Beckoning with golden sands, swaying palms, and lapping surf, South Carolina’s seashores often is the playground for hordes of summer season fans – however there’s extra to the state than a sandy shoreline.
Miles of rivers and loads of lakes, waterfalls and swamps – in addition to among the nation’s finest water parks – present irresistible methods to drift and splash round even on the intense peak of summer season.
Listed here are seven methods to expertise the waters of South Carolina past the seashore.
Take a sundown sail in Charleston (and past)
In terms of sundown sails, Charleston wins fingers down within the romance division. Sip chilled white wine with the breeze blowing throughout your face and take within the steepled metropolis skyline as vivid reds and purples paint the sundown sky.
There are all types of crusing outfitters, however you’ll be able to’t go flawed with Schooner Pride, a three-mast tall ship, powered solely by the wind, that provides two-hour night sails. Full moon and daytime dolphin sails can be found as properly.
Hilton Head is one other crusing hub and its assortment of breeze-swept potentialities embrace commonplace sundown sails, in fact, but in addition: a shrimp trawling expedition aboard the Tammy Jane; a sail throughout Calibogue Sound aboard an genuine America’s Cup 39ft racing yacht; and a deep-sea fishing tour with Capt. Miles Altman of Bay Runner Charters.
Lake Murray is a hub of fishing, boating, and swimming, however that’s not what makes this lake 15 miles north of Columbia so entrancing. At nightfall in July or August, hop aboard a ship and also you’re in for a deal with.
At first, it’s no massive deal – you notice one or two birds flitting within the twilight sky. However quickly, hundreds of purple martins return from their every day searching expeditions to the lake’s Doolittle Island, their summer season residence: America’s largest purple martin sanctuary.
Screeching and calling, the birds cavort within the sky, dipping and swooping and diving in one of many best wildlife spectacles round. You may lease boats at a lot of outfitters, together with Better Boating Rental; or be part of a pontoon tour with Capt. Zach Steinhauser, a naturalist and USCG captain with Purple Martin Tours.
Paddle amongst very tall timber at Congaree Nationwide Park
Upland pines, bald cypresses, and water tupelos tower above the nonetheless, darkish, nutrient-rich waters of Congaree Nationwide Park, comprising the US’s largest tract of old-growth bottomland forest. The timber listed below are magnificent: upland pines, bald cypresses, and water tupelos, some specimens of that are bigger than every other within the US – together with one loblolly pine looming 17 flooring.
You may stroll some 20 miles of trails that criss-cross the park, together with an elevated boardwalk, however fingers down one of the best ways to discover this primeval realm is by kayak or canoe alongside the straightforward, 6-mile Cedar Creek Canoe Path snaking via the park.
In case you’re fortunate, you’ll spy alongside the best way a feral hog, black bear, and/or most of the park’s 130 sorts of birds. You’ll have to carry your individual kayak or canoe, lease one in Columbia, or be part of a guided paddling tour with the NPS ranger-led tour.
The extra intrepid would possibly take into account the Congaree River Blue Trail, a 50-mile designated route that connects the state capital of Columbia with the nationwide park. The city vibe provides manner downstream to excessive bluffs and floodplain, introducing you slowly to the park’s prehistoric wildlands.
South Carolina’s finest hikes
Splash below a waterfall
A sylvan woods laced with a spectacular waterfall will not be the primary picture that jumps to thoughts once you’re picturing sultry, palmetto-bedecked South Carolina. However, particularly within the Upstate – the place the landscapes infringe on the dramatic Blue Ridge – you’ll uncover a plethora of woodlands speckled with glittering creeks and, sure, dramatic falls.
To pack lots of punch, head to Greenville, a hub of simply accessible waterfalls. The centerpiece is Reedy River Falls, within the coronary heart of city, with the most effective views from Liberty Bridge in Falls Park. Search out Lengthy Creek Falls, a 50ft double drop in Sumter Nationwide Forest that awards an hour’s hike.
Rainbow Falls in Jones Gap State Park is a bit tougher to achieve, involving a 2.2-mile trek and a 1200ft climb, however the payoff is a 100ft falls tumbling down a granite grotto.
