The area around Charleston is also replete with wonderful historic and scenic attractions. Just 8 miles north of Charleston is Boone Hall Plantation, which was used for background shots in \”Gone with the Wind.\” The estate was established in 1681, although the present house is a 1935 reconstruction. The eighteenth-century brick cabins were built for the domestic slaves and skilled artisans. The driveway features a wide avenue of oaks planted in 1743.

To see other Charleston plantations, head west from Charleston along Route 61, which follows the Ashley River. Nine miles from Charleston is Drayton Hall (1738-42), considered one of the nation’s finest examples of Georgian Palladian architecture.

It is another 2 miles to one of Charleston’s finest attractions, the 50-acre ornamental gardens of Magnolia Plantation, which has been in the Drayton family since the 1670s. The gardens were established in 1865 and feature flower and tree species from around the world, including 900 types of camellias.

Although they are beautiful all year, they are in full bloom in March and April.

There is also an herb garden, a sixteenth-century hedge maze, a topiary garden, a children’s petting zoo, a waterfowl sanctuary, a cabin and rice barge from the antebellum era, tram tours of the property, and 500 acres of wildlife trails.

The simple eighteenth-century house replaced an earlier home which was burned down by Union troops in 1865. Also on the property is the independently operated 60-acre Audubon Swamp Garden, which is a preserved blackwater cypress and tupelo swamp full of alligators, otters, and waterbirds, as well as lush flowers.

Four miles north is Middleton Place Gardens. The oldest landscaped gardens in the United States, they were created between 1741 and 1751 by 100 slaves at the behest of rice planter Henry Middleton, who was the president of the First Continental Congress. The guest wing is all that remains of the original 1755 mansion after the rest was torched by Union troops.

The story of the African-American is explored at Eliza’s House.

On the other side of the Ashley River is Charles Towne Landing, a state park centered on the area where South Carolina’s first permanent English settlement was established in 1670. The park attempts to recreate the area as it would have appeared to the original settlers. It includes a full-size replica of a seventeenth-century colonial trading ship, a living history re-creation of a seventeenth-century colonial village, a wild animal enclosure, a seventeenth-century crop garden, English park gardens, marshes, enormous oaks, freshwater lagoons, and also hiking and biking trails.

To the east of Charleston, on the Atlantic coast, are the popular beaches at Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island. Wild Dunes Resort has two championship golf courses and can organize deep-sea and inshore fishing trips.

To the south is a series of small marshy sea islands. Folly Island has a popular beach, a county park and a 1,045-foot fishing pier. Wadmalaw Island lies 15 miles south of Charleston and features the Charleston Tea Plantation, established in 1799. It grows American Classic, the only American tea that is served at the White House.

Further south is Kiawah Island, which has a beach, marshes and forests, two resort villages, golf courses, a tennis resort, fishing opportunities, and canoeing on the Kiawah River.

Further south is Edisto Island, a largely unspoiled resort with excellent beaches and plenty of birdlife. Edisto Island Museum has exhibits on sea island plantation life, the Civil War, and Native Americans. Campsites, cabins, and hiking trails are all available at Edisto Beach State Park. Colleton State Park is the headquarters of the scenic 56-mile Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail.