US-278 Scenic Highway 278
US-278 Scenic Highway is a State Scenic Byway in South Carolina. Within South Carolina it covers roughly 24 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along US-278 Scenic Highway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
US-278 Scenic Highway carries travelers across South Carolina's Lowcountry from Hardeeville through Bluffton and Okatie on the approach to Hilton Head Island. The full highway runs 146 miles from North Augusta to the coast, but its scenic character is most pronounced in this eastern stretch through Jasper and Beaufort counties, where marsh, tidal creek, and maritime forest replace the inland pine flatwoods found further west. Nearing the coast, the road skirts the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, a former plantation now managed for wading birds, alligators, and deer, before crossing the causeway that carries the same corridor into the officially designated Hilton Head Island Scenic Byway segment. Development has intensified steadily along this stretch as Bluffton and Okatie have grown into some of the Lowcountry's fastest-growing communities, though wetland buffers and tree cover still frame much of the drive. Travelers heading to Hilton Head experience this approach as a gradual shift from rural Lowcountry crossroads to resort-driven coastal development.
- Hardeeville to Okatie/Bluffton
- US 278, 146 miles overall
- Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
- approach to Hilton Head Island
- Jasper and Beaufort counties
- connects to Hilton Head Scenic Highway
Plan a drive on US-278 Scenic Highway →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along US-278 Scenic Highway
1 campground or RV park sits within about 5 miles of US-278 Scenic Highway.
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