Trip to Charleston

My friends talked me into going on vacation to Charleston, Nov 1 - Nov 6. I have heard a lot of good things about Charleston but I am a nature lover and I want to go on a 1 day trip from Charleston to Kiawah Island. I have looked it up on map of %26lt;a href=';citiesandvillages.com/city-Charleston-Charle鈥?/a>';%26gt; Charleston, SC travel and vacation%26lt;/a%26gt;. It looks kind of close but I am not sure how close. Did anyone make a day trip from Charleston to Kiawah Island?

Trip to Charleston

Kiawah is a gated island with only one public access (onto the beach), through Charleston County%26#39;s Beachwalker Park. Unfortunately, Beachwalker County Park is closed in November through February.

If you want to visit Kiawah Island for a day in November, you will need to make a reservation for golf, or for lunch at one of the restaurants. Consider lunch at The Jasmine Porch, in The Sanctuary Hotel (the hotel is worth seeing).

Kiawah is about a 45 minute drive from Charleston, on narrow local roads.

Wish I could be more helpful!

Trip to Charleston

Another thought -

If you know someone who owns a home on Kiawah, ask that person to phone security to arrange an owner/guest pass. With the pass, courtesy of your friend, you won%26#39;t need to worry about lunch!

Not to worry - nature is one of my favorite things about the Charleston area - there is nature everywhere - not only behind a gate.

Up highway 17, north of Charleston is the town of Mt. Pleasant. In Mt. P is Shem Creek - a great area for kayaking and viewing dolphins and pelicans, all from the comfort of your outdoor bench while sipping an adult beverage. (the kayaking part I wouldn%26#39;t recommend with the adult beverage!) Going north of there is Awendaw, where the Sewee Nature Center is located, which has a nice nature trail and a small education center. (since there is a National forest there, expect nature to be everywhere.) They are the folks who are involved in the Sea Turtle program on Cape Romain. Awendaw has the center for Birds of Prey - I haven%26#39;t been yet but it%26#39;s apparently open to the public now. From Awendaw and from Isle of Palms (the beach area adjacent to Mt. Pleasant) you can take an ';EcoTour'; to one of the islands (called the Barrier Island Ecotour). It%26#39;s apparently excellent and I%26#39;d have done it if I didn%26#39;t already have a way to get out to the Barrier Islands. McClellanville is the next town north of Awendaw and is a very quaint little village that hosted Kevin Costner et al recently while filming a movie. McC%26#39;ville has its own shrimp industry but not as ';commercialized'; as Shem Creek in Mt. P. (there aren%26#39;t any restaurants overlooking the water, as there are (so many) in Shem Creek) Someone said that it is what SHem Creek used to look like 20-30 years ago.

Off the IOP connector are some Osprey nests and an area that is frequented by egrets and herons. So many that you%26#39;ll swear they%26#39;re something else.

All of these places are open to the public; no reservations needed, unless you go on a boat tour. The Aquarium is nice - much smaller than the GA Aquarium but nice nonetheless. And you can take ';behind the scenes'; tours there that I%26#39;d recommend. ENJOY!

If you want to see nature, away from Charleston, contact Ralph, below:

http://kayakcharleston.net/

He runs kayak trips in the ACE Basin (about an hour south of Charleston) where, depending on the time of year and tides, you may see alligators, dolphins, relics from some of the old plantations, and just the wonderful peace of the marshes. Great trips!

Do think about making a reservation for lunch at one of the restaurants on Kiawah, like Villa suggested. That way you can at least see what Kiawah looks like and maybe find a way to stay on the island the next time you are in town. The best way to see the island is on bike.

Have fun!