by Jim Morekis
Another popular public course is South Carolina National Golf Club (8 Waveland Ave., Cat Island, 843/524-0300, www.scnational.com, $70). Get to secluded Cat Island by taking the Sea Island Parkway onto Lady’s Island and continuing south as it turns into Lady’s Island Drive. Turn onto Island Causeway and continue for about three miles.
CAMPING
Hunting Island State Park (2555 Sea Island Pkwy., 866/345-7275, www.huntingisland.com, winter daily 6am-6pm, during daylight saving time daily 6am-9pm, $5 adults, $3 children, $25 RV sites, $19 tent sites, $87-172 cabin) has 200 campsites on the north end of the island, with individual water and electric hookups. There used to be plenty of cabins for rent, but beach erosion has sadly made the ones near the water uninhabitable. One cabin near the lighthouse is still available for rent, but it is in such high demand that the park encourages you to camp instead.
Another neat place to camp is Tuck in the Wood (22 Tuc In De Wood Ln., St. Helena, 843/838-2267, $25), a very well-maintained 74-site private campground just past the Penn Center on St. Helena Island.
Edisto Island
One of the last truly unspoiled places in the Lowcountry, Edisto Island has been highly regarded as a getaway spot since the Edisto people first started coming here for shellfish. In fact, locals here swear that the island was settled by English-speaking colonists even before Charleston was settled in 1670.
Now this barrier island, for the moment unthreatened by the encroachment of planned communities and private resorts so endemic to the Carolina coast, is a nice getaway for area residents in addition to being a great—if a little isolated—place to live for its 800 or so full-time residents, who operate on “Edisto Time,” with a mañana philosophy (i.e., it’ll get done when it gets done) that results in a mellow pace of life out in these parts.
S EDISTO BEACH STATE PARK
Edisto Beach State Park (8377 State Cabin Rd., 843/869-2156, www.southcarolinaparks.com, Nov.-mid-Mar. daily 8am-6pm, mid-Mar.-Oct. daily 6am-10pm, $5 adults, $3 children, free under age 6) is one of the world’s foremost destinations for shell collectors. Largely because of fresh loads of silt from the adjacent ACE Basin, there are always new specimens, many of them fossils, washing ashore. The park stretches almost three miles and features the state’s longest system of fully accessible hiking and biking trails, including one leading to a 4,000-year-old shell midden, now much eroded from past millennia. The new and particularly well-done interpretive center (Tues.-Sat. 9am-4pm) has plenty of interesting exhibits about the nature and history of the park as well as the surrounding ACE Basin.
Edisto Beach
OTHER SIGHTS
The Edisto Museum (8123 Chisolm Plantation Rd., 843/869-1954, www.edistomuseum.org, Tues.-Sat. noon-5pm, $5 adults, $2 children, free under age 10), a project of the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society, has recently expanded and incorporated a nearby slave cabin. Its well-done exhibits of local lore and history are complemented by a gift shop. The Edisto Museum is before you get to the main part of the island, off Highway 174.
Opened in 1999 by local snake-hunters the Clamp brothers, the Edisto Island Serpentarium (1374 Hwy. 174, 843/869-1171, www.edistoserpentarium.com, hours vary, $14.95 adults, $10.95 ages 4-12, free under age 3) is educational and fun, taking you up close and personal with a variety of reptilian creatures native to the area. They usually close Labor Day-April 30.
The Botany Bay Wildlife Management Area (www.preserveedisto.org, Wed.-Mon. dawn-dusk, free) is a great way to enjoy the unspoiled nature of Edisto Island. On the grounds of two former rice and indigo plantations comprising 4,000 acres, Botany Bay features several historic remains of the old plantations and a small, wonderful beach. There are no facilities to speak of, so pack and plan accordingly. Botany Bay is closed on hunt days, which vary depending on the hunting season but are fairly rare.
Botany Bay Wildlife Management Area
TOURS
Edisto has many beautiful plantation homes, relics of the island’s longtime role as host to cotton plantations. While all are in private hands and therefore off-limits to the public, an exception is offered through Edisto Island Tours & T’ings (843/869-9092, $20 adults, $10 under age 13). You’ll take a van tour around Edisto’s beautiful churches and old plantations.
SPORTS AND RECREATION
As the largest river of the ACE (Ashepoo, Combahee, Edisto) Basin complex, the Edisto River figures large in the lifestyle of residents and visitors. A good public landing is at Steamboat Creek off Highway 174 on the way down to the island. Take Steamboat Landing Road (Hwy. 968) from Highway 174 near the James Edwards School. Live Oak Landing is farther up Big Bay Creek near the interpretive center at the state park. The Edisto Marina (3702 Docksite Rd., 843/869-3504) is on the far west side of the island.
Captain Ron Elliott of Edisto Island Tours (843/869-1937) offers various ecotours and fishing trips as well as canoe and kayak rentals for about $25 per day. A typical kayak tour runs about $35 per person for a 1.5-2-hour trip, and he offers a “beachcombing” trip for $15 per person. Ugly Ducklin’ (843/869-1580) offers creek and inshore fishing charters. You can get gear as well as reserve boat and kayak tours of the entire area, including into the ACE Basin, at Edisto Watersports & Tackle (3731 Docksite Rd., 843/869-0663, www.edistowatersports.com). Their guided tours run about $30 per person, with a two-hour rental for about $20.
Riding a bike on Edisto Beach and all around the island is a great and relaxing way to get some exercise and enjoy its scenic, laid-back beauty. The best place to rent a bike—or a kayak or canoe, for that matter—is Island Bikes and Outfitters (140 Jungle Rd., 843/869-4444, Mon.-Sat. 9am-4pm). Bike rentals run about $16 per day; single kayaks are about $60 per day.
SHOPPING
Not only a convenient place to pick up odds and ends, the Edistonian Gift Shop & Gallery (406 Hwy. 174, 843/869-4466, daily 9am-7pm) is also an important landmark as the primary supply point before you get into the main part of town. Think of a really nice convenience store with an attached gift shop and you’ll get the picture.
For various ocean gear, try the Edisto Surf Shop (145 Jungle Rd., 843/869-9283, daily 9am-5pm). You can find whimsical Lowcountry-themed art for enjoyment or purchase at Fish or Cut Bait Gallery (142 Jungle Rd., 843/869-2511, www.fishorcutbaitgallery.com, Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm).
For fresh seafood, try Flowers Seafood Company (1914 Hwy. 174, 843/869-0033, Mon.-Sat. 9am-7pm, Sun. 9am-5pm).
ACCOMMODATIONS
A great thing about Edisto Island is the total absence of ugly chain lodging or beachfront condo development. My recommended option is to stay at Edisto Beach State Park (8377 State Cabin Rd., 843/869-2156, www.southcarolinaparks.com, $25 tent sites, $75-100 cabins) itself, either at a campsite on the Atlantic side or in a marsh-front cabin on the northern edge. During high season (Apr.-Nov.), there’s a minimum weeklong stay in the cabins; during the off-season, the minimum stay is two days. You can book cabins up to 11 months in advance.
If you want something a little more plush, there are rental homes galore on Edisto Island. Because of the aforementioned lack of hotels, this is the most popular option for most vacationers here—indeed, it’s just about the only option. Contact Edisto Sales and Rentals Realty (1405 Palmetto Blvd., 800/868-5398, www.edistorealty.com).
FOOD
One of the all-time great barbecue places in South Carolina is on Edisto: S Po Pigs Bo-B-Q (2410 Hwy. 174, 843/869-9003, Wed.-Sat. 11:30am-9pm, $4-10), on the way into town. This is the real thing, the full pig cooked in all its many ways: white meat, dark meat, cracklin’s, and hash, served in the local style of “all you care to eat.” Unlike many barbecue spots, they do serve beer and wine.
Another popular joint on the island is Whaley’s (2801 Myrtle St., 843/869-2161, Tues.-Sat. 11:30am-2pm and 5pm-9pm, bar daily 5pm-2am, $5-15), a down-home place in an old gas station a few blocks off the beach. This is a good place for casual seafood like boiled shrimp, washed down with a lot of beer. The bar is open seven days a week.
