Edisto Beach State Park is located on the coast of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, south of Charleston, near the town of

Edisto Beach Edisto Beach is a town in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. Edisto Beach's population was 414 as of the 2010 census, down from 641 in 2000. The town limits include only the developed coastal area of Edisto Island within Colleton Coun ...

Colleton County Colleton County is in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,604. Its county seat is Walterboro. The county is named after Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet, one of the eight Lords ...

. The park offers South Carolina's longest system of handicapped accessible hiking and biking trails. The trails wind through

Edisto Island Edisto Island is one of South Carolina's Sea Islands, the larger part of which lies in Charleston County, with its southern tip in Colleton County. The town of Edisto Beach is in Colleton County, while the Charleston County part of the island is ...

's maritime forest, leading to sites such as a Native American

shell midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

dated to 2000 BC, and a survey monument placed by Alexander Bache in 1850. Activities possible at the park include surf fishing for

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

, spot tail and whiting, as well as boating,

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

and picnicking. The park's education center, the Edisto Interpretive Center, hosts a number of programs and research services. The center includes an exhibit teaching visitors about the

ACE Basin The Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Basin (abbreviated as ACE Basin, spoken as ''ace basin'') is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Located primarily in Colleton, Charleston, and Beaufort count ...

estuarine reserve through interactive displays.

History

The park was one of the first South Carolina state parks, developed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. It was created on land donated in 1935 by the Edisto Company. Many of the original buildings built by the CCC still stand and are in use currently.

References

External links

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Edisto Beach Hiking Trails SC Dept of Parks, Recreation and Tourism"The New Interpretive Center at Edisto Beach", South Carolina Heritage Corridor, Autumn 2004
{{authority control State parks of South Carolina Nature centers in South Carolina Civilian Conservation Corps in South Carolina Protected areas of Colleton County, South Carolina Education in Colleton County, South Carolina National Park Service Rustic architecture