United States Destinations

Adventure awaits summer travellers to South Carolina

(NC)-Ponder a plover. Traverse a trail. Or mingle with the militia. All this and more is available each summer across South Carolina, one of the most popular destinations south of the border among Canadians.

A plover, of course, is a bird. Birding is a popular activity at a number of the state's parks and none more so than Huntington Beach State Park. Considered one of the finest birding stops on the East Coast, the park on the Grand Strand near Myrtle Beach is a great place for such rare sights as resting piping plover and nesting sites for least terns.

The state's beachfront parks, national wildlife refuges and other coastal retreats also offer opportunities for getting even closer to the flora and fauna of the maritime marsh and forest.

Kayaking in a large ocean lagoon is a program offered regularly by rangers at Hunting Island State Park, for example.

That big, semi-tropical park in the South Carolina Lowcountry also has several miles of beach, hiking and boardwalk trails into the marsh and a historic lighthouse that offers a great view to those willing to scale the steps.

At Edisto Beach State Park, meanwhile, a couple miles of strolling through the maritime forest will yield a visit to another rare sight: a large mound of shells left behind by prehistoric residents of the area. Called the Spanish Mount, it's been a cultural curiosity in the area for centuries of visitors.

South Carolina's interior also offers ample opportunity for active vacationers.

Canoeing in a unique setting is a draw on the black-and brown-water rivers of the state, such as the Edisto, Lynches and Pee Dee. Truly southern traditions, they offer bucolic stretches of summer silence except for the splashing of the paddle and the buzzing of the birds and bees.

Paddlers also delight in the cool runnings of South Carolina's mountain streams, including the legendary Chattooga River, with its rafting and other whitewater opportunities, as well as trout fishing and canoeing in the more placid stretches.

Columbia, the state's capital city, even offers canoeing and kayaking along the unspoiled rivers that converge and flow into and through its downtown on downstream to Congaree National Park, a flooded bottomland forest of depth and mystery, easily accessible by boardwalk and foot and water trails.

Trails also are a popular draw in the state forests and parks, particularly in the summer along the state's mountainous northwestern edge. Ranging from short nature trails to the 80-mile-long Foothills Trail, a good way to enjoy these walks in the woods is the organized hikes of various lengths offered at such sites as Table Rock, Caesars Head and Jones Gap state parks.

And as for the militia? South Carolina has a number of state and national historical sites and period encampments, many of them commemorating and preserving Revolutionary War history. For example, on July 8 the Musgrove Mill Militia & Co. living history group will meet at Musgrove Mill State Historic Site to demonstrate cabin building, cooking, toys and games and other facets of life from the colonial era.

The state's official tourism site at www.DiscoverSouthCarolina.com can provide information on outfitters and venues of all kinds for visitors interested in hiking, biking and taking in the historical and visual draw of the Palmetto State.