Things to Do in Socastee

Since its founding by Marion Reid in 1969—and through its adoption by current owners Michelle and David Folden—Stono River Riding Academy has helped riders connect with temperate steeds and with their natural surroundings on 360 acres of trees and pastures. During classes and leisurely rides, trainers lead mounted explorers through the labyrinthine passageways of Johns Island, passing beneath billowing drapes of Spanish moss and escaping the cacophony of urban areas. Stono River’s staff always keeps safety in mind, ensuring that pupils wear proper equipment and familiarize themselves with all the confusing controls on the horses' dashboards.

Joe Lotts and most of his staff graduated from Brevard College with a degree in wilderness leadership and experiential education. At Charleston Outdoor Adventures, they put their schooling to work by educating people about the coastline’s saltwater estuaries. Their classrooms are their kayaks, paddleboards, and 23-foot bay boat, and their coursework combines environmentalism with photo opportunism. For instance, the tour route to Morris Island Lighthouse and Fort Sumter flows past scenic marshland, local birds, and pick-up games of dolphin basketball. If guests prefer to explore alone, Lotts and crew also rent out its paddleboards and kayaks.

Purchased by philanthropist Archer Huntington and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, in 1929, the 9,127 acres of forest, swamp, rice fields and beachfront that became Brookgreen Gardens were originally intended to become the couple’s winter home. Instead, they created a nonprofit institution in 1931 that transformed the property into the first sculpture garden in the United States. Brookgreen Gardens now adorns more than 300 acres of gardens and facilities with more than 1,400 works. A National Historic Landmark, Brookgreen Gardens fields a staff that edifies guests on the property’s plantation history and its gardens’ evolution during seasonally shifting programs, exhibitions, and tours. A medieval, seven-circuit Chartres labyrinth lures visitors with its serene quietude, an exhibit chronicles the narrative of the land from Native American occupation through the present, archeological sites unearth information about life on rice plantations, and the museum’s zoo beckons the intellectually curious with its critters.

Folly Boat Rentals' fleet of Newport vessels takes crews on aquatic adventures on the Folly and Stono rivers. Lighthouses and sprawling coastlines form a picturesque backdrop to the easily operated inflatable skiffs, which carry passengers on fishing expeditions and leisurely outings to beaches filled with white sand. Their motors churning through the water, the vessels can voyage to nearby Morris Island or embark on quests to catch dolphins playing charades in their natural habitat.