This place was mesmerizing. I was glad we took a detoure through the golden isles, or we would have missed it. The drive to get to Ft Fredericka is beautiful, you'll pass old churches and houses. Once there it's just breathtaking. It's free to get in, and there's a self guided walking tour of the remains. Nice hidden gem!
Stayed here for 4 nights during our trip to Charleston. It's a quick 10 min drive to downtown Charleston. The price is great considering how much it costs to stay downtown! But if we go back we will splurge and stay closer to the attractions out of convenience.
My husband is a history buff and this was on his must see list. fort Sumter itself is free, however you have to take a ferry out which is $19.50 a person. That was a little steep, but it's to be expected. Just being inside the fort gives you chills. There's so much history, and sorrow. If you don't care about history, or how this fort shaped the civil war, you shouldn't go.
My husband and I love to trave! We pick one 2 week trip a year to see something new. We live in Nevada so we picked the south this year. We went on a tour of historic cities. Charleston was our last stop. We were very excited to see Magnolia gardens. The pamphlets really sell it. We were so disappointed when we got there. We came from Drayton Hall which is up the road, and so much better. We are not cheap, but this places really up sells everything! $15 to get in, which only includes the garden walk. The garden is beautiful, but they don't offer any info on the plantation. You have to pay for all the extras just to get info on the history! Which is $8 for each additional "attraction". Just not worth it. My husband has a bachelors in history, so he was bummed they didn't have signs explaining anything. Just another way for them to get more money. We did pay the $8 to see the swamp which was a nice treat! We saw a bunch of alligators, something you can't see in Nevada!
I've lived in Las Vegas for 10 years and this has always been my favorite park. It's very underrated because people don't know it's here, even locals! My husband is a park ranger there so I've gotten to see some beautiful places in the park most people haven't seen. You can hike any where in the park, but be careful. It's easy to get lost and even when it's only 65 out, the sun will still be blazing. My husband has had to search and rescue dozens of people, and treat them for heat stroke. During the off season (Memorial Day - Labor Day) they don't do any guided hikes, and they strongly recommend that you do not hike. It's around 110-115 during the summer and hiking on the sand/ rocks makes it feel even hotter! Also they do not take reservations for the camp grounds. It's on a first come basis. October is usually the busiest month because the weather in Vegas is just coming out of the high temps. November, March, April, and May are busy as well.