Hike Location: Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
Geographic Location: west side of Charleston, SC (32.80764, -79.98635)
Length: 2.9 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2020
Overview: A nearly flat hike around the site of the first permanent
English settlement in South Carolina.
Site Information: https://southcarolinaparks.com/charles-towne-landing
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=785210
Photo Highlight:
Directions to the trailhead: Just north of downtown
Charleston, take I-26 to SR 7 (exit 216A).
Exit and go south on SR 7. Drive
SR 7 south for 1.8 miles, then angle left on SR 171. The entrance to Charles Towne State Historic
Site is another 0.5 miles ahead on the left.
There is a traffic light at the site entrance, but otherwise the
entrance is not well marked. Turn left
to enter the site, park in the large visitor parking lot, and pay your
admission fee at the Visitor Center, where this hike begins.
The hike: The year was 1670 when a group of English
settlers landed on Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River. The settlers built a small fortified
community that would become the first permanent English settlement in present-day
South Carolina, and they named their community Charles Towne after the King of
England, King Charles II. This
settlement would become the birthplace of the Carolina colony and the American
South’s plantation system.
Within 10
years a newer settlement on Oyster Point on the opposite east bank of the
Ashley River had outgrown Charles Towne, and the capital of the Carolina Colony
was moved to that site, which is present-day downtown Charleston. The original Charles Towne became known as
Old Town Plantation, and it would be farmed for almost the next 300 years. The land’s last private owners were Dr. and
Mrs. Joseph Waring, who built an ornate house and garden on the site. In 1969, the land was sold to the State of
South Carolina, which developed the land as a state park. The park opened in 1970 to commemorate
Charles Towne’s tricentennial.
Today the park
goes by the name Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, and it offers an
interesting mix of recreated history, actual history, and present-day
attractions. On each point, a recreated
fort with buildings sits where the original fort once stood, and the Adventure
recreates the 17th century ship the original settlers would have
sailed on. The ornate Legare-Waring
House and adjacent garden await visitors’ exploration, and the park’s Animal Forest
offers a small zoo with many live animals on exhibit. You could easily spend several hours
exploring all there is to see, and the 2.9 mile loop described here gives a
good overview of the site.
 |
| Pond and fountain beside Visitor Center |
The
exhibits in the Visitor Center give a good idea of what life was like in 1670
Charles Towne. After browsing and
interacting with the exhibits, walk out the side door marked as leading to the
History Trail. A plastic-board deck
overlooking a nice pond with gushing fountain greets you as you step out of the
Visitor Center.
 |
| Start of History Trail |
The asphalt
History Trail heads east through an arboretum-like setting that featured some
flowering redbuds on my late February visit.
At the next intersection, turn left to follow signs for the Animal
Forest. Next you pass a slave cemetery
on the right; the cemetery would be hard to find without the signs that mark
and interpret it.
At 0.3
miles, you enter the Animal Forest exhibits.
The exhibits include an aviary featuring some pelicans and herons, some
river otters, a black bear, a puma, a bison/elk pen, and a fantastic bald
eagle. Take some time to observe and
learn what you can learn about bird and animal behaviors.
 |
| Pelicans in Animal Forest |
 |
| Bison pen in Animal Forest |
After
touring the Animal Forest, walk back out toward the History Trail, but before
you reach the slave cemetery turn left to leave the asphalt and begin the
site’s Nature Trail. The Nature Trail is
unmarked, but the dirt path was obvious on my visit. The Nature Trail leads to a bench offering a
nice view across Ashley River, which at this point appears more as a tidal
marsh than a river.
 |
| Hiking the Nature Trail |
The Nature
Trail heads south along the west bank of the Ashley River via a well-trodden
dirt treadway. When a pond comes into
view, take a quick detour to the right to view the stately statue of Cassique
of the Kiawah. Kiawah Chief
Cassique led Charles Towne settlers to build on this site and was a friend to
the new-found colony. After viewing the
statue, continue south to the left of the pond to reach a white tent where some
archaeological excavations were on-going on my visit.
 |
| Cassique of Kiawah |
Past the
tent, you reach the south end of the Nature Trail where it rejoins the asphalt
History Trail. At 1.7 miles, the trail
passes through the reconstructed palisade wall to enter the site of the
original Charles Towne settlement. Some
cannons, some stocks, a crop garden, a common house, and more archaeology
exhibits will be found here. The
mowed-grass area makes it easy to imagine what this settlement may have looked
like 300+ years ago.
 |
| Reconstructed fort area |
Just shy of
2 miles, you reach the tip of Albemarle Point, which offers fantastic views of
downtown Charleston across the Ashley River.
Continuing around Albemarle Point brings you to the 17th
century-style Adventure ship’s dock.
Adventure is moved to another location for annual maintenance every January
and February, so I did not get to see the ship.
|
| Ashley River at Albemarle Point |
Next the
trail crosses a wooden boardwalk that offers fantastic views up and down Old
Towne Creek, another marsh-looking waterway.
The asphalt History Trail winds past some more archaeology exhibits
before reaching the south end of the Avenue of Oaks. As its name suggests, the Avenue of Oaks is a
tunnel of live oak trees, and the lavish Legare-Waring House stands at its
north end.
 |
| Avenue of Oaks |
Where the
asphalt trail splits, turn left to hike the English Garden Trail, which forms a
short loop through Mrs. Waring’s Garden.
Some pink azaleas in bloom brightened the garden on my visit, and
another overlook gives a final view of Old Towne Creek. I saw a blue heron perched beside a blooming
azalea bush, and I flushed a group of robins out of the bushes.
 |
| Azalea and heron |
After
crossing the Legare-Waring House entrance road, you pass a 700-year-old live
oak tree. Follow the History Trail as it
winds its way to the rear entrance of the Visitor Center, thus completing the
hike. Take some time to browse the
exhibits and gift shop in the Visitor Center on your way out if you did not do
so before.
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