Moon Coastal Carolinas
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The Angel Oak on Johns Island is said to be over 1,000 years old.
Here is also where you’ll find Legare Farms (2620 Hanscombe Point Rd., 843/559-0763, www.legarefarms.com), open to the public for various activities, including its annual pumpkin patch in October, its “sweet corn” festival in June, and bird walks (Sat. 8:30am, $6 adults, $3 children) in fall. To make the 20-minute drive from downtown Charleston, take Highway 30 West to Maybank Highway, then a left onto River Road and a right onto Jenkins Farm Road.
If you find your tummy growling on Johns Island, there are several unpretentious but absolutely superb places to get a bite, which draw fans from all around the region.
S Fat Hen (3140 Maybank Hwy., 843/559-9090, Tues.-Sat. 11:30am-3pm and 5:30pm-10pm, Sun. 10am-3pm, $15-20) is a self-styled “country French bistro” begun by a couple of old Charleston restaurant hands. The fried oysters are a particular specialty. There’s also a bar menu for late-night hours (10pm-2am).
If barbecue is more your thing, head straight to S JB’s Smokeshack (3406 Maybank Hwy., 843/557-0426, www.jbssmokeshack.com, Wed.-Sat. 11am-8:30pm, $8), one of the best ’cue joints in the Lowcountry. They offer a buffet for $8.88 per person ($5 under age 11), or you can opt for a barbecue plate, including hash, rice, and two sides. In a nice twist, the plates include a three-meat option: pork, chicken, ribs, or brisket.
For a hearty and delicious breakfast, go to S Sunrise Bistro (1797 Main Rd., 843/718-1858, www.sunrise-bistro.com, Tues.-Sat. 7am-2:30pm, breakfast menu ’til 11:30am, Sunday brunch 9am-1pm, $8-10), one of those unassuming diners that always seems to have an eager crowd. Everything, from the omelets to the pancakes down to the simplest bagel with coffee, is spot-on, and a great value to boot. They’re now offering dinner Fri.-Sat. 5pm-9pm, but the best offerings here are during the day.
Wadmalaw Island
Like Johns Island, Wadmalaw Island is one of those lazy, scenic areas gradually becoming subsumed within Charleston’s growth. That said, there’s plenty of meandering, laid-back beauty to enjoy, and a couple of interesting sights.
Currently owned by the R. C. Bigelow Tea corporation, the Charleston Tea Plantation (6617 Maybank Hwy., 843/559-0383, www.charlestonteaplantation.com, Mon.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. noon-4pm, free) is no cute living-history exhibit: It’s a big, working tea plantation—the only one in the United States—with acre after acre of Camellia sinensis being worked by modern farm machinery. Visitors get to see a sample of how the tea is made, “from the field to the cup.” Factory tours are free, and a trolley tour of the “Back 40” is $10. And, of course, there’s a gift shop where you can sample and buy all types of teas and tea-related products. Growing season is April-October. The tea bushes, direct descendants of plants brought over in the 1800s from India and China, “flush up” 2-3 inches every few weeks during growing season. Charleston Tea Plantation is about 30 minutes from Charleston. Take the Ashley River Bridge, stay left to Folly Road (Hwy. 171), turn right onto Maybank Highway for 18 miles, and look for the sign on the left.
The muscadine grape is the only varietal that dependably grows in South Carolina. That said, the state has several good wineries, among them Wadmalaw’s own Irvin House Vineyard (6775 Bears Bluff Rd., 843/559-6867, www.charlestonwine.com, Thurs.-Sat. 10am-5pm), the Charleston area’s only vineyard. Jim Irvin, a Kentucky boy, and his wife, Anne, a Johns Island native, make several varieties of muscadine wine here, with tastings and a gift shop. They also give free tours of the 50-acre grounds every Saturday at 2pm. There’s a Grape-Stomping Festival at the end of each August ($5/car). Also on the Irvin Vineyard grounds you’ll find Firefly Distillery (6775 Bears Bluff Rd., 843/559-6867, www.fireflyvodka.com), home of their signature Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. They offer tastings (Feb.-Dec. Wed.-Sat. 11am-5pm, $6/tasting). To get here from Charleston, go west on Maybank Highway about 10 miles to Bears Bluff Road, veering right. The vineyard entrance is on the left after about eight miles.
