Here’s a fun family bike ride suggestion: the I-Spy-a-Critter Bike Ride on Hilton Head Is.

This creature feature ride is a 10-mile route perfect for kids because it’s a treasure hunt for the island’s collection of permanent “creatures” – an alligator statue, a peacock stained glass window, a giant pelican, dolphin door, heron and horse statue as well as a few live critters – a trio of macaws, a Clydesdale, ponies, goats and a deer.

To make the bike safari adventure semi-educational, have your little ones complete the nature rhymes we paired with “animal” sightings. Check out the ride here:

Crabbing with kids to catch Carolina Blue Crabs can be comical and tends to require less skill than fishing.

What you need:

a bucket, a crab net (available at any hardware store or bait shop), 10- to 12-feet of sturdy string with a chicken neck attached above a two-ounce sinker.

What to do:

Cut the line about ten to twelve feet, add a sinker, then a chicken neck for bait. Leave the end with the chicken in the water, and patiently wait. You’ll see the crab nibbling on your line. Once the crab grabs, pull the line in with the crab on it and scoop it into the bucket

Where to crab

A pier, sea wall, sea shore, or dock. Crabs will be closer to shore in murky water and a bit farther out in clear water. You can crab from shore if there is no wave action.  Our suggestions include:

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge
Harris Neck Road (Highway 131)
Off U.S. Highway 17 between Eulonia and Darien in McIntosh County, GA (From I-95, take Exit 67)
www.fws.gov/harrisneck/

South Beach, Hilton Head Is.
Located at the “toe” of the island near the South Beach marina, is the Calibogue beach. There is no public parking, so it’s best to walk or bike from South Beach Marina parking lot.

Rules

There is a minimum size for “keepers”: five inches wide point to point to keep.  You may not keep a female carrying eggs (an orange spongy mass on their underside).

My son is still talking about the pony ride he took on “Cookie” last week at Lawton Stables on Hilton Head Island. And the goats he feed; as well as the llama, bunnies, sheep, chickens, turtles, roosters, donkeys, miniature ponies and trail horses he visited at Lawton’s FREE animal petting farm.

Pony rides for children ages 7 and younger are $10.

Kids can also pet and feed a friendly retired Clydesdale, Harley, at the stables, located inside Sea Pines Resort. Don’t let the gates at the Sea Pines entrance keep you from visiting. You don’t have to be staying at Sea Pines to visit Lawton Stables. It’s open to the public. Entrance to Sea Pines is $6 per car.

Lawton Stables also has a gift shop with horse-related items and a coin-operated horse for kids too young for the pony experience. Lawton also hosts kids’ horse-themed birthday parties and offers horse trail rides and carriage rides.

Click here for more info.

Butterfly kisses were my 2-year-old son’s main objective during a recent visit to the Karen Wertheimer
Butterfly Enclosure on Hilton Head Island. He was all about trying to touch a swallowtail to find out if they really felt like eyelashes fluttering on his cheek. Fortunately for the butterflies, he wasn’t quick enough.

The butterfly habitat is a treat for kids. The small screened enclosure includes a variety of butterflies as well as nectar plants to feed the butterflies and host plants to feed the butterfly larvae.

Kids can see a live caterpillar and see butterflies in all four stages of their metamorphosis up close.

The habitat is at the Coastal Discovery Museum in Honey Horn Plantation on Hilton Head Is, which also has other children’s activities. For the butterfly habitat’s hours click here. 

Visiting the habitat is FREE. $3 museum donations are suggested.

There’s also a weekly Butterfly Discovery Tour, a guided tour through the butterfly enclosure to get up close and personal with native butterflies. Kids learn about the different stages of a butterfly’s life cycle, see a living caterpillar and a chrysalis. Museum guides also share how to help butterflies survive and thrive and also explain their adaptations and characteristics. Reservations suggested. 843-689-6767 ext 223.

Click here for more info about Hilton Head Island’s butterfly habitat.

If you’re planning a day trip to Hilton Head Is. from the Savannah area, visiting the butterfly enclosure won’t take up too much time. It’s a good kids’ activity to pair with a visit to the Sandbox Interactive Children’s Museum or to the animal farm at Lawton Stables, which also has horseback riding, pony rides, birthday parties, trail rides and more. All of which make up a great outing for Savannah moms groups.