Fish Island Sea Pines Forest Preserve — Attraction in Hilton Head Island

I went to this preserve solely for the wildflower field and was disappointed. I went in mid-June knowing most of the flowers would not be in bloom, but was also disappointed to discover that the majority of flowers in the field are NOT native to South Carolina. What’s the point of a “preserve” if you’re not preserving native plants? I also thought I would be able to walk through the field to see plants up close but it is completely fenced off. The trails are marked well but unfortunately the paper maps available at the entrance are not. As a first time visitor I found it very confusing to navigate from the greenwood drive entrance to the wildflower field. I visited the shell ring as well. Visually there is not a lot to see but the informational placards were interesting to read. Overall it is a very nice natural area that is very shady and it’s goos for seeing different plants and animals but it suffers from a lack of good maps and clear visiting instructions online. I would visit again but with lower...

WARNING ⚠️ You cannot simply ride your bike up to the entrance and get in! The bored young woman at the guard shack (there is a gate across the bike path) explained that you must purchase a pass (okay, help support maintenance of the public preserve) but only from a VEHICLE. For your bike. Not making this up. I can only conclude that this Orwellian rule is designed specifically to keep bicyclists out. I was tempted to ask if I could purchase an auto pass from my bicycle (cosmic balance), but decided she had probably lost some lottery among the employees that required her to relate this craziness to visitors repeatedly. Poor her. Poor us. Shame on...

Only available to people actually staying at Sea Pines. Even if you buy the day pass to get in they will not let you buy the fishing pass. If you are going to gate-keep, do not take people's money over false pretenses. The gate knew I was coming in to fish, and sold me the day pass anyway. Thankfully the lady at the office gave me my $$ back when she informed me that I was not allowed to buy a fishing pass. It is a good size pond. It is a shame they don't share the opportunity with the island. They could make some good money charging $5 a day...