South Carolina Islands

1. Kiawah Island

Kiawah Island is a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean, about 21 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, and is mostly operated as a gated private golf and resort island.

This lush, green island has 10 miles of magnificent wide sandy beaches, 30 miles of hiking and biking trails, 123 acres of parks, and first-class golf courses.

The best way to see the true beauty of the island is from the Marsh Island Lookout Tower in Marsh Island Park. You will be able to see the Kiawah River, vast saltwater marshes, and a scattering of island hammocks. The Heron Park Nature Center offers nature tours, butterfly walks, birding walks, and alligator walks.

The great egret rookery is home to dozens of these beautiful white birds, which you can see perched in trees in the lagoon.

Beachwalker Park has a wide boardwalk winding through oaks, palmettos, and pines.

2. Daufuskie Island

Daufuskie Island is located between Savannah and Hilton Head Island and is the southernmost inhabited South Carolina Sea Island.

It covers only about 8 square miles but it has 3 miles of beachfront. It has very few paved roads and its ancient oaks give it a timeless feel of a place lost in the past.

It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Calibogue Sound, and the Intracoastal Waterway. Daufuskie Island is only accessible by ferry or boat, and has a population of only about 400 people.

The island offers a fascinating cultural experience with old Gullah houses, environmental preserves, art galleries, and private communities.

The entire island has been declared a Historic District. The northeast part of the island is the private residential club Haig Point Club.

The western part is unincorporated land. Haig Point is a great place to stay, offering a choice of vacation activities and dining options.

3. Bear Island, South Carolina

Bear Island is only an hour from Charleston but a world away from civilization.

This undeveloped 12,021-acre South Carolina Sea Island near the village of Benetts Point is part of an estuarine reserve and a Wildlife Management Area popular for biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, and bird watching.

Serene and completely undeveloped, the island was once a rice plantation but the old rice fields are now left to the birds and wildlife, including the roughly 50 species of birds that make Bear Island their home.

The rice was grown at water level, since most of the island is a wetland. Hikers can pass by some of the magnificent old plantation houses that are now being reclaimed by nature. The island is managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

4. Callawassie Island

Callawassie Island is located about 17 miles from Beaufort, South Carolina, one of hundreds of South Carolina’s barrier Sea Islands in the coastal plain. The island is located in the estuary of the Port Royal Sound, about 10 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean and completely surrounded by tidal creeks and salt marshes. There is a half-mile-long causeway that connects the island to the mainland, but it can also be reached by boat through the deep Colleton River waters. The island covers 880 acres between the Callawassie Creek and the Okatie, Little Chechessee, and Colleton Rivers. The island has about 5 miles of waterfront on the Port Royal Sound Basin salt marshes. It was designated a Community Wildlife Habitat with more than 200 residences certified as Backyard Wildlife Habitats. The residents, the owners of 717 homes on the island, enjoy private access to 33 lagoons, one butterfly garden, three parks, and three rookeries. There is also a 27-hole golf course.

5. Capers Island

Capers Island is a quaint, undeveloped South Carolina barrier island about 15 miles from Charleston, located between the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and Dewees Island, almost 3 miles from the mainland. About 3 miles long, it is accessible only by boat. It includes 214 acres of beach, 850 acres of maritime uplands, 1,090 acres of salt marsh, and more than 100 acres of brackish water land. The island is part of the 60-mile-long stretch of the coast that is protected from any type of development and owned by the state or federal government. The island is famous for a beach called the “bone-yard” because of the old tree stumps and skeletons that have bleached by the sun. The beach is a popular destination for photographers and beach combers. The island is full of wildlife, such as deer, raccoons, and loggerhead turtles, and there is an abundance of birds that thrive in the unspoiled and untouched wilderness.

6. Deveaux Bank

Deveaux Bank is a 215-acre bird sanctuary on a sandy horseshoe-shaped sand island at the entrance to the North Edisto River in South Carolina's Charleston County. It is located between Edisto and Seabrook Islands off the Atlantic coast. It is very low, with an average elevation of only 3 feet. It has almost 3 miles of sandy beaches on its three sides and on the fourth side is a tidal lagoon, facing the mainland. The island’s shape constantly changes with the currents and tides. It is home to thousands of birds and is managed and protected by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The island is very popular with kayakers, since it is common to encounter bottlenose dolphins, bonnethead sharks, and blue crabs while cruising around the island. Camping is not allowed.

7. Dewees Island

Dewees Island  is a small barrier island located about 11 miles from Charleston. The island is privately owned and consists of residential properties and a wildlife preserve. It can only be accessed by private boat or ferry. The owners of the properties are naturalists and environmentally conscious people who take care of protecting and preserving the sensitive environment of the barrier island. There are only 150 homesites, and the building codes are very strict. The island has no paved roads and all houses are built to fit into the island’s forests. There is no development on the 3-mile-long beachfront, which is left untouched, offering spectacular views. The Dewees Island Nature Preserve is home to many shorebirds, turtles, raccoons, and white-tailed deer.

8. Dreher Island

Dreher Island is part of the state park that includes three islands. Together, they cover 348 acres and offer access to almost 12 miles of shoreline on Lake Murray. The park is located about 30 miles from the state's capital, Columbia. The lake is a reservoir of the Saluda River, created as a result of building the Dreher Shals Dam. Dreher Island is covered by dense woods and is a popular destination for tourists who love to explore its hiking trails and fishermen looking for large-mouth bass in addition to boaters and campers. The only access to the island is a bridge located on its north side.

9. Edisto Island

Edisto Island  is one of South Carolina's Sea Islands, located about 42 miles from Charleston. Edisto Island was inhabited by the native Edisto people for centuries before white plantation owners started using it in the 1700s for timber, hunting, and growing indigo, rice, and cotton. Most of the labor was done by African slaves. Since the 20th century, the island has been developed as a resort and tourist destination, while there are still some private plantations. The island is the location of Edisto Beach, the Wyndham Ocean Ridge resort, and Edisto Island State Park. The park has a playground, an education center, a ranger station, and wonderful campsites on the beachfront with a view of the ocean.

10. Folly Island

Folly Island  is a barrier island, one of the South Carolina Sea Islands, in Charleston County, South Carolina. The 7-square-mile island was used during the American Civil War by the Union Army as an important staging area for attacking Confederate soldiers in the Charleston area. The largest town on the Island is Folly Beach. Folly Beach County Park is a popular tourist destination and the access point for the best beach on the island. The park is located at the west end of the island and has 2,500 feet of ocean front, boogie boarding and picnic areas as well as umbrella, chair, and bike rentals. Visitors can encounter loggerhead turtles and dolphins in the waters around the island and bald eagles in the sky. The Folly Beach Fishing Pier is perfect for fishing and bird and dolphin watching.