Twenty one miles southwest of Charleston stretches perhaps the most spectacular and lush resort ever established on a barrier island.
Kiawah Island is a private resort and preserve hosting people from around the globe while remaining home to 18 species of mammals and more than 140 species of birds. Its maritime forest is dominated by oak, palmetto, pines, hickory, sweetgum, magnolia, redbay, sassafras, wax myrtle and yaupon holly in the lower understory and sea oats along the dunes.
The Island
Kiawah Island has over 10 miles of uninterrupted white sand beach that protects our Atlantic shoreline and is often 100 yards wide at low tide. Kiawah sits at the junction point of the Kiawah and Stono Rivers and the Intracoastal Waterway, giving the island one of the largest and most diverse estuary systems along the South Carolina coast. Forty-five miles of high-land edge lagoons, marshes, fresh water estuaries and over 65 ponds and lagoons that dot the island make Kiawah a nature lover's paradise.
History
Named for the Kiawah (KEE-a-wah) Indians, who inhabited the island through the 1500s, this 10,000-acre island paradise is now home to the Kiawah Island Resort, a 4 Diamond with an exclusive residential development that has won nearly every award available for beauty and environmental sensitivity.
Lifestyle
Kiawah is a natural beauty. Carefully and thoughtfully planned, as lush as it has always been, the island offers relaxation, recreation and privacy. Having escaped the wind and water of Hugo, Kiawah is the vision of what a Carolina barrier island should be. Live Oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. Palmettos swaying in the ocean breeze. Beautifully manicured lawns edged with Azaleas.
Visitors and transplanted residents come to Kiawah to sit on the beach, to play tennis, golf or just relax. Six courses make this a golfer's paradise.
Kiawah's reputation as a world-class golf and tennis resort is evident by the standard of instruction on hand at both sports' learning centers. Improvement at either game's technique significantly increases enjoyment of a vacation. Alternatively, a day spent on the beach with service, or at one of the resort pools, is equally appetizing.
Kiawah Villas, Cottages, Condos, and Townhomes:
Beach Townhomes
Courtside Villas
Dunside Villas I & II
Fairway Oaks Villas
Greenslake Cottages
Inlet Cove Cottages
Night Heron cottages
Mariners Watch Villas
Oceanwoods Homes
Parkside Villas
Seascape Villas
Shipwatch Villas
Sparrow Pond Cottages
Tennis Club Villas
Turtle Cove Villas
Village at Turtle Beach
Windswept Villas
Attractions
West Beach Village features include an Inn with restaurants and lounges, villas, cottages, home accommodations and meeting facilities. This area also features Straw Market shops and restaurant, Cougar Point Golf Course and the West Beach Racquet Club with 16 courts and a pro shop.
East Beach Village features include: villa, cottage, and home accommodations; Turtle Point Golf Course and pro shop; The East Beach Tennis Center with 12 courts, an automated practice court and pro shop; The Indigo House restaurant; and the East Beach Conference Center and Town Center with food court and sundries market.
Night Heron Park is a 21-acre preserve highlighted by an Olympic-size swimming pool, fitness trails, basketball and volleyball courts, a children's playground and soccer field.
Amenities
The longest stretch of sand on the Charleston Coast, home to sunbathers and sea turtles alike
Weekly cookouts and other special events make the Park a center for family fun. Nearby is an ocean access path with an observation deck and bathhouse.
Everything from gourmet to casual outdoor dining in five restaurants
Shopping includes The Straw Market shops at West Beach, the various golf and tennis pro shops, the General Store, Town Center Market at East Beach and much more on nearby Johns Island.
Sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking, deep sea charters, tidal and fresh water fishing, and of course, crabbing and shrimping
More than 30 miles of paved bike trails
Other activities include Summer Youth Recreation Program (ages 4-17) supervised by trained counselors; the Kiawah Kollege Program (all ages) conducts salt marsh and beach participation tours led by naturalists; the Kiawah Island Marathon; the Kiawah Island Road Race; Spring and Fall concerts by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra; Summer festivals at Night Heron Park and traditional holiday activities.
Golf Courses
The quintessential golf resort, Kiawah's variety of seaside courses is comparable to that of Pebble Beach and the Monterey Peninsula.
The Ocean Course, designed by Pete Dye and located at Kiawah's eastern tip, features 18 holes, none of which is more than a parallel hole away from the ocean. Currently ranked #3 among resort courses by Golf Digest, The Ocean Course played host to the 1991 Ryder Cup matches and the 1997 World Cup of Golf.
Osprey Point, designed by Tom Fazio, is built around four natural lakes and is ranked 54th among resort courses by Golf Digest.
Turtle Point has three ocean holes and was designed by Jack Nicklaus.
Cougar Point, designed by Gary Player, has water on 13 holes.
Oak Point, located a mile outside Kiawah's outer gate and recently purchased by the resort, is a marsh course designed by Clyde Johnson and is ranked among the top 50 venues in South Carolina by readers of Golf Week.
The River Course, the island's only private course, was designed by Tom Fazio and built within the most historically significant area of the Island, known as the Settlement.
Tom Watson's new Cassique reminds world travelers of a classic Scottish linkside course.
Tennis
Ranked #3 on Tennis Magazine's list of Top 50 Greatest U.S. Tennis Resorts, these facilities include 23 Har-Tru courts, five hard courts, pro shop and the best instruction available.