Kiawah Island
This beautiful island with a beautiful beach to match—about 45 minutes away from downtown Charleston—has as its main attraction the sumptuous S Kiawah Island Golf Resort (12 Kiawah Beach Dr., 800/654-2924, www.kiawahgolf.com, $600-800), a key location for PGA tournaments. But even if you don’t play golf, the resort is an amazing stay. The main component is The Sanctuary, an upscale hotel featuring an opulent lobby complete with grand staircases, a large pool area overlooking the beach, tasteful Spanish Colonial-style architecture, and 255 smallish but excellently appointed guest rooms.
Several smaller private, family-friendly resorts also exist on Kiawah, with fully furnished homes and villas and every amenity you could ask for. Go to www.explorekiawah.com for a full range of options or call 800/877-0837.
Only one facility for the general public exists on Kiawah Island, the Kiawah Island Beachwalker Park (843/768-2395, www.ccprc.com, Nov.-Feb. 10am-5pm, Mar.-Apr. and Sept.-Oct. 10am-6pm, May-Labor Day 9am-7pm., $7 per vehicle, free for pedestrians and cyclists). Get here from downtown Charleston by taking Lockwood Drive onto the Highway 30 Connector bridge over the Ashley River. Turn right onto Folly Road, then left onto Maybank Highway. After about 20 minutes, take a left onto Bohicket Road, which leads to Kiawah in 14 miles. Turn left from Bohicket Road onto the Kiawah Island Parkway. Just before the security gate, turn right on Beachwalker Drive and follow the signs to the park.
Through the efforts of the Kiawah Island Conservancy (23 Beachwalker Dr., 843/768-2029, www.kiawahconservancy.org), over 300 acres of the island have been kept as an undeveloped nature preserve. The island’s famous bobcat population has made quite a comeback, with somewhere between 24 and 36 animals currently active. The bobcats are vital to the island ecosystem, since as top predator they help cull what would otherwise become untenably large populations of deer and rabbit.
The beach at Kiawah is a particular delight, set as it is on such a comparatively undeveloped island. No matter where you stay on Kiawah, a great thing about the island is the notable lack of light pollution—don’t forget to look up at night and enjoy the stars!
Seabrook Island
Like its neighbor Kiawah, Seabrook Island is also a private resort-dominated island. In addition to offering miles of beautiful beaches, on its 2,200 acres are a wide variety of golfing, tennis, equestrian, and swimming facilities as well as extensive dining and shopping options. There are also a lot of kids’ activities as well. For information on lodging options and packages, go to www.seabrook.com or call 866/249-9934. Seabrook Island is about 45 minutes from Charleston. From downtown, take Highway 30 West to Maybank Highway, then a left onto Cherry Point Road.
horseback riding on Hunting Island
South Carolina Lowcountry
HIGHLIGHTS
PLANNING YOUR TIME
Beaufort
HISTORY
SIGHTS
ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS
SHOPPING
SPORTS AND RECREATION
ACCOMMODATIONS
FOOD
INFORMATION AND SERVICES
TRANSPORTATION
Outside Beaufort
SIGHTS
Edisto Island
S EDISTO BEACH STATE PARK
OTHER SIGHTS
TOURS
SPORTS AND RECREATION
SHOPPING
ACCOMMODATIONS
FOOD
TRANSPORTATION
Hilton Head Island
HISTORY
SIGHTS
ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS
SHOPPING
SPORTS AND RECREATION
ACCOMMODATIONS
FOOD
INFORMATION AND SERVICES
TRANSPORTATION
Bluffton and Daufuskie Island
S OLD BLUFFTON
SHOPPING
SPORTS AND RECREATION
ACCOMMODATIONS
FOOD
TRANSPORTATION
DAUFUSKIE ISLAND
Points Inland
WALTERBORO
HAR
DEEVILLE
SAVANNAH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Hilton Head Island.
Highlights
Look for S to find recommended sights, activities, dining, and lodging.
S Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park: Walk the dog or while away the time on a porch swing at this clean and inviting gathering place on the serene Beaufort River (click here).
S St. Helena’s Episcopal Church: To walk through this Beaufort sanctuary and its walled graveyard is to walk through Lowcountry history (click here).
