Fort Moultrie
Park
31 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fort Moultrie Quartermaster and Support Facilities Historic District · Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Sullivan's Island
12% of Sullivan's Island’s land is conserved: 187 acres
3.6 miles of mapped trail cross Sullivan's Island, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Fort Moultrie (1.5 mi). 40 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
187 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.6 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
40 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
12 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sullivan's Island?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sullivan's Island have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sullivan's Island is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sullivan's Island’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (40 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13BParks close to home76% of residents within a half mile of a park · SC 52% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 85%
LessMore
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Sullivan's Island’s 12% is ahead of 94% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
Water is 27% of Sullivan's Island’s area (1 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Fort Moultrie, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
United States Coast Guard Historic District
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
187 conserved acres
12% of Sullivan's Island’s land. Water is left out: Sullivan's Island has 2.5 square miles of land and 0.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Sullivan's Island’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service82 ac
Town or city74 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land53 ac
State natural resources29 ac
Local Conservation Area · 70 acConservation Easement · 53 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 51 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 31 acState Other or Unknown · 29 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 53 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan's Island Sand Dunes Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 70 | Restricted |
| Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 31 | Restricted |
| South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Marshland 1 State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 29 | Open |
| Pard Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Poe Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Sullivan's Island
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sullivan's Island
12 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Sullivan's Island
8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Sullivan's Island
Station 26 Boat Landing
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Sullivan's Island
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Sullivan's Island
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Station 270.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
8Tennis
5Basketball
2Beach volleyball
1Soccer
1Volleyball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
U.S. Coast Guard Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About itBattery GadsdenStructure · listed 1974
About itBattery ThomsonStructure · listed 1974
About itDr. John B. Patrick HouseBuilding · listed 1995
About itFort Moultrie Quartermaster and Support Facilities Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itMoultrieville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itSullivan's Island Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itAtlanticville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itFort Sumter National MonumentDistrict · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Sullivan's Island: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 61 | 67 | 74 | 81 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 84 | 77 | 68 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 6.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sullivan's Island →
Next door
Sullivan's Island and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan's Island | 12% | 1.4 | 19 | 76% | A |
| Mount Pleasant | 10% | 0.8 | 26 | 55% | A− |
| Isle of Palms | 1% | 1.8 | 5 | 36% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sullivan's Island
Where can I hike in Sullivan's Island?
The longest trail networks: Fort Moultrie, 1.5 miles; J. Marshall Stith Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sullivan's Island is conserved land?
12% of its land, against a typical 1% for a South Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Sullivan's Island’s trails?
Fort Moultrie and J. Marshall Stith Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sullivan's Island?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Sullivan's Island?
7,510 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sullivan's Island or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 69 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sullivan's Island have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Sullivan's Island neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →