On our recent road trip to Charleston we decided to do some research and explore some places around Charleston to make the most of our trip. One of my favorite things about road trips is having the flexibility of having a car so you can basically go anywhere you feel up to visiting. Some of our day trips were longer drives then others but all were well worth the travel time. We stayed in SC for five days so we pretty much spent the whole trip on the go (which is how I like it). My feeling always is if you are in a new location you might as well see all there is to see in the area. On our first day we saw all there was to see in Charleston and loved every minute of it. Rob and I are huge fans of lighthouses and always try to seek out new ones where ever we visit. Lucky for us there was lighthouse right near Charleston that we just had to pop over and see.
1. Morris Island Lighthouse - Travel time from Charleston - 20 minutes:
As you can see Morris Island Lighthouse is not a lighthouse you can actually get to (unless you have a boat). We found that the best location to drive to in order to get close enough was Folly Beach, SC. This sleepy beach town is a quiet place to spend an afternoon in itself. Grab some lunch, spend time relaxing on the beach and check out a pretty unique lighthouse. This day trip can take as long as 10 minutes to snap a few pictures and leave or the whole day depending on your interests. The day we visited there was a large storm sweeping into the Charleston area so we stayed as long as we could before getting poured on (side note: Charleston is often victim to flash flooding, something we witnessed on this trip, luckily we were headed out of town before the water became too high for us to continue driving, scary stuff).
We got a few shots of the lighthouse and spent some time with our feet in the water, looking around for interesting birds flying around warning of the storm approaching. We found that the sand was super fine and therefore extremely soft. If it hadn't been about to rain we would have been very tempted to grab our bathing suits and hop into the warm ocean water.
2. Savannah, Georgia - travel time from Charleston - 2 hours:
Savannah is probably the longest day trip on this list but also arguably the most worthwhile. Savannah in my opinion is more then just a day trip destination, however if time doesn't allow for you to take a full trip to Savannah a day trip for Charleston is a must. Get up early and make sure you allow yourself the whole day to take in all of the beauty this city has to offer. I love Savannah, I find romantic, fun, mysterious and historical. The Spanish Moss dripping from the trees, the cobbled stone along River Street, the restaurants, bars and general atmosphere is all fantastic. I really need a full page to describe this wonderful city, so blog post to follow on Savannah, but trust me this is a place to see and the fact that it is only 2 hours from Charleston means it is a necessary day trip.
3. Beaufort, SC - Travel time from Charleston - 1 hour and 25 minutes:
We heard about Beaufort, SC in our research and decided to take the drive to check out this quaint southern town. We heard of all of the charm related to this town, the Spanish Moss, Horse Drawn carriages, mansions and wonderful downtown area.
Along our drive we passed by cotton fields, southern mansions, tons of churches and many abandoned, run down homes (which I find very sad and intriguing). We found an adorable little roadside store that we just had to stop at Carolina Cider Company was a shop full of sweet southern cider,varieties of homemade pies (as you can see above), baked goods, a huge variety of fruit jams, and different flavored butters. Throughout the whole store there was so much to see and so many free samples that we could have spent much longer in this place. We wanted to buy everything, every flavor and every option, but we restrained ourselves and picked two types of cider (peach and strawberry), two types of jam (peach and blueberry) and a sweet potato butter. Another reason I can not get enough of road trips are because of these roadside stops.
Later when we got these treats home we were so pleasantly surprised that they were as good as they looked; sweet, natural and perfect! We could not believe that there was no sugar added to most of these products just sweetened with the natural goodness from the fruits. We had the peach cider for dessert, with dinner and mixed with wine, we couldn't get enough. Great (and maybe terrible for our wallets) news was that this company is online and will delivery to our doorstep. We got back into the car thrilled with our purchases and continued on to Beaufort.