S Penn Center: Not only the center of modern Gullah culture and education, this is a key site in the history of the civil rights movement as well (click here).
S Hunting Island State Park: One of the most peaceful natural getaways on the East Coast, but only minutes away from the more civilized temptations of Beaufort (click here).
S ACE Basin: It can take a lifetime to learn your way around this massive, marshy estuary—or just a few hours soaking in its lush beauty (click here).
S Edisto Beach State Park: Relax at this quiet, friendly, and relatively undeveloped Sea Island, a mecca for shell collectors (click here).
S Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge: This well-maintained sanctuary is a major birding location and a great getaway from nearby Hilton Head (click here).
S Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn: This beautifully repurposed plantation house and spacious grounds near the island’s entrance are a great way to learn about Hilton Head history, both human and natural (click here).
S Old Bluffton: Gossipy and gorgeous by turns, this charming village on the May River centers on a thriving artists colony (click here).
S South Carolina Artisans Center: Visual artists and fine craftspeople from all over the state contribute work to this high-quality collective in Walterboro (click here).
For many people around the world, the Lowcountry is the first image that comes to mind when they think of the American South.
For the people that live here, the Lowcountry is altogether unique, but it does embody many of the region’s most noteworthy qualities: an emphasis on manners, a constant look back into the past, and a slow and leisurely pace (embodied in the joking but largely accurate nickname “Slowcountry”).
History hangs in the humid air where first the Spanish came to interrupt the native tribes’ ancient reverie, followed by the French, and then the English. Although time, erosion, and development have erased most traces of these various occupants, you can almost hear their ghosts in the rustle of the branches in a sudden sea breeze, or in the piercing call of a heron over the marsh.
Artists and arts lovers the world over are drawn here to paint, photograph, or otherwise be inspired by some of the most gorgeous wetlands in the United States, so vast that human habitation appears fleeting and intermittent. Sprawling between Beaufort and Charleston is the huge ACE (Ashley, Combahee, Edisto) Basin, a beautiful and important estuary and a national model for good conservation practices. In all, the defining characteristic of the Lowcountry is its liquid nature—not only literally, in the creeks and waterways that dominate every vista and the seafood cooked in all manner of ways, but figuratively too, in the slow but deep quality of life here. Once outside what passes for urban areas, you’ll find yourself taking a look back through the decades to a time of roadside produce stands, shade-tree mechanics, and men fishing and crabbing on tidal creeks—not for sport but for the family dinner. Indeed, not so very long ago, before the influx of resort development, retirement subdivisions, and tourism, much of the Lowcountry was like a flatter, more humid Appalachia—poverty-stricken and desperately underserved. While the archetypal South has been marketed in any number of ways to the rest of the world, here you get a sense that this is the real thing—timeless, endlessly alluring, but somehow very familiar.
PLANNING YOUR TIME
A common-sense game plan is to use centrally located Beaufort as a home base. South of Beaufort is the historically significant Port Royal area and the East Coast Marine Corps Recruit Depot of Parris Island. East of Beaufort is the center of Gullah culture, St. Helena Island, and the scenic gem of Hunting Island. To the south is the scenic but entirely developed golf and tennis mecca, Hilton Head Island, and Hilton Head’s close neighbor but diametrical opposite in every other way, Daufuskie Island, another important Gullah center. Nestled between is the close-knit and gossipy little village of Bluffton on the gossamer May River.
Take at least half a day of leisure to walk all over Beaufort. Another full day should go to St. Helena’s Penn Center and on to Hunting Island. If you’re in the mood for a road trip, dedicate a full day to tour the surrounding area to the north and northeast, with a jaunt to the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge. While the New York accents fly fast and furious on Hilton Head Island, that’s no reason for you to rush. Plan on at least half a day just to enjoy the fine, broad beaches alone. I recommend another half day to tour the island itself, maybe including a stop in Sea Pines for a late lunch or dinner.
Beaufort
Sandwiched halfway between the prouder, louder cities of Charleston and Savannah, Beaufort is in many ways a more authentic slice of life from the past than either of those two. Long a staple of movie crews seeking to portray some archetypal aspect of the old South (The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, Forrest Gump) or just to film beautiful scenery for its own sake (Jungle Book, Last Dance), Beaufort—pronounced “BYOO-fert,” by the way, not “BO-fort”—features many well-preserved examples of Southern architecture, most all of them in idyllic, family-friendly neighborhoods.
