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I am always in awe about the amazing scenery I encounter while birding. South Carolina offers so many absolutely fucking amazing birds and even more stunning places to see them. Sure, I am somewhat bias, because I have lived here for almost twenty years, but here is just a look at two destinations I highly recommend. I am going to add two more next week!

Folly Beach Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve

First of all, this is a breathtaking beach with a classic lighthouse view. You can walk the beach and marvel at the crystal water and fiery sunrise if you get there early enough to see it. There are so many shore birds. Terns, OysterCatchers, Herons, Ruddy Turnstones, plovers and well, you’ll probably see some dolphins in the water. There is so much to look at here. The walk is definitely long. I like long walks while birding, but if you don’t you can still stay relatively close to the entrance of the preserve, and still see a lot. It’s fucking great here, just go and love it. I recently went there with birders from my online community, The Flock! We do local meetups like this all of the time, so if you’ve been wanting to meet up with some cool birders, come join us in the group! We have a 7-Day free trial going on right now that you can check out ​HERE!

Huntington Beach State Park

This is still one of my favorite birding spots in the state. I go here often and have become so familiar with the park, I feel at home there. I have had many cool firsts at this place and I go there at least twice a year sometimes more. There is a variety of birds. You can walk out to the jetty and experience so much more. I just can’t shit on this spot at all. I always tell people to stay in Murrells Inlet and have a blast at this state park. Murrells Inlet has a Marsh Walk with a ton of places to eat and shop. You can bird and eat, or eat and bird! The views are next level.

I highly recommend staying in Murrells Inlet if you visit this South Carolina state park. You’ll be very close to the park. I suggest getting to it at 6am when they open. During the summer months, the park will get crowded and they will close it when that happens, however arriving early will prevent you from not being able to get in. Once there, the first thing you should do is make your way to the North Beach Access. This is where you will see an amazing sunrise while you walk to the jetty, that is a little over a mile away. Totally bring some water, snacks, and anything else you might need for the long scenic walk.

Once at the jetty be sure to walk it at its entirety! Go right and you will see terns, gulls, possible black skimmers, and in the spring and summer some nesting plovers and terns. This area will be roped off and marked for their protection. You might also catch a glimpse of the American Minks that run around! The jetty is amazing.

After that, its time for to make your way to what the locals call “the straight road” because its literally very straight. Here you’re going to see wading birds, alligators, song birds and the occasional photographer.

After you explore this spot, and you still want to look for more birds, you can hit the trails, or go to the Nature Center and relax. I usually eat my packed lunch here and watch the birds at their bird feeders. There is a boardwalk there also, where you can see shore birds and wading birds. As always if you want to ask me any questions about this park, feel free to email me and message me on Instagram!

South Carolina is just so amazing for birding and is very affordable if you know where to stay. There is a lot of great AirBnB’s in the Murrells Inet area. I ALWAYS look at these options first for birding because they offer some unique experiences.