Pinckney Island Landing

Between the two bridges that connect Hilton Head Island to Bluffton and the rest of Beaufort County is a small strip of land, called Pinckney Island. There is a public landing located on Pinckney; on the right side of highway 278, as you are entering Hilton Head. This landing offers direct access to the Intercoastal Waterway, and in turn, short boating distances to both Port Royal and Calibogue Sounds. This landing is also very easy to find; it is the only turn off on that side of the road on Pinckney, and you can easily spot it from the bridge as you are traveling to Hilton Head. The amenities at this landing include a concrete boat launching ramp, ample free parking, a "multi-use" field and a fishing pier. There is a restroom, but it is one of those nifty little portable fiberglass models.

Just about any weekend, or any weekday evening, you can find a group of islanders; complete with coolers and pick up trucks, enjoying an impromptu game of soccer, football or baseball in the large grassy field. It is also a popular place to "turn the children lose" on their little electric cars and four wheelers. Just about any day and any time you can find a boat trailer or two in the parking lot, and a handful of folks fishing and crabbing from the two sections of floating pier. Although this landing is well used, it is never crowded, and you can always find a place to park your car or your trailer, and there's always plenty of room on the dock for a few more fisher folk and crabbers.

The fishing action isn't great from this landing, with only the occasional small Croaker, Porgy or Shark being landed. Although poor, most folks find the fishing action here perfectly acceptable; as catching fish isn't really what fishing is all about anyway. (Henry David Thoreau once wrote; "many a man has been fishing all his life without ever realizing it wasn't the fish he was after".) The crabbing isn't much better than the fishing here, but the same philosophy applies. Even with all of it's shortcomings, this landing does offer a very nice pier (probably the best public pier near Hilton Head), and a great place to meet some folks and chat, or just sit and watch, as the occasional Dolphin makes its way past, or stops to frolic.