The pace in Beaufort is languid, slower even than the waving Spanish moss in the massive old live oak trees. The line between business and pleasure is a blurry one here. As you can tell from the signs you see on storefront doors saying things like “Back in an hour or so,” time is an entirely negotiable commodity. The architecture combines the relaxed Caribbean flavor of Charleston with the Anglophilic dignity of Savannah. In fact, plenty of people prefer the individualistic old homes of Beaufort, seemingly tailor-made for the exact spot on which they sit, to the historic districts of either Charleston or Savannah in terms of sheer architectural delight.
While you’ll run into plenty of charming and gracious locals during your time here, you might be surprised at the number of transplanted Northerners. That’s due not only to the high volume of retirees who’ve moved to the area but also the active presence of three major U.S. Navy facilities: the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on nearby Parris Island, and the Beaufort Naval Hospital. Many is the time a former sailor or Marine has decided to put down roots in the area after being stationed here, the most famous example being author Pat Conroy’s father, a.k.a. “The Great Santini.”
HISTORY
This was the site of the second landing by the Spanish on the North American continent, the expedition of Captain Pedro de Salazar in 1514 (Ponce de León’s more famous landing at St. Augustine was but a year earlier). A Spanish slaver made a brief stop in 1521, long enough to name the area Santa Elena. Port Royal Sound didn’t get its modern name until the first serious attempt at a permanent settlement, Jean Ribault’s exploration in 1562. Though ultimately disastrous, Ribault’s base of Charlesfort was the first French settlement in America.
After the French faded, Spaniards returned. But Indian attacks and Francis Drake’s attack on St. Augustine forced the Spanish to abandon the area in 1587. Within the next generation, British indigo planters had established a firm presence, chief among them John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell and Thomas Nairn. These men would go on to found the town of Beaufort, named for the Duke of Beaufort, and it was chartered in 1711 as part of the original Carolina colony. In 1776, Beaufort planter Thomas Heyward Jr. signed the Declaration of Independence. After independence, Lowcountry planters turned to cotton as the main cash crop, since England had been their prime customer for indigo. The gambit paid off, and Beaufort soon became one of the wealthiest towns in the new
nation. In 1861, only seven months after secessionists fired on Fort Sumter in nearby Charleston, a Union fleet sailed into Port Royal and occupied the Lowcountry for the duration of the war.
Gradually developing their own distinct dialect and culture, much of it linked to their West African roots, isolated Lowcountry African Americans became known as the Gullah. Evolving from an effort by abolitionist missionaries early in the Civil War, in 1864 the Penn School was formed on St. Helena Island specifically to teach the children of the Gullah communities. Now known as the Penn Center, the facility has been a beacon for the study of this aspect of African American culture ever since.
Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry
I was always your best subject, son. Your career took a nosedive after The Great Santini came out.
Colonel Donald Conroy, to his son Pat
Although born in Georgia, no other person is as closely associated with the South Carolina Lowcountry as author Pat Conroy. After moving around as a child in a military family, he began high school in Beaufort. His painful teen years there formed the basis of his first novel, a brutal portrait of his domineering Marine pilot father, Colonel Donald Conroy, a.k.a. Colonel Bull Meecham of The Great Santini (1976). Many scenes from the 1979 film adaptation were filmed at the famous Tidalholm, the Edgar Fripp House (1 Laurens St.), in Beaufort. (The house was also front and center in The Big Chill.)
Conroy’s pattern of thinly veiled autobiography actually began with his first book, the self-published The Boo, a tribute to a teacher at The Citadel in Charleston while Conroy was still a student there. His second work, The Water is Wide (1972), is a chronicle of his experiences teaching in a one-room African American school on Daufuskie Island. Though ostensibly a straightforward first-person journalistic effort, Conroy changed the location to the fictional Yamacraw Island, supposedly to protect Daufuskie’s fragile culture from curious outsiders. The 1974 film adaptation starring Jon Voight was titled Conrack after the way his students mispronounced his name. You can visit that same one-room school today on Daufuskie. Known as the Mary Field School, the building is now a local community center.