Location: Fripp Island
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Top 10 Things to do in Fripp Island, United States
Fripp Island is a 6.546 sq mi (16.954 km²) barrier island located along the Atlantic coast of the lowcountry part of South Carolina. It is approximately 21 miles from Beaufort, 96 miles south of Charleston, and 65 miles north of Savannah, Georgia. Some of the neighboring islands include Hunting Island, St. Helena Island, and Lady's Island. The island mostly serves as a residential vacation resort, but several hundred residents make it their permanent home. It is also the most seaward of the South Carolina Sea Islands. Fripp is renowned for its resort amenities and natural conservation.
Restaurants in Fripp Island
1. Ocean Point Golf Links
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 25 reviews
A classic seaside-designed golf course on Fripp Island.
Reviewed By CTRiverGolfer - Chicopee, Massachusetts
FRIPP ISLAND RESORT
Fripp Island, S.C.
If you draw a blank when someone tells you they are heading for Fripp Island, South Carolina, you probably aren’t alone. Take for instance Rand McNally’s cartographers. They seem quite unaware that there is a road, albeit only one, leading to this remote barrier island. It is with some irony then that such an overlooked little remove, about two hours down the coast from Charleston, features a golf course that has put Davis Love III squarely on the map as a course designer.
His Ocean Creek course is one of two superb layouts on this small island resort, which seems to float among the low country marshes. The island’s original course, Ocean Point, occasionally rubs shoulders with crashing Atlantic waves. Though Love’s layout is spectacular, it is also prettier and subtler. An ancient coastal forest of cypress, mangrove and long-leaf pine towers along fairways and above holes. Not too long ago, this pristine setting stood in for Vietnam during the filming of Forrest Gump.
For travelers put off by the conspicuous commercialism of neighboring Hilton Head, Fripp Island Resort presents an intriguing alternative. The resort’s GM Ansley Cohen says, “We’re perfect for people who are nostalgic for the Hilton Head of the 1970s. Our guests and residents have discovered that the island’s relaxed pace isn’t permanently gone, it’s just moved up the coast a bit.”
The climate at Fripp Island is identical to Hilton Head, the golf equally superb and it is extremely family friendly. All that’s missing is the traffic. This is because most residents choose golf carts as their mode of transportation to get around the island.
Many of the spacious and smartly furnished rental villas practically dip their toes in the Atlantic, their patios are so close to the high water mark. Or they gaze out on the golf courses. Full kitchens and baths add to the high standard of comfort. And it doesn’t hurt their PR that Fripp Island is synonymous with the first course designed by one of the PGA tour’s most successful and admired players.
Most impressive about Love’s superbly-conceived Ocean Creek layout is that he intuitively understands the native landscape and works with it, often to dramatic effect, where other more high-profile architects could easily have veered toward self-conscious ostentation.
A good example is the 17th hole, a straight out par 4. The first thing that catches your eye from the tee box is the rolling fairway, and it carries your gaze to the green, 394 yards out from the middle tee. But as you survey the landscape to pinpoint a target for your drive, a surprising little observation is inevitable. None of the trees beyond the green is the least bit distinct. This is because these trees are on the other side of a miles-wide marsh, invisible from the tee box, but implied by the tight fairway, slightly inclined green and fuzzy outlines of the trees far beyond.
Earlier in the round, Love paints picturesque holes with regularity. The second is a short par 4 of 369 yards that plays through a chute over densely vegetated wetlands. The tee shot demands to be hit straight as an arrow, with tall Southern Pines growing out of the swamp, aligned tightly with the outer edges of the tee box. Water guards three quarters of the green, including the front.
The par 4 eleventh is intimidating for two reasons. Firstly, and more innocently, water comes at you from the left and right. The cart path, in effect, divides the two lakes en route to the fairway. The real danger, however, arises on the far edge of the water hazard to the right, though not in the form of a bad lie, poor stance or plugged ball.
On this particular day, in the thrall of this challenging and beautiful course, we had long since forgotten the admonition delivered by the starter. And then . . . the splash. From across the fairway, I looked up to see what made such a noise, only to see my partner immediately beside that spot. Any sun that he had gotten that day quickly had drained from his face. He looked like he’d seen a ghost; or rather, thought he was on the verge of becoming one.
