Best Things to Do on Daufuskie Island

Violent battles gave this spot its gory name, but the real interest lies in its unique look. This lighthouse is not the typical tall, cylindrical tower with a bright beam at its top that you’re likely picturing. The structure that houses the museum today looks like a regular residential cottage; it was the keeper’s quarters and one half of a two-light warning system. When operational, a windowed dormer on the back side was opened to expose a reflector lens. It shone in the direction of the second half of the system, a metal tower, also outfitted with a lens. Ships lined the two lights up to safely navigate the channel at the south of the island. Also on site is the diminutive Silver Dew Winery that turns the native scuppernong grape into sweet vino.

After giving up a career in real estate to pursue the simple life on Daufuskie, Chase Allen began his second career as an artist. At his studio and gallery off one of Daufuskie’s many dirt roads, you can often find him working, welding and bending metal to create fanciful sea creatures like mermaids and stingrays. When he’s not around, you can still check out his art in the outdoor gallery, and even take some home. The items are all available for purchase via an honor system.

In the old Mary Fields School building, two female friends are using island-grown indigo to hand-dye scarves, tees and other textiles into a range of beautiful blues, harkening back to the prominence of indigo on the island more than a century ago. You can see some of their work in progress when you visit and buy finished items.

Daufuskie may be small, but it’s bursting with Lowcountry history, including well-preserved, National Historic Landmark-listed pieces of Gullah and oyster-culture heritage. A look around led by the knowledgeable guides of Tour Daufuskie is well worth a few hours’ time.

Learn the prominent role that Sea Island cotton (a valued strain unique to the area) and indigo crops played in the island’s past on a tour from sixth-generation island native Sallie Ann Robinson. Discover how the island’s isolation allowed the distinct Gullah culture to take root and flourish among freed slaves after the Civil War. And see how oysters replaced cotton as the island’s important industry. Highlights include the 1930s Mary Fields School (currently home to Daufuskie Blues and School Grounds Coffee) where writer Pat Conroy taught in the 1970s; his novel “The Water Is Wide” is based on his time there. And keep a lookout for glimpses of the “haint blue” paint color decorating many current Gullah homes, a cherished tradition meant to keep evil spirits at bay.

This new restaurant opened in July 2022 and serves local seafood, grilled or blackened, piled high on a plate or overflowing from a po’ boy bun. Dive into your meal at a table outside under an oak’s shade. While main-course portions are filling, don’t forgo the comfort-food starters and sides – boiled peanuts, smoky pimento cheese, collard greens and potato salad.

Pizza and hearty sandwiches are the main offerings at this combo general store and café. The Dirty Birdie sammy is a fab fowl creation of roasted turkey and pesto-laced cream cheese rolled into a toasted flour tortilla.

Locally caught crab is the star on most of the island’s menus. That’s certainly the case at Daufuskie Island Crab Co., where folks pack the large waterfront deck to feast on deviled crab and sip Scrap Iron cocktails, the island’s unofficial signature drink. Watch out: Imbibe one too many, and the deck’s steps will reach out and trip you.

For a morning jolt or afternoon pick-me-up to fuel more sightseeing, pop in this coffee shop housed in part of the historic Mary Fields School. Grab a cup of joe for sure, but don’t skip the baked treat of the day: hot-from-the-oven lemon cookies, pound cake, muffins and more. Don’t want coffee? Try a frozen lemonade or a bourbon maple pecan milkshake.

Fully embracing the “island life” vibe, this rum distillery is handcrafting seven varieties of rum, with the entire process taking place onsite and using all-American-made equipment and ingredients. It’s also turning out a blueberry-lavender vodka and even a smooth-sippin’ bourbon.

This swank yet sans-snobbery gated community and club occupying one end of the island invites you to be a golf or equestrian member “for a day.” These discovery visits include accommodations in a lovely historic house turned into a four-room inn on the property, a round of golf or a horseback experience, ferry passage to and from the island (from Hilton Head) and a golf cart to use during your stay. Haig Point is also home to the second of the island’s lighthouses, this one constructed in the 1870s.