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South Carolina

Kayak the Lowcountry

Program No. 12440RJ

Join experts for a relaxed kayaking adventure in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, where you’ll paddle historic waterways, learn about regional culture and enjoy home-cooked meals.

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Protecting the Environment

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6 days

5 nights

14 meals

5B 4L 5D

Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner

Ridgeland, SC

Safety & Equipment Review, Saltwater Paddle, Evening Fun

Ridgeland, SC

Kayaking the Combahee River

Ridgeland, SC

Kayak Bluff Lake

Ridgeland, SC

Old Sheldon Church, Beaufort, Kayaking, Farewell Dinner

Ridgeland, SC

Program Concludes

Ridgeland, SC

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At a Glance

Discover the beauty and secrets of South Carolina’s Lowcountry waterways, home to Spanish moss, marsh grasses, blackwater and abundant wildlife. Paddle on salt creeks, freshwater rivers and venture into woodland swamps as you study the ecological and historical culture of the Lowcountry, observing species of birds and wildflowers visible only from the water.

Activity Level

Varies by date

Varies by date. OUTDOOR: SPIRITED Dates: Intended for beginner and intermediate kayakers. Kayak around 4 miles daily (about 3 hours); lift kayaks and gear. Participants who are not certain about whether they are prepared for the Challenging version of this course should choose Spirited. If you kayak only once or twice a year, this program is for you. OUTDOOR: CHALLENGING Dates: Experienced and fit kayakers receive advanced instruction that assumes knowledge of multiple kayak strokes and techniques. Do you know how and why to feather your paddle? Use torso rotation for efficiency? Participants will kayak up to 9 miles daily; sit in kayak up to 4 hours; carry kayak and gear. Conditions may include wind and opposing currents. Please note that all our kayaks are singles; if you have never (or rarely) paddled a kayak solo before, or have primarily paddled canoes, we recommend that you choose the “Outdoor: Spirited” version of this program.

Small Group

Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

Explore history first-hand from the water, meandering through old rice fields, into cypress-tupelo forests, or under stately live oaks.
Enjoy delicious meals prepared by a local chef.
Relax and learn during various evening activities: meet sweetgrass basket makers and hear their stories, explore the Lowcountry by maps--there's something different every night.

General Notes

The Retreat Difference: This unique, often basic and no-frills experience at a Road Scholar Retreat includes opportunities for light exercise, interaction with the local community, an authentic farm-to-table or locally sourced meal and evening entertainment on at least one night. Small group program limited to 13 participants. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.

Featured Expert

All trip experts

April Childress

A native of South Carolina, April Childress has been sea kayaking for more than a decade. She is a popular instructor for Road Scholar programs, and she has kayaked in the Lower Exumas; rafted the Grand Canyon; served on a Mars Society research team in the Canadian High Arctic; and has photographed blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos Islands. April thinks there is no place in the world like South Carolina, and no better way to explore it than by water.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

April Childress View biography

Suggested Reading List (9 books)

Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop

You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.

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Kayak the Lowcountry

Program Number: 12440

"The Swamp Fox"

by Amy Crawford

Here's the link to this article about one of the most famous Revolutionary War heroes in SC, and one for whom counties and cities are named. Francis Marion used his knowledge of the swamps and woods of SC and his attention to details to outwit British troops and earn his nickname. A poor speller, he was nonetheless a great report-writer. www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/biography/fox.html

The Spirit of Sweetgrass

by Nicole Seitz

Seitz's main character is Essie Mae Laveau Jenkins, a Gullah sweetgrass basketmaker who weaves her magic on the roadside near Mt. Pleasant. With her special love baskets, she works to brings people together. Conflict ensues when her daughter wants her to go to a rest home, and the florist she's been trying to fix up turns out to be gay. Sweetgrass making, roadside basket sellers in the Charleston area, mystery, comedy, family relationships, friends.

Tideland Treasure

by Todd Balantine

Our naturalist Bill Hamel says this is "a bible around here." Hand-drawn illustrations enhance the explanations. Each page was once an article in the local paper. Written for regular folks, there's information to satisfy trained naturalists.

South Carolina Naturalists: An Anthology, 1700-1860

by David Taylor and Rudy Mancke

Hardcover. "This volume illuminates the wealth and significance of antebellum natural history studies in South Carolina and the state's natural diversity," says the product description; our Bill Hamel notes that it's "great all around for naturalists and history lovers."

A Coast for All Seasons: A Naturalist's Guide to the Coast of South Carolina

by Miles O. Hayes, Jacqueline Michel and Joseph M. Holmes

Technical but readable discussions of beach erosion and our dynamic coastline. Beautifully illustrated with photos, drawings, and satellite images, this book will delight geology buffs and others drawn to the Carolina coast.

The Water is Wide

by Pat Conroy

Pat Conroy's memoir about teaching on Daufuskee Island in a one-room schoolhouse. The book was made into the movie Conrack, starring Jon Voight. Sense of place and people. Product Description from publisher: The island is nearly deserted, haunting, beautiful. Across a slip of ocean lies South Carolina. But for the handful of families on Yamacraw island, America is a world away. For years the people here lived proudly from the sea, but now its waters are not safe. Waste from industry threatens their very existence--unless, somehow, they can learn a new life. But they will learn nothing without someone to teach them, and their school has no teacher. Here is PAT CONROY'S extraordinary drama based on his own experience: the true story of a man who gave a year of his life to an island and the new life its people gave him.

The Prince of Tides

by Pat Conroy

Pat Conroy's novel captures the beauty of the lowcountry as it moves from present to past and back again. Made into a movie by the same title starring Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. Narrated by Tom Wingo, the novel explores the relationships between members of a dysfunctional family as it moves between the lowcountry to Manhattan. Shrimping, good description of salt marshes.

Nature Guide to the Carolina Coast: Common Birds, Crabs, Shells, Fish, and other Entities of the Coastal Environment (2n...

by Peter Meyer

General, practical, and short. Readable, entertaining guide recently expanded, updated, and revised.

Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest

by Lawrence S. Earley

Our naturalist Bill Hamel says this is the "best all around for naturalists and history lovers." Longleaf pine forests are a special ecosystem and home to the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker.

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Kayak the Lowcountry

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Protecting the Environment

At a Glance

Best of all, you’ll…

General Notes

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