Huntington Beach State Park

Huntington Beach State Park
Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Huntington Beach Park
Nearest city	Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina
Coordinates	33°30′50″N 79°3′40″W / 33.51389°N 79.06111°W / 33.51389; -79.06111Coordinates: 33°30′50″N 79°3′40″W / 33.51389°N 79.06111°W / 33.51389; -79.06111
Area	2,500 acres (10.1 km²)
Camp sites	107 standard campsites 6 walk-in tent sites
Hiking trails	2
Website	Official website

Huntington Beach State Park is a small coastal preserve and state park near Murrells Inlet, in Georgetown County, South Carolina. It has a large sandy beach, few beach-goers, and numerous wild birds to watch over the seasons.

History

The park, originally property of Anna Hyatt Huntington and Archer M. Huntington, was leased after his death and takes its name from him The 2500 acre (10 km²) tract was leased to the state in 1960 for use as a state park. Mrs. Huntington died in 1973. Atalaya was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and was included in the designation of Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens as a National Historic Landmark in 1984.

Atalaya and Brookgreen

He and his wife's winter home, Atalaya Castle, is located in the park. Built during the Great Depression by only local workers, the residence was designed to withstand hurricanes.

The studio of his wife, the noted 20th-century American sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, was part of the compound. Many of her significant sculptures are in nearby Brookgreen Gardens, an extension of the former Huntington estate, now a public sculpture garden.

Afternoon view across the expansive salt marsh at Huntington Beach State Park in the fall

Huge tree swallow flock preparing for fall migration takes refuge from the rain on a snag in front of Atalaya

Features

The Friends of Huntington Beach State Park offer scheduled tours of Atalaya Castle, and operate the Atalaya Visitor Center with exhibits about the house and the Huntingtons.

Birding

Local birders frequently refer to the park as "HBSP" in communications. The park features various species of birds of the Southeast coast of the United States for bird watching.

It hosts many types of ducks and waders like roseate spoonbills in winter in both fresh and saltwater marshes. It has a jetty where oceanbirds like gannets, loons, scoters and occasionally alcids like razorbills and murres can be found. The large tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) flocks here.

Nature Center

The original Education Center featured natural history displays and live animals, including a saltwater touch tank and a live baby alligator among its exhibits. Park naturalists offered free programs about the park's wildlife and habitat. The center, previously located at the marsh boardwalk, was destroyed in a fire in the early morning hours on Wednesday, June 20, 2016, likely caused by a lightning strike. All of the animals on display within the Education Center were lost in the fire.

Other park features include: the beach and jetty, hiking, and nature trails and boardwalks, the gift shop and a public campground.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huntington Beach State Park.

Media related to Atalaya Castle at Wikimedia Commons

State Parks of South Carolina

Upstate	Caesars Head Croft Devils Fork Jones Gap Keowee-Toxaway Kings Mountain Lake Hartwell Musgrove Mill Oconee Oconee Station Paris Mountain Rose Hill Plantation Sadlers Creek Table Rock

Midlands	Aiken Andrew Jackson Baker Creek Barnwell Calhoun Falls Cheraw Chester Dreher Island Goodale H. Cooper Black Jr. Hamilton Branch Hickory Knob Lake Greenwood Lake Wateree Landsford Canal Lee Poinsett Redcliffe Plantation Rivers Bridge Santee Sesquicentennial

Coastal	Charles Towne Landing Colleton Colonial Dorchester Edisto Beach Givhans Ferry Hampton Plantation Huntington Beach Hunting Island Lake Warren Little Pee Dee Myrtle Beach Woods Bay

Protected areas of South Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Congaree

National Historic Sites and Monuments	Charles Pinckney NHS Fort Sumter NM Ninety Six NHS

National Military Parks and Battlefields	Cowpens NB Kings Mountain NMP

National Historic Trail	Overmountain Victory

National Forests	Francis Marion Sumter

National Wildlife Refuges	Cape Romain Carolina Sandhills Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin Pinckney Island Santee Savannah Tybee Waccamaw

National Estuarine Research Reserves	Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin North Inlet-Winyah Bay

Wilderness Areas	Cape Romain Congaree Ellicott Rock Hell Hole Bay Little Wambaw Swamp Wambaw Creek Wambaw Swamp

Wild and Scenic River	Chattooga River

State

State Parks	Andrew Jackson Baker Creek Barnwell Caesars Head Cheraw Chester Colleton Devils Fork Edisto Beach Givhans Ferry Goodale Hickory Knob Hunting Island Huntington Beach Jones Gap Kings Mountain Lake Warren Landsford Canal Lee Little Pee Dee Myrtle Beach Oconee Paris Mountain Poinsett Santee Sesquicentennial Table Rock

State Historic Sites	Charles Towne Landing Colonial Dorchester Hampton Plantation Musgrove Mill Oconee Station Redcliffe Plantation Rivers Bridge Rose Hill Plantation

State Recreation Areas	Calhoun Falls Dreher Island Hamilton Branch Lake Greenwood Lake Hartwell Lake Wateree Sadlers Creek

State Natural Areas	Aiken Croft Keowee-Toxaway Lee

State Forests	Harbison Manchester Poe Creek Sand Hills Wee Tee

Wildlife Management Areas	Bear Island Belfast Bonneau Ferry Campbell's Crossroads Crackerneck Donnelley Draper Edisto River Fant's Grove Gray Court Hickory Top James Ross Jim Timmerman Keowee Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve Mason McBee McConnells Tract Palachucola Pee Dee Samworth Santee-Delta Thurmond Turkey Creek Turtle Island Webb Woodbury Worth Mountain

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.