No fish, turtle or frog, he quickly reasoned, displaces that much water when leaving the bank of a pond. After he collected his wits, only one mystery remained. Judging by its abrupt departure, we wondered if the alligator was now nervously telling its friends about the two-legged creature heading right at it with a long, glinting blade in his hands. Ironically enough, perhaps it was the gator that was convinced it would be the victim of a horrible slice!
Big things come in small packages on the 259-yard par 4 fourth. This intriguing concoction, with impenetrable woods on the left and a pond on the right, could accurately be dubbed “the Bowl Hole.” Just before the green, the fairway dips down into a huge swale, necessitating a lot of steam on a bump and run play. The green also echoes this effect. Only the back left corner, which held the pin on this day, matches the plane of the front edge of the green. The remainder drops so much that after a heavy rain it might be tempting to place a diving board above it.
An interesting par 3 is the 146-yard fifteenth. Here again, Love proves adept at incorporating optical illusions into his design. A slanting mound of earth behind a creek blocks the green from view, revealing only the top half of the flag stick. Confounding perception even further are a pair of tall pines, which from the tee box appear to spring up behind the mound, but are actually way out of harm’s way, behind the green. A clever and disconcerting set of illusions complicate what otherwise is a pretty routine hole.
Then there’s the finishing hole, where things really get weird. It’s almost as if after 17 holes of sophisticated obedience to orthodoxy, Love decided to let his hair grow a bit. This 500-yard par 5 starts out over wetlands and doglegs to the right. But the two segments of the fairway are, get this, on separate levels and at oblique angles to each other. So, if your second shot comes from the right side, you are forced to hit up and over a bunker-pocked slope to reach the next stretch of fairway. Should you navigate this portion of the hole successfully, hold that exhale. The green is 35 yards deep and so undulant you feel as if the Atlantic is swelling beneath your feet. A provocative hole to end a terrific golf course.
There are several restaurants to choose from on the island, the most notable being The Beach Club Restaurant. A relaxed, casual atmosphere pervades the dining room. As is the norm around Fripp Island, the menu is contemporary, while the prices seem happily stuck in the 1980s. Particularly good this night was the filet of beef with peppercorns over risotto. Cheesecake in a strawberry mousse was an otherworldly pleasure for dessert.
Golf the next day takes you from the beautiful and serene Ocean Creek to the sometimes majestic, sometimes scruffy Ocean Point. The layout boasts two powerhouse holes of inordinate aesthetic quality. At the dogleg par-4 ninth, there is water to the left (a pond) and major water beyond the bend in the fairway (an ocean). The elevated tee box drinks it all in and the view is breathtaking. The offshore wind can be enormously tricky on this one, in your face on the tee and at your back on approach. The opening to the green is quite narrow, with two traps severely restricting the angle to the flag when the pin is up. This beautiful and demanding hole could be played all day without a trace of boredom.
The 18th also vies for signature hole honors. Off an elevated woodlands tee into a beautiful rolling fairway with a green seemingly out at sea, this 486-yard par 5 finishing hole is pure golf bliss. On approach, there is water left and right and the sand trap guarding the left side of the green has a lip that crests as formidably as the waves breaking just beyond.
As difficult as Ocean Point is, oddly enough it is a wonderful course for introducing the game to the young’uns. This, thanks to its designation as a “Wee Links” course. Tee boxes are unobtrusively set up on every hole from par 3 distance, enabling kids to learn to play around the green without having to launch the ball to get there.
Such attention to cultivating a family-friendly environment is typical of the resort. A whole slate of activities caters to kids interests. There are tennis clinics and swim lessons, bicycle rentals and canoe tours. A fossil-finding expedition to the beach might even put the kids in the mood for the shell crafts program. For teens there is a bowling alley, movie theater and volleyball courts.
Be certain, on departure day, to save some time for a sublime urban hike. Charleston is simultaneously one of the country’s most soberly historical cities as well as one of the most vividly colorful. The city’s beautiful residences encompass an encyclopedia of architectural styles. And yet it is quite easy to lose track that you are in a realm of wood frames and cobblestone. Flowers spring out of window boxes and fill sidewalk urns. Sneak a peek down an alley way and you might catch a glimpse of leafy vines caressing the sides of pastel-colored Victorians.
