We’ve been going to Hilton Head for over 10 years now and every time we drive on or off the island, we pass the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. And every time we go past it, I say that I want to go there. This year we finally did!
The small island between Hilton Head and Bluffton is a bird watcher’s paradise, with some 250 species residing there. Thousands of migratory birds stop on the island each year, and there is a rookery for hundreds of ibis, egrets, and herons. The refuge offers hiking, biking, wildlife observation, and fishing.
The majority of our vacations are action packed. From cave canoeing in Belize to zip lining in Costa Rica, we are typically on the go on our vacations. But our annual Hilton Head trip with our extended family is different. This trip is always our chance to unwind and just relax and spend time with family. So I knew that the kids wouldn’t necessarily want to go for a hike, especially in the August humidity. But I had an ace up my sleeve – armadillos.
Nine-banded armadillos have expanded their territory from Florida into Georgia and South Carolina and are often spotted in the wildlife refuge. Chances for obscure wildlife spotting is always going to draw in my youngest son so he and my two nephews (but not my oldest son) were in for the hike.
With over 14 miles of trails, the island offers lots of opportunities to hike or bike. The main trail is actually a gravel road so biking is a really good option, especially if you want to explore more of the area. We decided to take the 1.2 mile roundtrip hike to Ibis Pond to see the rookery.
The trail is a wide gravel road that passes by some salt marshes before entering a more wooded area. We spotted some birds both in the marsh and in the trees. It was pretty scenery but completely unprotected so be sure to be prepared for the sun and heat.
It only took about 15 minutes to get to Ibis Pond and it actually wasn’t super well marked. The “trail” that goes around the pond is really just some trampled down grass so had we not seen some people emerging from the trees, we might have walked right past it.
The pond itself is large, green from algae, and filled with nesting birds. There is a group of trees in the center of the pond that formed the rookery, where a variety of wading birds built their nests. We saw many different varieties of ibis, heron, and egrets. Ibis Pond reminded me of the rookery that we saw on Daufuskie Island. This one had a larger pond, which meant that the birds were further away and a little harder to see. Still, it was an impressive collection of birds and we enjoyed spotting the different species as we completed the loop around the pond.
Just next to the pond back toward the trail is a butterfly garden. We saw some beautiful butterflies on the pretty purple flowers, as well as some bees hard at work pollinating. It was a nice bonus to the pond trail.
We decided to walk a little further to check out Starr Pond. This pond was larger and didn’t seem to have many birds. We were losing the boys’ interest so we skipped the loop around it and headed back to the parking lot.
After all these years of wanting to go to Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge, it didn’t really live up to the image I had built up in my head. I had read so many rave reviews about it but just found it a little underwhelming. Ibis Pond and the rookery were really neat but not quite as impressive as I had expected. The trail was really a road (complete with park vehicles driving and working all along the way) and didn’t make for a super nice hike. I think it is much better as a biking outing and I would love to return another time and bike the full island.
But I’ll probably have to return by myself. The boys weren’t super impressed either and we didn’t have a single armadillo spotting. We all know that such is the nature of nature – you never know when you will see something. And we were reminded of this lesson when my husband (who didn’t come to the refuge), spotted this guy walking right across our backyard the next morning.
