Hilton Head Poetry Trail

Hilton Head Poetry Trail Sharing Poems and Meeting Poets on HHI Well first, it’s all about the poets. Did you know Hilton Head Island is packed with poets? Come on in! Meet us!

Award-winning, multi-published, open mic slammin’ all-around jammin’ actual poets? We’ve got a trail of reading just for you. If you are here, you have found one such poet. What number was it? Where did you find it? Because whoever you found, there are 23 more across the island! Second, it’s all about cool ways to see our island! The idea came about as a marriage of technology, creative writing, p

ublic art, and arts-minded businesses. It’s a new way to see Hilton Head Island: through the eyes of the poets who live here. Confused, wondering What is it? as you stare at the huge sculpture Carocol in Shelter Cove Park? Scan the trail sign and Elizabeth Abrams gives you one interpretation with “O’Keefe’s Woody Orchid.” It’s the kind of collaboration that makes the arts an experience. Third, it’s all about collaboration! The project is a partnership between the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the Island Writers’ Network. Restaurants and art shops and theaters and historic spots are involved, and the poems just add to their stories. Here are some of our poetry hosts:
HHI Sculpture Installations Picture This Gallery
Rollers Gullah Museum
Tio’s Arts Center
Redfish HHSO Sound Waves
And some of the poets: Elizabeth Robin, Miho Kinnas, Phil Lindsey, Barry Dickson, Lola Campbell, Sofia Segura, Bill Borg, Bill Newby, Denise Spencer, LuAnn Winkle

And finally, it’s all about keeping it fresh. Every season of the year, the poems at most stops will be switched out for others. As we said, we’re packed with poets, so we’ll swap out poems regularly so that you can meet all of them. Plus, that reading trail will keep changing, so you can visit again and again and it will always feel new. How does it work? Along the trail are easy-to-find, numbered signs containing two QR codes. One takes you to a poem written by a poet living in the area, plus bonus information about that poet. The other takes you to the trail’s page, where you can find the entire route. There, you can plan a full tour, or comment on the poem, the art, or the business you visited along the way. Scanning the sign allows the Office of Cultural Affairs to track traffic, key data that helps direct new projects in our arts community.

Sometimes life is for the birds . . . #27 awaits!
03/05/2026

Sometimes life is for the birds . . .
#27 awaits!





Pip checks out our new Hilton Head Poetry Trail site, #27. The sign has been delivered and will be placed Monday. Any g...
02/25/2026

Pip checks out our new Hilton Head Poetry Trail site, #27. The sign has been delivered and will be placed Monday.

Any guesses on location?





IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR . . . WHEN THE CLOCKS CHANGE, SO DO THE POEMS . . . THIRTEEN TO BE EXACT!Poppies is stop #11 and...
11/06/2025

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR . . . WHEN THE CLOCKS CHANGE, SO DO THE POEMS . . . THIRTEEN TO BE EXACT!

Poppies is stop #11 and about to have a new poem by a Beaufort poet on the trail for the first time. Come meet her!





This! Happy Trails!
10/09/2025

This! Happy Trails!

Phil Lindsey offers a photo op.His poem lives on The Loggerhead Express.
07/07/2025

Phil Lindsey offers a photo op.
His poem lives on The Loggerhead Express.





Have you spotted The Loggerhead Express yet? It's running the south end, and it's FREE! Inside, meet 4 poems that celebr...
07/07/2025

Have you spotted The Loggerhead Express yet? It's running the south end, and it's FREE! Inside, meet 4 poems that celebrate our lowcountry critters. The Hilton Head Poetry Trail is in motion!




07/01/2025

BIG NEWS!

A new segment of the Hilton Head Poetry Trail is Poetry in Motion, short poems posted inside all the Breeze Trolleys. A free ride and a free read!

All aboard!

06/21/2025
Walk the loop along Broad Creek past Veterans Memorial and find these beautiful panels by Dana Montlack AND the newest s...
06/08/2025

Walk the loop along Broad Creek past Veterans Memorial and find these beautiful panels by Dana Montlack AND the newest stop, #26 on our trail. Meet Dana's cousin Jill Bialosky, an accomplished poet there.



06/07/2025

Welcome to the Hilton Head Poetry Trail

05/17/2025

At Poetry Trail stop 11 at the Veteran's Memorial Park behind the Shelter Cove area this soldier sits as a reminder of the sacifices made by men like him over the years. We have found a way for the soldier to tell us the "Flanders Fields" poem

05/08/2025

NEW POEMS ARE UP!!
5 NEW POETS!
Return to the trail and enjoy our spring refresh, including "Free Beer" at Rollers and "True Red" at Caracol. We have showcased 38 local poets on the trail so far.




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