Harbour Town Lighthouse

149 Lighthouse Rd, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928, USA

Address:	149 Lighthouse Rd, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928, USA
Phone:	+1 866-305-9814
Site:	harbourtownlighthouse.com
Rating:	4.2
Working:	10AM–7:30PM 10AM–7:30PM 10AM–7:30PM 10AM–7:30PM 10AM–7:30PM 10AM–7:30PM 10AM–7:30PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 10

Eric James

Alright, the lighthouse is very pretty from outside. But you have to pay five dollars to actually get in. I thought, "Maybe its really cool inside." I was wrong. The inside is meant to be a museum of South Carolina history. It is all mildly interesting, but when you cross the threshold of the entrance onto those rickety stairs, get ready for some reading. You read and read and read. Honestly if I wanted to read about South Carolinas history, I would have picked up a book on it! But then you get to the top, and the view is... Actually pretty nice. Not worth five dollars a person, but maybe worth one. There are numerous places for you to since money on, of you want to buy useless cheaply made garbage or a calendar. There is a gift school at the top. A gift shop at the bottom, many coin snakes along the way, and a vending machine just for stupid fake little medallions. Yes, preserving the memeroy of the lighthouse wonderfully. So in conclusion, the tower is beautiful and anchient in the outside, and on the inside it is a boring tourist trap with a view for you to look at all of harbor towns air conditioning systems from a hundred feet up.

Harold Lutz

Ok, so we loved Harbour Town during our Hilton Head visit. We spent a lot of time there and on our last day we decided that we should go ahead and see the Lighthouse Museum and check out the view from up top. One thing to know, you gotta be able to climb the stairs! Not a problem for my family, but if you are planning you should know there is no elevator! So, the good, going up the stairs there were landings where you could read more about Sea Pines and the Lighthouse, which seemed cool. I didnt get to read it because I had a 2 year old itching to get back to the playground or go to the beach! The view on top was kind of cool but not something Id really pay for. If I had the time to read each of the exhibits going up I think it would be a bit more interesting, but as a Dad engaging with an energetic 2 year old, that wasnt gonna happen! So, maybe a 4 star if you can engage with the exhibits and a 3 star attraction if you are bringing kids!

Matt O

Just wanted to see the lighthouse. Sat in a traffic line which turned out to be a gateway into another one of Hilton Heads many segregated hotel properties. Confirmed that the lighthouse was buried within the property but it was an unnecessary $6 to get thru the gate. Made our way to the lighthouse finally and were presented with a 30 space parking lot. Obviously, there were no spots but I did see the lighthouse out the car window. Went back a bit further hoping to find a spot we could walk from but the next few lots, while mostly empty, were reserved. Frustrated, we just left. Needless to say, didnt see the lighthouse but the experience seemed to echo that of a number of other visitors we spoke with.

B. Noto

Very expensive. I rode my bicycle to the gates of Sea Pines, and they wouldnt even let me in. Gatehouse guard was INCREDIBLY RUDE to me. Unless youre in a car, and you pay 6 bucks!, you cant even get there. I was determined, so I got in anyway. They couldnt stop me from just taking my beach cruiser bicycle around the gate houses via the public beach. LOL! So much for their "security." Once I got to the lighthouse and *paid!* to climb it, I was SERIOUSLY underwhelmed. View is mostly of saltwater marshes and the sound. Gift shop at the top is really kitschy. Would not recommend. Do the other stuff in Harbor Town instead, like the shops (theyre nice,) or see the giant treehouse in the live oaks nearby.

Chelsea Bullins

First, I would like to start off by saying Im a big advocate of visiting Hilton head for vacation. However, I will never visit sea pines again. The people that are helping direct cars to get in are extremely rude. I made the simple mistake and got into the homeowners lane to enter sea pines. I told the gentlemen that I made the mistake and wanted to get into the visitors lane. The man on the other side was EXTREMELY RUDE and said the other man told me to leave(not true). He yelled and made sure I backed my car up to leave. I was looking forward to the shopping, dining and entertainment sea pines has to offer, but unfortunately I will never return due to my experience.

Bonnie Esrig

Going inside the lighthouse/museum is not a "must do" activity. You can walk around the exterior for free. We decided to pay (overpriced at just under $5 per person) to walk up the narrow steps to the top and were glad we did. Its a nice enough view but what made it worthwhile for us was watching several manatees in the water below. (No guarantee that youll see any but we were lucky. Also, they were visible at ground level from around the docks.) At the various landings there were historic pictures and interesting trivia about the history of the lighthouse. Having done it, however, I would see no reason to pay to go up there again.

Amanda Lindsay

I knew going in that the Harbor Town Lighthouse wasnt a "real" lighthouse but I didnt expect it to be quite so small and the $5ish charge to go up the steps for just a photo op seemed like a rip off, especially since wed already paid $6 to access the Sea Pines resort in the first place. I had really been interested in visiting the gift shop but it was tiny and dark, mostly filled with books, and due to the shape it was hard to even see everything on the shelves. Big disappointment all around for us. Grab a post card instead and skip the real thing.

Matt Dabney

The Lighthouse is a fun attraction to check out while in Harbour Town. Now that they charge admission to go up, though, it may only be worth making the trip once or twice. There are a lot of historical artifacts from the island, Sea Pines, and Harbour Town on the walk up. There are shops at the bottom before you have to pay to enter and at the top before you get to the balcony that surrounds the outside. The views at the top are incredible. Make sure you hold on to any hats or loose articles on windy days!

George Miller

After driving 65 miles to get there we we informed at the entry to the gated community surrounding the lighthouse,, that we were not welcome because we were on motorcycles. My wife and I are in our 60s and no threat to their community. This is the first time we have been treated this way, and we have traveled all over the US. Wont be going back, and suggest you avoid also. It is a real shame what people with too much money will do.

Darren Adkins

Paid 6.00 just for the "privilege" to drive into the community to pay another 4.00 to climb to the top of the lighthouse. I refused to go to the top. The rich getting richer by suckering everyone out of their hard earned and limited vacation funds...we paid to drive thru Pebble Beach in California and it was worth every penny...this is a 6.00 rip off, it not even that nice of a community.