The legendary S Old Post Office (1442 Hwy. 174, 843/869-2339, www.theoldpostofficerestaurant.com, Tues.-Sun. 5:30pm-10pm, $20), has served a devoted clientele for 20 years, while thankfully keeping its old-school mystique intact. Specialties include fine crab cakes drizzled with mousseline sauce, the pecan-encrusted Veal Edistonian, and a Carolina rib eye topped with a pimiento cheese sauce.
TRANSPORTATION
Edisto Island is basically halfway between Beaufort and Charleston. There’s one main land route here, south on Highway 174 off U.S. 17. It’s a long way down from U.S. 17 to Edisto, but the 20-30-minute drive is scenic and enjoyable. Most activity on the island centers on the township of Edisto Beach, which voted to align itself with Colleton County for its lower taxes (the rest of Edisto Island is part of Charleston County).
Once in town, there are two main routes to keep in mind. Palmetto Boulevard runs parallel to the beach and is noteworthy for the lack of high-rise development so common in other beach areas of South Carolina. Jungle Road runs parallel to Palmetto Boulevard several blocks inland and contains the tiny business district.
Hilton Head Island
Literally the prototype of the modern planned resort community, Hilton Head Island is also a case study in how a landscape can change when money is introduced. From Reconstruction until the post-World War II era, the island consisted almost entirely of African Americans with deep roots in the area. In the mid-1950s Hilton Head began its transformation into an almost all-white, upscale golf, tennis, and shopping mecca populated largely by Northern transplants and retirees. As you can imagine, the flavor here is now quite different from surrounding areas of the Lowcountry, to say the least, with an emphasis on material excellence, top prices, get-it-done-yesterday punctuality, and the attendant aggressive traffic.
the harbor at Hilton Head Island
One of the unsung positive aspects of modern Hilton Head is its dedication to sustainable living. With the support of voters, the town routinely buys large tracts of land to preserve as open space. Hilton Head was the first municipality in the country to mandate the burying of all power lines, and one of the first to regularly use covenants and deed restrictions. All new development must conform to rigid guidelines on setbacks and tree canopy. It has one of the most comprehensive signage ordinances in the country as well, which means no garish commercial displays will disrupt your views of the night sky. If those are “elite” values, then certainly we might do well in making them more mainstream.
HISTORY
The second-largest barrier island on the East Coast was named in 1663 by adventurer Sir William Hilton, who thoughtfully named the island—with its notable headland, or “Head”—after himself. Later it gained fame as the first growing location of the legendary “Sea Island Cotton,” a long-grain variety that, following its introduction in 1790 by William Elliott II of the Myrtle Bank Plantation, would soon be the dominant version of the cash crop.
Nearby Bluffton was settled by planters from Hilton Head Island and the surrounding area in the early 1800s as a summer retreat. Though Charleston likes to claim the label today, Bluffton was actually the genuine “cradle of secession.” Indeed, locals still joke that the town motto is “Divided We Stand.”
Though it seems unlikely given the island’s modern demographics, Hilton Head was almost entirely African American through much of the 20th century. When Union troops occupied the island at the outbreak of the Civil War, freed and escaped slaves flocked to the island, and most of the dwindling number of African Americans on the island today are descendants of this original Gullah population.
In the 1950s the Fraser family bought 19,000 of the island’s 25,000 acres with the intent to continue forestry on them. But in 1956—not at all coincidentally the same year the first bridge to the island was built—Charles Fraser convinced his father to sell him the southern tip. Fraser’s brainchild and decades-long labor of love—some said his obsession—Sea Pines Plantation became the prototype for the golf-oriented resort communities so common today on both U.S. coasts. Fraser himself was killed in a boating accident in 2002 and is buried under the famous Liberty Oak in Harbour Town.
SIGHTS
Contrary to what many think, there are things to do on Hilton Head that don’t involve swinging a club at a little white ball or shopping for designer labels, but instead celebrate the area’s history and natural setting. The following are some of those attractions, arranged in geographical order from where you first access the island.
S Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
Actually consisting of many islands and hammocks, Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge (912/652-4415, www.fws.gov, daily dawn-dusk, free) is the only part of this small but very well managed 4,000-acre refuge that’s open to the public. Almost 70 percent of the former rice plantation is salt marsh and tidal creeks, making it a perfect microcosm for the Lowcountry as a whole, as well as a great place to kayak or canoe. Native Americans liked the area as well, with a 10,000-year presence and over 100 archaeological sites being identified to date. Like many coastal refuges, it was a private game preserve for much of the 20th century. Some of the state’s richest birding opportunities abound here, with observers able to spot gorgeous white ibis and rare wood storks, along with herons, egrets, eagles, and ospreys, with little trouble from the refuge’s miles of trails. Getting here is easy: On U.S. 278 east to Hilton Head, the refuge entrance is right between the two bridges onto the island.
wood stork at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
Green’s Shell Enclosure
Less known than the larger Native American shell ring farther south at Sea Pines, Green’s Shell Enclosure (803/734-3886, daily dawn-dusk, free) is certainly easier to find, and you don’t have to pay $5 to enter the area, as with Sea Pines. This three-acre heritage preserve dates back to at least the 1300s. The heart of the site comprises a low embankment, part of the original fortified village. To get here, take a left at the intersection of U.S. 278 and Squire Pope Road. Turn left into Green’s Park, pass the office on the left, and park. The entrance to the shell enclosure is on the left behind a fence. You’ll see a small community cemetery that has nothing to do with the shell ring; veer to your right to get to the short trail entrance.
S Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn
With the acquisition of Honey Horn’s 70-acre spread of historic plantation land, Hilton Head finally has a full-fledged museum worthy of the name, and the magnificent Coastal Discovery Museum (70 Honey Horn Dr., 843/689-6767, www.coastaldiscovery.org, Mon.-Sat. 9am-4:30pm, Sun. 11am-3pm, free) is a must-see, even for those who came to the island mostly to golf and soak up sun.
The facility centers on the expertly restored Discovery House, the only antebellum house still existing on Hilton Head, with exhibits and displays devoted to the history of the island. The museum is also a great one-stop place to sign up for a variety of specialty on-site and off-site guided tours, such as birding and Gullah history tours. The cost for most on-site tours is a reasonable $10 adults and $5 children.
But the real draw is the 0.5-mile trail through the Honey Horn grounds, including several boardwalk viewpoints over the marsh, a neat little butterfly habitat, a few gardens, and a stable and pasture that host Honey Horn May and Tadpole, the museum’s two Marsh Tackies—short, tough little ponies descended from Spanish horses and used to great effect by Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion and his freedom fighters in the American Revolution. The trail even features a replica of an ancient Native American shell ring of oyster shells, but do be aware that it is not a genuine shell ring (you can find the real thing at Green’s Shell Enclosure a bit farther west on Highway 278 and in Sea Pines at the south end of the island).
While a glance at a map and area signage might convince you that you must pay the $1.25 toll on the Cross Island Parkway to get to Honey Horn, that isn’t so. The exit to Honey Horn on the parkway is actually before you get to the toll plaza; therefore access is free.
Union Cemetery
A modest but key aspect of African American history on Hilton Head is at Union Cemetery (Union Cemetery Rd.), a small burial ground featuring several graves of black Union Army troops (you can tell by the designation “USCI” on the tombstone, for “United States Colored Infantry”). Also of interest are the charming, hand-carved cement tombstones of nonveterans. To get here, turn north off William Hilton Parkway onto Union Cemetery Road. The cemetery is a short ways ahead on the left. There is no signage or site interpretation.
headstone of African American soldier at Union Cemetery
Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery
More like one of the gloriously desolate scenes common to the rest of the Lowcountry, this little cemetery in full view of the William Hilton Parkway at Folly Field Road is all that remains of one of the “Chapels of Ease,” a string of chapels set up in the 1700s. The Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery (daily dawn-dusk, free) is said to be haunted by the ghost of William Baynard, whose final resting place is in a mausoleum on the site (the remains of his ancestral home are farther south at Sea Pines Plantation).
Audubon-Newhall Preserve
Plant lovers shouldn’t miss this small but very well maintained 50-acre wooded tract in the south-central part of the island on Palmetto Bay Road between the Cross Island Parkway and the Sea Pines Circle. Almost all plant life, even that in the water, is helpfully marked and identified. The Audubon-Newhall Preserve (year-round dawn-dusk, free) is open to the public, but you can’t camp here. For more information, call the Hilton Head Audubon Society (843/842-9246).