Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Charleston. The island is named after Captain William Hilton, who in 1663 identified a headland near the edit to Port Royal Sound, which mapmakers named “Hilton’s Headland.” The island features 12 miles (19 km) of beachfront upon the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular trip destination. In 2004, an estimated 2.25 million visitors infused more than $1.5 billion into the local economy. The year-round population was 37,661 at the 2020 census, although during the pinnacle of summer trip season the population can adjoin to 150,000. Hilton Head Island is the largest city within the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 215,908 in 2020.

The island has a rich history that started in the vent of seasonal leisure interest by Native Americans thousands of years ago and continued afterward European exploration and the Sea Island Cotton trade. It became an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports during the Civil War. Once the island fell to Union troops, hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head, which is still house to many of their descendants, who are known as the Gullah (or Geechee). They have managed to hold upon to much of their ethnic and cultural identity.

The Town of Hilton Head Island incorporated as a municipality in 1983 and is skillfully known for its eco-friendly development. The town’s Natural Resources Division enforces the Land Management Ordinance which minimizes the impact of innovation and governs the style of buildings and how they are situated between existing trees. As a result, Hilton Head Island enjoys an unfamiliar amount of tree lid relative to the amount of development. Approximately 70% of the island, including most of the tourist areas, is located inside gated communities. However, the town maintains several public seashore access points, including one for the exclusive use of town residents, who have approved several multimillion-dollar land-buying grip referendums to control commercial growth.

Hilton Head Island offers an unfamiliar number of cultural opportunities for a community its size, including plays at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, the 120-member full chorus of the Hilton Head Choral Society, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, an annual outdoor, tented wine tasting event on the east coast, and several additional annual community festivals. It then hosts the RBC Heritage, a PGA Tour tournament played on the Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines Resort.