Damaged by Hurricane Ian, this popular S.C. state park set to re-open Thursday

As Hurricane Ian lashed the South Carolina coast on Friday, Huntington Beach State State Park was inundated by over three feet of seawater in places.

With the help of park staff, volunteers, and state park workers from across S.C. the popular Murrells Inlet attraction will reopen on Thursday.

Brenda Magers, park manager, said that wind damage was minimal inside the park, “It’s all been flooding,” she said, “that flood comes with a force.”

When the tidal marsh overtook the sea island it floated the many boardwalks that cross the marshes and give access to the beach. Some of those structures drifted off, others were dropped into unstable positions, and in the case of the long Nature Center pier that gives visitors 360-degree views of the salt marsh, totally broken and twisted. “It will probably be a total loss,” Mager’s said.

The Nature Center, a favorite stop for visitors to learn about animal life along the coast, was undamaged, as were all the other structures that sit atop stilts above the flood waters.

Atalaya, once home to Archer M. Huntington and his wife Anna Hyatt Huntington, was also undamaged. About twenty local volunteers helped rake up piles of debris that had been stacked against the historic building.

Magers said there has been a lot of concerned questions about the park’s well-known animals but she said that they are resilient creatures. The alligators, while maybe temporarily displaced, have strong homing instincts and will likely return to their home ponds. In fact, she said she saw one crossing her backyard yesterday heading towards the Mullet Pond. Birders will be happy to know that even the photogenic rosette spoonbills have already returned.

On Wednesday, teams of workers were busy re-building walkways, pulling debris from the marsh and cleaning picnic areas.

Magers said they were all determined to re-open on Thursday but warned that some areas might remain blocked to public access while repairs continue. She hoped that the camping area would be ready by Thursday as well but suggested campers contact the park through their website before arriving.

“Be patient and be kind to each other” she said, “we need to enter this recovery phase together.”