Adventure through South Carolina’s State Parks

Adventure through South Carolina’s State Parks: Blog Series By Marissa Rothermel, Founder of the Carolina Camping Club (CCC)

When one considers a visit to the state of South Carolina, many worthy destinations come to mind. The city of Charleston, with its Insta-famous pastel buildings, horse drawn carriages, numerous historic churches, and reigning reputation as the “Bachelorette Party Capital of the World” is usually at the top of the list. If you're a beach goer, Folly might come to mind, featuring a brand new boardwalk, retired lighthouse, restaurant lined blocks, and ever changing graffiti walk.

Other household name locations include ever-growing Greenville with its rich art/music and culture scene, Kiawah Island- home of golf resorts and strand-feeding dolphins, Columbia’s military bases and Congaree National Park, and of course, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s most infamous destination for nightlife and family beach getaways. What isn't as readily known though, and the true hidden gems of the Palmetto State, are the 47 vastly different, history rich, stunningly gorgeous state parks. In this blog, I’ll share my adventures through South Carolina state parks as I work to complete my “Ultimate Outsider” journey, and to help you choose your next adventure!

Before we get started, there are 2 pieces of background information that are important to know as a reader. The first being - I am a camping enthusiast. To such a degree that in May 2023 I founded the “Carolina Camping Club (CCC)” - a free camping club focused on facilitating camping friendships. We operate primarily through Facebook Groups, are ~5K members strong in only 18 months of existence, host community events all over the state of South Carolina (with active members in Georgia and North Carolina and plans to expand events there too), and exist under one guiding rule - “Be kind, always”. The second piece of information to know about is what I referred to in the start of this article, the South Carolina State Parks “Ultimate Outsider” quest. This challenge encourages folks to visit every single state park in SC (currently 47 with multiple more in the works) and collect a unique stamp in a (free) SC state parks book. At the conclusion of your quest, you receive a certificate, a t-shirt, and unlock new state park experiences including exclusive events only for UA completionists! For social media enthusiasts like myself, you can also be featured on the SC parks website if you are so inclined- but that feather in your cap is entirely by your choice.

With all that said … let this adventure begin!

Huntington Beach State Park (HBSP) If I chose only one state park to visit in South Carolina, it would have to be Huntington Beach State Park. This park has everything- a gorgeous beach, a large campground, abundant wildlife, a central location, and even a castle to explore! Located minutes away from Myrtle Beach, it is easy to understand the appeal and quality of the beach itself. Rolling waves and soft sand beaches greet you, and a few lucky campsites can even hear the ocean from their site. Huntington Beach SP has a new and huge playground space which is perfect for tiring out children of all ages, as well as ample bench and picnic table seating, as well as a covered pavilion space nearby for parents to watch the youngsters play- or to be rented for events.

Atalaya Castle (known simply as “Atalaya”) was the winter home of Archer and Anna Huntington (for whom the state park was named for), a noted philanthropist and artist (respectively). Constructed in the 1930’s as an open-air, mild-winter, seaside home to support Anna’s tuberculosis, it features 30 different rooms and formerly housed much of Anna’s sculpture work - which has since been relocated to Brookgreen Gardens, a sprawling estate down the road from the park.
Friends of Atalaya offer guided tours of the castle near-daily for only $2/person (children under 5 are free). Note: Brookgreen Gardens is just one more reason to visit Huntington Beach State Park - for their infamous “Night of 1,000 Candles” holiday spectacle, or relaxing summer strolls and a visit to the on-sight zoo.

Finally, the other huge draw and why Huntington Beach is one of my favorite photography destinations - the alligators! HBSP is considered to be one of the best and safest places to observe alligators in the wild in all of South Carolina - possibly the world! Nestled between a freshwater lake and the ocean, and with many freshwater marshes on premise, alligators can be seen in abundance right from the moment you cross the causeway into the main portion of the park! There are 100’s of alligators that call Huntington Beach their home, and plenty of paved walking paths to observe them from. On my last trip, I was lucky enough to even spot some baby gators in the water!

Huntington Beach State Park offers all sorts of guided tours throughout the year, but at 10am (leaving from in front of Atalaya Castle) from March through October they offer all-ages alligator walks- so plan your trip accordingly, and be sure to bring a fully charged camera! Don’t forget to stop by the huge nature center (open year round with free admission) on your trip too, to see what their daily and weekly offerings are, meet other resident animal life, and get a full history of the park.

Through collaboration with the Carolina Camping Club (CCC) and Charleston Wandervans, we are happy to continue this series of blogs to help you explore the beautiful state of South Carolina! Stay Tuned!

New to camping? There is no better way to explore and learn than in a rental van from Wandervans!