Things to Do in Saint Simon Mills

With help from a staff of paddleboarders, surfers, environmental scientists, and a dog named Dillon, Kayak Amelia founders Jody and Ray Hetchka combine their love for outdoor sports with environmental conservation. Ray, a certified naturalist and self-described tree hugger, peppers guided kayak, bicycle, and paddleboard eco tours with facts on flora, fauna, and all the best smells circulating throughout the island's delicate ecosystem. In addition to guided tours, Kayak Amelia teaches paddleboard and kayak lessons, and leads fishing trips and overnight kayak excursions. Guests can sign up for tours, or rent equipment for the day, at Kayak Amelia's storefront, Y.B. Green's General Store, which carries eco-friendly gifts such as beeswax candles, carved bone necklaces, and clay-dyed clothing.

High-profile destinations often cite their high ratings on TripAdvisor, which named e2ride bike tours Jacksonville’s No. 1 attraction. However, few boast that they were highly rated by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her iconic novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is credited with helping to ignite the Civil War, but most of her opinions on travel have been lost to the ages—except on the company’s historical bike tour of Olde Mandarin. As the tour group winds past the lush area’s museums and public parks, the tour guide notes that Stowe dubbed the area “a tropical paradise.”

On the company’s other tours, guides offer equally juicy historical tidbits, such as that Riverside-Avondale was originally only occupied by just two homeowners or that Truman Capote vacationed in Springfield. As they learn about the past, groups cycle down present-day roads lined with homes in styles ranging from Tudor and Georgian to Star Warsian.

Staring at a blank piece of paper can be intimidating, but browsing the blank, premade pottery at Doing Dishes draws hibernating creativity from its den, enticing the brain with shape, size, and bisque meat. Pieces range between $7 and $60, and all merry potters are assessed a modest studio fee of $6, which covers everything required to design and fire a project, including time. Grab a blank plate and paint a meal upon it, stencil a cup with springtime flowers, or decorate a picture frame worthy of being hung inside itself.

Owners William and Paula Smith arm players with Spyder or Tippmann markers before they trek across bridges, sneak through the trees, and dodge incoming fire from behind a cluster of barrels on Low Country Paintball’s wooded field. The staff has decorated its massive course with obstacles and barriers such as an upturned rowboat and a rusty old truck. Elsewhere on the 63-acre facility, staff members oversee participants who weave through the speedball field’s bounty of blue inflatables. In addition to open-play sessions, Low Country Paintball hosts frequent games and events through its LCP Scenario branch, including bouts themed after famous battles such as the Thumb War of 1812.