On Monday afternoon, Beaufort County issued a widely-circulated press release stating that they were reopening public access to beaches and waterways for recreation and fishing at noon on Tuesday, in accordance with S.C. Gov. McMaster’s Monday afternoon order. This included The Sands in Port Royal, along with several other locations in both northern and southern Beaufort County. On Tuesday at noon, folks learned that the Sands Beach in Port Royal to remain closed.
Noon on Tuesday found a handful of folks visiting The Sands with chairs in tow, and Port Royal Police Department was there to kindly let folks know that the beach will still remain closed until further notice.
One officer was seen walking along the beach telling visitors that it has not reopened, and asked them to leave.
“The town decided to not open the beach,” one police officer told us. “If we were to reopen, we would be the only one and everyone would come. We just don’t have the manpower to handle that,” the officer said.
Port Royal Town Council is meeting to decide what to do about reopening The Sands to public access. A decision is expected to be made on Tuesday.
So, for now, The Sands and its adjacent boardwalk will remain closed to public access, but other locations may be open today, as we await the decision from Port Royal officials.
