Road Tripping Through the National Parks: South Carolina
Welcome to our “Road Tripping Through the National Parks” series. In this series I’m going to try to give you the optimal way to road trip through our national park system state by state. Today, I’m starting off with one of the easier states to drive through entirely: South Carolina. South Carolina actually has a decent amount of national park sites with seven in total, but you can visit all of them in only a long weekend’s worth of time.. South Carolina also conveniently has multiple airports, but if you want to get the most out of this trip I think you have to fly into Charleston.
Charleston is one of the biggest cities in South Carolina and is in many ways its cultural center. If you are able to fly into the city early in the day we can really get the ball rolling on this trip. Grab a rental car and head north from Charleston to Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. It’s only about a thirty minute drive. The first thing you are going to want to do when you drive into the Spanish moss-filled parking lot of Charles Pinckney National Historic Site is head straight for the visitor center. The visitor center is located inside the historical Snee Farm House, but the exhibits inside are recently updated. Their presentation of history isn’t afraid to cover the darker and more controversial elements of Charles Pinckney’s past which ends up painting a fuller picture of its subject. If you still have time after checking out the visitor center, follow the paths outside to begin a walk on the park’s nature trail. The swamp it goes through has many natural oddities that make it interesting. Just don’t go in expecting a great view at the end. It’s right next to a highway.
Once you're done at Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, drive towards Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. Fort Moultrie is on the mainland and is only a twenty minute drive away. Start your adventure at this park with the visitor center at Fort Moultrie. There is a fee to enjoy this park so you can pay it here if you don’t have an America the Beautiful pass. The rangers here will also be able to orient you through the fort itself. The journey through the fort is an amazing adventure that does a great job conveying the immense amount of history that this fort has been through spanning from the American Revolution through World War II. The fort is located right next to Charleston Harbor so you can enjoy the amazing views from outside the fort too. A prime look at Fort Sumter is one of the highlights here. If you still have extra time available you can take the thirty minute drive to the center of Charleston and catch the ferry to actually go into Fort Sumter. However, you are going to need multiple extra hours to do this. Instead I would advise taking the fifteen minute drive to Isle of Palms (a suburb of Charleston that’s right on the ocean) and grabbing some great seafood for lunch.
You can get to your next stop for the day by taking an hour and forty-five minute drive to Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. Set aside fifteen minutes or so to tour the visitor center and then head out for a walk in the historical district of Beaufort to get more acquainted with how the African-American population of this area raised themselves out of the chaos and evilness of slavery. The area is once again right on the ocean, which makes for a beautiful setting. Conclude this long day by taking a two hour and fifteen minute drive to the state’s capital, Columbia, and getting a hotel there. This may seem like a daunting drive after a long day, but it sets you up well for your next two days. If you have to make the drive the next day it isn’t the end of the world.
Congaree National Park is just over a thirty minute drive from Columbia. Begin your adventure here by walking into the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. Check out the displays and then head out the back door of the visitor center to start hiking on the boardwalk. Be sure to get your picture with the Mosquito Meter before you leave the area, and if the meter is at “war zone” level it might be smart to rethink your next steps. If you want to do a basic walk around the boardwalk you can spend a good hour or so here. You will be able to see the amazing tree life that is located here, and if you are lucky see an amphibian or reptile or two. However, if you want to get off the boardwalk and really get to experience this park take the Oakridge Trail. You will certainly get to see a lot more wildlife this way. When I did this trail I saw multiple orbweavers (large and colorful spiders that are non-venomous to humans) and the infamous feral hogs. After finding lunch (you are probably better off bringing something with you as this park is a bit remote), try to rent a canoe or kayak from a private outfitter to spend your afternoon on Congaree River. The park has suspended doing canoe excursions for the time being making this activity a little more challenging at present. During the evening take the hour and forty-five minute drive to Ninety Six, South Carolina to get ready for your next day.
Day three begins with a trip to Ninety Six National Historic Site. This is the site of multiple American Revolution skirmishes. Stepping into the visitor center will give you a sense of the amount of history that went on here. The real highlight though is the trail leading through one of the battlefields and the town that existed here. Silhouette statues and the remnants of the original earthworks give the setting an interesting look. From here take a ninety minute drive to Cowpens National Battlefield, which preserves one of the key battles of the southern campaign of the American Revolution. Check out the visitor center here for an informative park video, and then once again do the battlefield trail to get a real sense of what it must have been like to be there on that fateful day. It will probably be around lunchtime by this point so stop in at the local fast food chain, Bojangles, and grab one of their yummy chicken based meals. Next take a forty-five minute drive to Kings Mountain National Military Park. This is the location of another battle during the southern campaign of the American Revolution, although this one was mainly fought between patriot and loyalist forces. Of the three parks that you have visited on this day, this park has the best park video with a truly massive auditorium to view it in. Once you’re done with the park video and visitor center, you can once again head out the backdoor to take on the trail through the battlefield. This is another long day, but you at least get to visit three parks with similar subject matter. You will absolutely get a complete sense of the significance of the southern campaign in the American Revolution after this day.
That wraps up all of the South Carolina parks so either that night or the next day make your way to Charlotte or Charleston and take a flight back home.
