as African Continent, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Ghana. The park’s relics of this pioneering village include the Prayer House, the Farmhouse Apartment, and the Ce petit.
There are also options to study handmade products such as net weaving or to view a gallery of local antiquities at the Marriott Hilton Head.
28. The Jazz Corner
You may become bewildered while approaching the Jazz Corner. The institution appears more like a famed jazz club in Manhattan than an unpretentious bar in the picturesque tourist area of Hilton Head.
Why visit?
Nevertheless, The Jazz Corner established itself on the global jazz chart and is regarded as being one of the best music venues on the planet. The Corner’s décor is gloomy, beautiful, and classy, with mood lighting and authentic artwork in the background that set the scene for the wonder to emerge.
Every day, 7 days every week, their theater hosts a number of the nation’s biggest current instrumentalists. You will quickly discover that cuisine isn’t an option in this establishment.
They offer Southern cooking, but the menu is anything from typical. Roasted giant sea prawns covered in pancetta, bathed in white sauce, Oilerie olive nectar, and peach and apple marmalade atop Boursin Carolina polenta. Cocktails at The Jazz Corner are pleasant and invigorating.
29. Hilton Head Distillery
Nothing beats having terrific taste and quality with similarly fantastic people, and that’s precisely what Hilton Head Distillery revolves around.
Why visit?
The distillery, which is dedicated to quality liquor, positive vibes, and great citizens, provides excursions and sampling sessions so that tourists can have an in-depth glimpse at all of the excitement that goes behind the doors of a distillery.
Tourists may discover about the facility’s activities, the background of the region, and the distilled spirits made there, in addition to how Hilton Head obtains such fantastic and distinctive tastes in their alcohol. Following the tour’s hands-on approach, visitors may savor a sampling flight of the distillery’s unique samples in the taproom. T
he tours are offered according to a first-come, first-served approach.
30. Hilton Head Brewing Company
Visit Hilton Head Island’s newest winery, the Hilton Head Beer Company, for a sample of the local beer archipelago. Prominent craft beers available at the facility include the Tropical Brown, the Experience IPA, the Lobster Pilsen, the Hefe, the J Avenue IPA, and the Foolish 2X IPA.
Why visit?
Stop for a bit and eat some of the Milling Industry’s fantastic snack cuisine. Menu items such as the Asparagus and Pasta Alfredo, Lobster Roll Dip, Black Pea and Jalapeno Sauce, and Sesh IPA Beer Cheese will assist you in selecting your ideal craft beer and cuisine combinations.
The Buffalo Chicken Salsa, Mexican Cream cheese, and Giant Bavarian Fried Sausage are other smash hits.
31. Baynard Plantation Ruins
It’s apparent that the Southern States are rich in history, and there are numerous historic places to visit and discover on Hilton Head Island.
Why visit?
One such sight is the Baynard Estate Ruins, an estate that was originally owned and sought shelter by the Stoneys and Baynards dynasties. This historic confederate property, constructed by Captain Jack Stoney, an Englishman, in the 18th century, had a spectacular view of Calibogue Bay.
Today, tourists may examine the plantation’s ruins, which are almost unearthly amid their cove at Sea Trees, such as the remnants of the family room and slave barracks. A visit to the Baynard Estate Ruins, which are designated on the National Register of Ancient Sites, ought to be on the records.
Conclusion
There are numerous family attractions to engage in on Hilton Head Islands, from airborne, environmental, and archaeological experiences to participatory children’s galleries, treasure excursions, and kayak cruises, that you could use as another holiday post your South Carolina trip!
Choose among guided television shows at our Hilton Head Beaches, specialist sports programs, or a fantastic family vacation to any of its renowned locations. Whatever you chose, kids and adults of each age will enjoy discovering Hilton Head Peninsula’s amazing play dates.
Here is a well-curated list of things to do in Hilton Head with kids. Hope you enjoy it!
