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Edisto Beach State Park
Visitors to Edisto Beach State Park are usually there to enjoy
the peace and quiet—a place where they can get away from city
lights, crowded highways, and the hustle and bustle of a daily
routine. Edisto offers all of that, plus being a naturalist’s dream.
Located on Edisto Island the park forms the northern edge of the ACE
Basin and the 1,255-acre park is one of the largest sea islands on
the South Carolina coast. It includes 1-½ miles of white sandy
beach, a maritime forest with beautiful live oaks dripping with
Spanish moss, and some of South Carolina’s tallest palmetto trees.
Campers say the real secret to the park is the two camping sites—the
oceanfront and the marsh front, which is a secluded area in the
forest. Fishermen can give you valid reasons why they visit Edisto,
and naturalists have many reasons to love and enjoy the park.
One of the most overlooked and under-used aspects of the park is the
11,000 square foot Edisto Interpretive Center, which houses extraordinary
interactive exhibits that are fun and enjoyable, as well as educational. The
exhibits are aimed at helping visitors understand the pressures the modern
world places on man when he tries to combine elements of the land and sea.
Surf fish on the beach or fish in the salt marsh for
flounder, whiting, spot tail and other species. There are more than four
miles of trails, including the 3-1/2 mile Nature Trail that takes hikers
over boardwalks along a marsh and through the serene setting of the maritime
forest with its beautiful old live oaks and tall palmettos.
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The Nature Trail, one of the longest handicapped-accessible trails of its
kind in the state, takes hikers to the Spanish Mount, the Edisto
Interpretive Center, and the beach. With benches along the way to catch your
breath, visitors may enjoy the trail by foot or bike and see some of the
park’s very diverse wildlife in the woodlands and marshes, or just enjoy the
beach.
There’s a boat ramp at Bay Creek, two large campgrounds that accommodate
RV’s or tents and a small primitive area campground for day use only. The
two picnic shelters may be reserved for a fee or used at no charge if they
are not in use. Seven well-equipped cabins (five of which were built by the
CCC) have their own dock for crabbing and fishing.
The long, sandy beach is famous for shell collecting—as well as having one
of the largest nests of Loggerhead sea turtles on the South Carolina coast.
For recreation—most visitors come for total relaxation, but others may enjoy
kayaking, biking, saltwater marsh fishing, surf fishing, boating,
picnicking, swimming, hiking and jogging on the beach.
The Spanish Mount is visible from Scott’s Creek or at the end of the park’s
nature trail. It is unknown if this was an Indian ceremonial site, burial
grounds or just a refuse mound—or some combination of the three. Today it is
just a fraction of its original size, but it is an important piece of South
Carolina’s history, and research remains to be done on the site.
One of the interactive exhibits at the Interpretive Center for children is:
“If you were captain of a boat.” It starts as a beginning experience in
handling a boat—turning on the ignition—the lights—how to steer—how to use
the ship to shore radio, and talk with other boat captains—how to use the
radar and navigation charts to know where to go—how to use a compass—and how
to find where the shrimp are located.
A more difficult interactive exhibit assumes you are a land planner for a
small barrier island, and the participant is to choose the best location for
the construction of four things: a marina, a small housing development, a
restaurant and a nature center. When you’re finished answering the
questions, compare your answers to what the experts think.
If you’re going:
From Mooresville it’s 260 miles one-way-- a little over a 4-1/2-hour drive.
Take I-77 S to I-26 E to I-95 S to exit 57—take SC 64 East to US 17
North—turn right on SC 174 to Edisto Beach.
Edisto Beach State Park –8377 State Cabin Rd., Edisto Island, SC ; Park
office 1-843-869-2756; Park hours 6:00 a.m.-10 p.m. daylight savings time;
8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. standard time. Check in 2:00 p.m. The Interpretive
Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For cabin and
campsite reservations and rates call 1-866-345-7275. |
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