This year’s stay at Edisto Beach State Park on the coast in South Carolina was a do-over from last year’s canceled plans. It was, as per usual for the beach, worth the wait.
With the vaccination program going well, it finally felt safe to camp with friends again and so that’s exactly what I did. Four of the five adults were fully vaccinated, with the fifth person having gotten one dose. There was a teenager present, so for her and that fifth person waiting on their second shot we all followed the six foot distance rule as much as possible. Still, it was great to see friends again. We ate good food, told stories, and just enjoyed being out camping, something we took for granted before the pandemic.
There are two separate campgrounds at Edisto, one by the beach and one in the forest. The latter has more opportunities for hiking, thanks to an extensive trail system. But the beach campground is kind of irresistable to beach lovers, so that’s where we stayed. Our sites all looked out on the marsh, which provided some bird spotting action, mostly herons and egrets.
Just west of the forested campground is a boat launch onto Big Bay Creek . My friend Karen and I launched our Oru Inlet kayaks and had a nice little paddle, letting the flip of the tide carry us back to the boat ramp. Chalk up another nice kayak site for South Carolina.
Except for a wicked hot arrival day, the temps were pretty near perfect for spring: highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s. The flowers seemed to like the weather too, lining the dunes that separated the campground from the beach.
And there are so many things I like about the beach, it’s hard to pick one. But if I must? This…
EDISTO BEACH STATE PARK (SOUTH CAROLINA STATE PARKS)
- Beach (67 campsites) or Live Oak (50 campsites), you really can’t go wrong here. Beach campground: most private sites for small trailers are 1,3, 9, 10. Sites 35-74 border on the marsh. Reserve at South Carolina State Parks.
- Services: electric/water with dump station up the road past the Live Oak campground. Bath houses with showers. Recycling and trash at each campground.
- Good T-Mobile, Verizon, and ATT.
- Groceries: Small Food Lion across from the campground. Kings Grocery about 20 minutes away has specialty groceries and great Key Lime pie. Seafood takeaway at Seacow Eatery is great stuff (also can dine in).
- Propane: Ace Hardware in Edisto Beach (five minutes away).
- Gas: Two gas stations near campground, fair prices.
In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.
Dave Hollis
Edisto Beach State Park is one of our favorite campgrounds. Edisto is a wonderful place that has no hotels, no chain restaurants (except a Subway at the gas station) and only one tiny grocery store. Until very recently the water was not good and you had to go to the fire station with water jugs to get reverse osmosis drinking water. That changed about 2 years ago when the town started providing good, drinkable tap water. I hope that this “improvement” doesn’t mean that the town will suddenly grow and big businesses will move in. We have been going to Edisto for many years, usually in the off season. Our favorite campground is Live Oak on the marsh. We love the privacy we have with the abundant vegetation that separates campsites. We made the mistake of camping there in May one year and were eaten alive by mosquitos. We now prefer to go in March, October or November. We have rented houses there, too. This year we went in February. Definitely too cold to camp but it was lovely in our cozy beach house. Don’t tell too many people about Edisto Beach. It’s a secret!
Wow! The beach looks inviting! Glad you had some great times with your friends. We are still waiting for the outbreak to subside and lockdowns to ease. Feels like ages since I have met my friends. Edisto Beach State Park looks fascinating. You chose a great spot for a reunion.
Thanks for a great review Annie. Hope your next stop is equally nice!
Have you reviewed your Oru kayak in a previous post? I’m a total newbie but would like to begin to stick my toe in a water adventure – close to the shoreline of course. Love your photos and campground review – most helpful
Kathleen
I have a draft “here’s all the kayaks I’ve tried” post but it’s not quite done yet. I’ll work on it now that I know I have at least one person who won’t be bored by it 🙂
Bored!!! Are you kidding? I love reading your info – always very helpful
Oh, I just loved this, Annie! I adore pelicans, especially from the Fiscalini Beach Trail in Cambria, Ca. On a really quiet day you can hear nothing but the wings of the birds on their journey…thanks so much for all of your beautiful photos! ❤
Oh, Cambria, that’s a great pelican watching place! I spent a birthday weekend there years ago (2010, maybe) and loved the pelicans and beach trail. Thanks for bringing that memory back to me.
Almost normal!!