Palmetto Dunes has been ranked the number one family resort in the United States and Canada by Travel & Leisure Family magazine. With 3 miles of Atlantic shoreline, the beach remains the community anchor. Second only to the ocean is golf and tennis. With three championship golf courses, each designed by a different legendary figure in the world of golf, The Arthur Hills Course, the Robert Trent Jones Course and the Fazio Course each provide golfers different backdrops and challenges. The Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center was named the third best tennis resort in the world. Activities and amenities at Palmetto Dunes will challenge even the most imaginative sports-minded individuals. Residential communities include the gated Mariner’s side and newer community of 300 single-family homes and 516 villas in Leamington.
With its world-class, deepwater harbour, Shelter Cove, bordering Palmetto Dunes on the west, offers canoeing, deep-sea fishing, sailing, and numerous additional water sports and activities. The marina on Broad Creek is also accessible from the Atlantic, contains 170 boat slips. The Ship’s Store sells marine supplies, fishing tackle, and most anything else you need for a day on the water. Shopping, dining, entertainment, bike paths, and an unusual trail running under Hwy 278, provides harbourside owners protected access to the beach areas of Palmetto Dunes. There is also an expansive waterfront Disney Resort and multiple Marriott timeshare developments on the Shelter Cove Harbour property.
Golf
The Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course was named the “South Carolina Course of the Year” in 2003. The Jones Oceanfront course plays 6,122 yards from the middle white tees and has a rating of 69.1.
The Arthur Hills Course at Palmetto Dunes, designed by famed golf course architect Arthur Hills, was strategically built on a series of rolling dunes. It plays 6,122 yards from the middle white tees and has a rating of 70.6. This impressive layout was honored as the South Carolina Course of the Year for 2009.
The George Fazio Course presents a challenge to any accomplished golfer — a series of long par 4s guarded by bunkers and water hazards. Veteran golfers regard the Fazio course as Hilton Head Island’s true championship course. It plays 6,239 yards from the middle white tees and has a rating of 70.2.
The Palmetto Dunes Golf Academy provides a variety of programs throughout the year to help golfers improve their game and maximize their potential on the course
Tennis
The internationally-acclaimed Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center features 23 clay courts and two Nova ProBounce courts, eight of which are lighted for night play. The tennis center offers a full schedule of seasonal activities, instructional programs and daily round robin tournaments, as well as the ever-popular Monday Night Tennis Exhibition.
Palmetto Dunes’ 11 miles of connecting lagoon systems are great for kayaking and guided tours, which are offered on a complementary basis by the community’s naturalist. Nature loves, bikers and runners also have miles of scenic, tranquil trails available.
Marina
Shelter Cove Marina is located just off the Intracoastal Waterway, overlooking the wide reaches of Broad Creek. The picturesque marina features Hilton Head Island’s largest deep-water yacht basin: a 15.5-acre marina with 170 boat slips for boats up to 135 feet in length. Every conceivable water sport may be enjoyed here, from deep-sea and in-shore fishing charters to sport crabbing, sail and power boat rentals, sightseeing/nature excursions and dinner cruises.
Entertainment
Shelter Cove Harbour offers year-round waterfront dining, shopping and entertainment, plus spectacular views of Broad Creek. This laid-back Mediterranean-style village combines the Island’s best shops, restaurants and waterfront activities in one dazzling location.
Shelter Cove Harbour is also the home of a towering 12-foot bronze statue of Neptune, which doubles as a large-than-life sundial. When the trident’s shadow falls across the 26-foot wide base, the numbers indicate the precise time. Hailed as the world’s largest figurative sundial, the statue was originally cast at a foundry in Princeton, New Jersey and shipped by truck to Hilton Head Island in 1983.
