The closest beach to downtown Charleston, Folly is a destination for lovers of the laid-back beach lifestyle. If you’re driving from Frederick County, Maryland, Columbia, SC makes for a nice stop to squeeze in a visit to the state’s only national park – Congaree.
A beach vacation is great when the weather cooperates. When it doesn’t, it helps to enjoy the company of the people you’re with!
“It’s between me, the sand, and the sea. Carolina knows.”
Taylor Swift, Carolina
Day 1
An 8-hour drive is the longest road trip I’ve ever taken with my kids. They were fantastic but I wasn’t so sure I was going to be able to stand that long in the car. We left right after school was out for Spring Break and found a pitstop in Charlotte, NC for ice cream at the Golden Cow Creamery. This provided the fuel we needed to keep going!
We very tiredly stopped for the night in Columbia, SC so that the drive to Congaree National Park was easy in the morning.
Day 2
Congaree is unlike any other national park I’ve visited. Known for its giant hardwoods and towering pines, Congaree’s floodplain forest includes one of the highest canopies in the world. The park provides a sanctuary for plants and animals, a research site for scientists, and a tranquil wilderness setting for walking and relaxing in.
It rained really hard while we were there but it made for a unique visit and a little rain never stops us from national parking.
Folly Beach is about 2 hours and 20 mins from Congaree so we made a pitstop in Summerville, SC also known as the birthplace of sweet tea, which makes for unique photo spot. Downtown Summerville looked charming with a lot to offer but it was still raining hard so we opted to keep going to Folly Beach where we checked in to our home for next couple of days at Tides Folly Beach.
Tides Folly Beach is the only large hotel on the beach. It’s older, and overpriced, but it does provide a spectacular view of the beach from every room and has an outdoor heated pool which was fantastic in April because not only did it rain – it was also cold! When in Folly, a dinner at Rita’s Seaside Grille is a must. It was right across from our hotel within walking distance and the food is good, the ambiance is great, and the music was wonderful. We ended our trip by checking out the restaurant/bar at our hotel for an evening drink and a walk along the brand new pier to soak in the views.
Day 3
A happy SC Easter to us! Because of the holiday, lots of places were closed but we did some sightseeing in downtown Charleston in the vibrant and historic King Street shopping district. King Street is the epitome of southern charm!
No visit to Charleston is complete without a stop at Rainbow Row where 13 brightly-colored houses along the waterfront are among Charleston’s most photographed spots.
The weather did not cooperate for us on to catch the ferry out to the middle of the Charleston Harbor to visit Fort Sumter. But from a distance, we could see where the first attack marked the beginning of the Civil War.
A short drive from Charleston, Mt. Pleasant is home to Patriot’s Point Naval & Maritime Museum and the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft at the centerpiece of this impressive hands-on history lesson. It is also home to the Cold War Memorial and the only Vietnam Experience Exhibit in the US, and the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum. We loved this spot, especially the Vietnam Experience complete with sounds of what it might have been like.
Day 4
Ahhh, the last day in SC and the weather finally started to cooperate. Isn’t that how it usually works out?
We spent this day hanging out on the beach and making a few more Charleston area-essential stops including the SC Aquarium, home to SC’s sea turtle hospital.
We also stopped at the historic Angel Oak Tree, a 400-500 year old considered to be one of the largest in the eastern US, and the Charleston Tea Garden, the only tea garden in North America where you can see hundreds of thousands of tea bushes stretching out almost as far as the eye can see. They also have free samples of their tea here and a factory tour. An added bonus, there are no admission charges for either of these stops.
Folly Beach offers several spots where you can rent bikes to ride along the beach. The sand is packed enough to make this easily possible and I am so glad we were able to make this happen. Pineapple ice cream at the Pineapple Hut was the perfect post-bike ride treat and easily walkable from our hotel. Our favorite restaurant was probably the lunch we had this day at Taco Boy Folly Beach – a creative Mexican spot with innovative tacos.
We ended our Spring Break in Folly Beach with a seafood dinner at Loggerhead’s Beach Grill. Loggerhead’s is a great beach restaurant that I imagine is a hotspot in the summer time.
My overall impression of Folly Beach is that it has a unique laid-back surf vide and everything is easily walkable. It’s also a really great spot to catch logger head sea turtles nesting in the spring (we were a little too early to catch them) and a great spot for shark tooth fossil hunting, if that’s your thing.
We all agreed that Folly Beach is a place to return to again someday soon!
P.S….Day 5
This is the day we made the long drive back home but I wanted to point out our amazing stop in the Charlotte, NC for lunch and a little shopping. We found Birkdale Village with amazing shops along our route home and Midwood Smokehouse. When you’ve been in the car for a while, a good place to walk and eat are essential and I can’t say enough great things about both of these spots.!
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