If you want to experience a truly “great strand,” Hilton Head Island’s 12 miles of sugar sand beaches are, without question, some of the broadest beaches on America’s East Coast. At low tide they can stretch out to 600 feet.

A few interesting facts. At high tide, and depending on the moon and other factors, the difference between low and high tide is usually six and a half to eight feet. That means that if you were standing at water’s edge at low tide, and remained there through high tide (about 6 hours later), even if you were Houston Rockets' Yao Ming (7' 6"), you would be treading water.

Beaches move, they shrink and grow. To stabilize them, the Town of Hilton Head Island renourishs the beaches with sand brought from off shore in huge pipes. The last renourishment project ended on the early winter of 2007. Over 2.1 million cubic yards of sand were added to parts of the island’s beaches at a cost of $16.6 million.

Who pays for it? Like all rental companies and hotels on Hilton Head, the Vacation Company pays a 2% “beach preservation fee” based on the total gross proceeds our business takes in each year. And you know something, we don’t mind a bit!