We found Beaufort just as charming as it was described. After our other stops of the day it was dark by the time we got there so unfortunately the other pictures I took did not come out as clear. But we could tell, even in the dark that this was a lovely town that we would really like to come back and spend more time. There were many restaurants and shops and quaint homes throughout the little town, all lined with Spanish Moss dripping trees. We had dinner at a barbecue place along the water.There was live music on the patio outside and the windows doors were opened to let the warm breeze and the music drift past our table. The place was called Q on the Bay and it was a great place to grab a drink and have some tasty bbq food.
4. Hunting Island State Park - travel time from Charleston - 1 hour 45 minutes:
Remember how I mentioned Rob and I love lighthouses? Well this was another time when we found a lighthouse online and decided to seek it out. We knew we were heading to Beaufort and this was a few minutes past Beaufort so we thought we would stop by take a few quick pictures and head back to Beaufort. But we were so wrong, this place was incredible and we couldn't take a few quick pictures and leave. When we drove into the state park we would have sworn we were driving into Jurassic Park. There were palm trees and thick vegetation all over and engulfing the path we drove down. We followed signs for the lighthouse but we could already tell there was more to this place then just a lighthouse.
The lighthouse was pretty nice but completely over shadowed by the view we headed towards next.
Over to the left of the lighthouse was a beach with tons of palm trees. Looking out over the view we couldn't help but think, why pay to go to an expensive tropical island when you could just drive down here and have these kinds of views. (Don't get me wrong, I love a good tropical island but this is a much cheaper and similar option). We walked towards the beach taking in the views as we went,
As we walked through the beach we discovered something that can only be described as a tree graveyard. All of these full grown trees, roots and all,were washed up on the shore. It was such an amazing location and so unexpected that we couldn't believe what we were seeing. The view down the beach was indescribable and the pictures can not do it justice.
This place was such a pleasant surprise, I love unexpected places like this on trips. We always seem to stumble upon incredible spots. To top this day off we ended up spotting a bald eagle fly onto one of the trees on the beach. It was such an unbelievable thing to see in this unreal location. I would certainly recommend this place to anyone in the area, keep your eyes open for wildlife, you never know when you might see something amazing.
5. Riverbank Zoo and Garden, Columbia, SC - travel time from Charleston - 1 hour 50 minutes
Honestly I'm not a huge zoo girl, however this place was worth the trip. We went with Rob's family who recommended this zoo. It was a pretty normal zoo with some lovely animals, all located in the capital of South Carolina. We wandered through the different areas and saw lions and tigers and bears. Each animal was in their habitat at a safe distance, however there was not the common netting and wiring blocking the view of the animals which was nice. There was a large reptile and aquarium area which was impressive (but not my favorite, bugs, snakes and lizards,,, not for me). The best part by far of this zoo (the reason I feel it should be on this list) was the giraffe area. As it turned out it was feeding hours in the giraffe area which meant you could pay a dollar to get a huge handful of lettuce and actually feed the giraffes up close and personal. This was the coolest experience ever! These huge, gentle, beautiful animals came right up to you and licked the food right from your opened hands with their long slimy tongues. It was the closest I had ever been to a wild animal like this and it was an unforgettable experience (and such a perfect photo op!).
Rob's sister Joy:gotta love those slimy tongues haha
After the giraffe's had their lunches we decided it was time for us to grab some lunch as well. Luckily we were in the capital of SC so there were lots of options. We had a suggestion from Rob's brother (who lives in SC) for where to eat so we headed to California Dreaming. I have to admit when I heard the name I was a little skeptical but when we arrive, during and after lunch we knew we had made the right choice. The food was wonderful and the location was super unique. The restaurant was in an old train station which made the architecture and decor very grand and interesting. We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Columbia. As we drove out we saw the capital building and realized that if we had more time we could have certainly spent some extra time touring around this capital city.
I know there are many more places to day trip in South Carolina that I am missing, however these are the places I have experienced and that I can recommend. If you are nearby or in need of a relaxing vacation take a trip to Charleston and find your way around some beautiful places in the state.
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