Edisto Beach State Park (Edisto Island): Perhaps S.C.’s finest coastal state park, trails at Edisto include a 1.7 mile walk to Spanish Mount, a Native American shell mound dated to 2,000 B.C. Half-mile loops circle the maritime forest and marshland, where deer, osprey, and bobcat abound. The finest hiking at Edisto may be on the beach itself, known for its “boneyard” of trees emerging from the surf at high tide, and the abundance of sizeable whelk shells washed up along the shore. The park is a fantastic place to car-camp.
Directions from Charleston: Take Hwy 17 S for 25 miles to SC 174 (there are signs for Edisto Beach). Continue 20 miles south on 174 to the park.