Maybe essentially the most spectacular, Decrease Whitewater Falls drops 200ft into Jocassee Gorges – a splendid 2-mile hike that brings you up near the pure splendor.
Fish in world-class waters
Die-hard anglers know South Carolina is a drive to be reckoned with, and that on this fishing paradise, Lake Marion in Santee State Park – the state’s “inland sea” – is the place to go for largemouth bass, stripers, crappie, perch and blue gill.
Night time angling can also be in style, as that’s when the catfish get nippy. Lodging right here embrace each campsites and waterside cabins (the place you’ll be able to solid a rod straight out of your doorstep).
Accompanying members of the family or buddies preferring to have a look at reasonably than fish can lease a kayak, canoe, pontoon boat or perhaps a jet ski and cruise over to the flooded cypress forest in the course of the lake. However only a head’s up – folks will probably be fishing there, too.
Different favourite fishing holes embrace Lake Murray, a reservoir created within the ‘30s to offer hydroelectric energy. This expanse of water (well-known for the purple martins talked about above) hosts world-class fishing tournaments – although first-time anglers have good luck too.
Lake Moultrie, the state’s third largest lake, is one other in style spot for fishing and different water sports activities. You’ll want a South Carolina fishing license to fish these lakes.
Finest locations to go to in South Carolina
Dive for treasures at Devils Fork State Park
Within the Upstate, the spotlight of Devils Fork State Park is Lake Jocassee, a spring-fed magnificence artificially created within the early ‘70s, proper when Deliverance was being filmed (this web site makes a cameo).
The waters listed below are clear and calm as quartz, and due to this fact perfect for dropping all the way down to the depths and taking a look on the unique, sunken treasures. There’s a submerged cemetery and a half-flooded, deserted water-treatment facility, to which Lake Jocassee Dive Store affords descents. The odd curious bream would possibly method, begging for a freshwater clam.
Those that’d reasonably be above the water can try the stand-up paddleboard, and anglers may also recognize the trout. For the divers in search of much more of a problem, head over to the Cooper River close to Charleston to muck round for prehistoric shark tooth. You’ll want a allow for this as properly.
South Carolina’s finest highway journeys
Raft down the Chattooga River
South Carolina’s solely white-water river is likely one of the finest in the entire nation, so it’s little surprise that Congress declared it a Nationwide Wild and Scenic River. The Chattooga River has been protected against improvement of dams since 1974, and it flows freely out of North Carolina’s Appalachians for some 50 miles to Tugaloo Lake, on the border of South Carolina and Georgia.
Inside South Carolina, a 26-mile stretch of river is ride-worthy, with all the things from light class I–III rapids for households and novices to knuckle-bleaching class IV–V rapids, together with the well-known 5 Falls that can attraction to (and probably toss) the consultants.
Diehards can camp by the river, or keep in yurts, cottages or log cabins run by the journey clothes shop Wildwater Chattooga, which additionally organizes and guides the rafting journeys.
Cool off the youngsters at Myrtle Waves Water Park
Splashing down a slippery slide, browsing a veritable wave, or lolling in a lazy river are kid-approved methods of beating the summer season warmth. And South Carolina has an inordinate variety of water parks to just do that.
Water park central is Myrtle Seashore, with 10 or so parks lining Ocean Boulevard. Right here, the state’s largest park is Myrtle Waves Water Park, the place you’ll be able to spiral down a twisty slide at 50ft per second, shoot down a 20ft-long chute ending with a pool plunge, and observe your browsing strikes on a wave.
Different enjoyable choices embrace Coral Beach Resort, particularly in style amongst households; Wild Water and Wheels, a profusion of slides and swimming pools; and Grande Cayman Resort, a extra budget-friendly choice.
However Myrtle Seashore doesn’t have a nook on all of the enjoyable. You’ll discover different parks sprinkled all through the state, together with Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Waterpark in North Charleston, that includes a multi-slide advanced and a treehouse with jets and waterwheels; and Neptune Island Waterpark in Hartsville, with a pirate-themed splash pad and lazy river.
