Driving 60 miles northeast of Savannah through Beaufort County, S.C., at the very end of U.S. Highway 21 lies Hunting Island State Park, gateway to St. Phillips Island. Once, a rustic getaway for media mogul Ted Turner and family, in 2017 South Carolina State Parks acquired St. Phillips with help from the Nature Conservancy.
The 4,682-acre island, accessible only by boat and recognized by the National Park Service for its intact ecosystems and near lack of human development, is portal to another era.
Turner, consummate conservationist, worked diligently in his 40-year stewardship of St. Phillips to maintain the marsh, forest, and dune ecologies just as they are. The island’s interior boasts untouched stands of mature pine, live oak, magnolia, hickory, and cherry trees. Wistful strands of Spanish moss cascade from the upper canopy. Saw palmettos punctuate the understory.