Check your watch. Have some time for a bite before your flight? By all means head for East Bay Street. Many of the top restaurants in a great restaurant town are along here and serve casual lunches.
2. Barefoot Bubba's Kayak Rentals and Shop
Overall Ratings
4 based on 56 reviews
Barefoot Bubba's is not your average beach shop! Our selection of t-shirts, flip flops, bathing suits, beach toys, etc...alone is amazing!!
Reviewed By clintbo - Atlanta
If you are staying on Fripp or Harbor Island you'll save money, and the quality of materials on their shirts are great! We stopped second to last day of our seven day trip to Fripp I noticed golf carts on the island from barefoot Bubbas – wish I had known all they offered before we got there. You can get 2 T-shirts for 30 bucks, Great designs and a lot of options that will save you some money.
3. Chapel of Ease
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 106 reviews
Reviewed By 185Days - Beach Park, Illinois
Nice sidetrip from Beaufort. These historic remains are a nice place to wander. You can picture the original church and appreciate the handiwork of the builders. Take bug spray and wear sunscreen
4. Penn Center
Overall Ratings
4 based on 162 reviews
A significant African-American institution in the United States, its mission is to preserve the Sea Islands' history, culture and environment.
Reviewed By brontz - Wichita, Kansas
The Penn Center is an African-American cultural and education center, we visited on Saint-Helena Island, while on tour with our senior citizens group. The first building we went into we saw a film, and an exhibit area. There was a man Mr. Milton who was last graduate from the Penn School. He has a book that he sells, and he talks about the film, and how when students graduated from Penn School they had a trade. The two women who were the first principles were Laura M.Towne, and Ellen Murray. They also have a gift shop, and other buildings on the grounds.
5. NALU Paddle Boarding
6. Ocean Creek
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9 reviews
Golf course on Fripp Island that features a series of four distinct dune lines that climb as high as 15 feet.
Reviewed By dlwinger - Fernandina Beach FL
Played Ocean Creek earlier this week with other family members. Course was virtually empty due to the heat and the end of the prime vacation period. Course was in excellent shape. Staff was attentive, carts were in nearly new condition. Nice they provide you with coolers or let you bring your own during this time to stay hydrated as they didn't have a beverage cart roaming the course. Cost of $55 for 18 holes was a bargain. Having an amenity card is a requirement.
7. Hunting Island Lighthouse
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 659 reviews
The only public lighthouse in South Carolina.
Reviewed By Jay P - Clover, South Carolina
Our family visited the lighthouse during Spring Break week and it was not overly crowded. Likely because you can complete the lighthouse climb and grounds within one hour of arrival if you're worried about time. It is about 167 steps to the top level where you can go out and view the incredible scenic visuals. You can also access and walk the beach just steps away from the lighthouse. There is a small gift shop and restrooms on premise.
8. Camelot Farms Equestian Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 27 reviews
Take a horseback ride on the beach and along moss covered tree lanes in the low-country of SC. We have something for all ages. Lessons, boarding, training, pony rides, guest house, camping areas, and a brand new gift shop. Enjoy the day discovering SC by horseback!
Reviewed By Terri O - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Went on the hour tour, I haven't ridden in years, but the horses were well trained and our guides were terrific. Lovely clean farm, you could tell the horses were well cared for. I booked our tour on their website, it was easy to use.Thank you Terri for your review! We are so glad you had a good tour. Glad our horses were on their best behavior!
9. The Fripp Ship
Overall Ratings
5 based on 3 reviews
The Fripp Ship is the OFFICIAL LOGO STORE of Fripp Island! We have all of your island needs from tees & sweats, to koozies, towels & more! Call our sister store: Mangos Island Gifts & Apparel for a pass to get onto the island to shop with us!
Reviewed By johnmM754OI - Chesterfield, Missouri
Been going to this gift shop for years. Always have something new, and staff very accommodating. A stay at Fripp isn't complete without a stop at this gift shop.
10. Hunting Island State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Park that is a large secluded barrier island with a historic 1859 lighthouse as its centerpiece.
Reviewed By Vermont68 - Vermont
We walked on the beach, climbed the lighthouse and walked several miles on the trails through the marsh woodlands. Very informative Center, friendly staff. Extremely well maintained. The visitor center at the end of the island is a wealth of information. The boardwalk out into the marsh is fabulous. Very relaxing.
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