HIGHLIGHTS: Huntington Beach State Park is named after the American sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington who used the area as a private beach and studio during the winter months. She and her husband Archer lived in a white Moorish-styled mansion on the south end of the beach and called the site Atalaya. It is now open to the public and is registered as a National Historic Landmark.
This roundtrip loop hike starts at the park office and follows Magnolia Beach northeast on a spur trail that ends at a jetty on Oaks Creek. The flat, easy trail is great for day hikers who have the option of cutting 2.5 miles off the route by eliminating the side hike to the Murrells Inlet Jetty.
The hike begins at the parking lot for the Education Center and crosses a boardwalk over black pluffmud and spartina grass through a saltwater marsh. The area is well known for its habitat with 2500 acres of undeveloped, pristine nature preserve and over 300 species of birds. There are no backcountry campsites in Huntington Beach State Park, but hikers that wish to stay overnight might enjoy one of the 137 campground sites which are located on the southern end of the park.
