How to Spend a Day on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina
10 miles long by 6 miles wide southwest of Charleston, Wadmalaw Island is connected to the mainland of Johns Island by a bridge. Visitors will be pleasantly surprised to find that the island is beautiful, with marshes, majestic oaks, rivers and creeks. Claimed for England in 1666, and bordered by the Edisto River and Bohicket Creek, the island offers outdoor enthusiasts a variety of recreation as well as some surprising attractions.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Drive from Johns Island across the bridge on Church Street from Martins Point Road. Start at the Charleston Tea Plantation off Maybank Highway, the only working tea farm in the the United States, and the official tea provider to the White House. Take a free factory tour and see how tea is harvested and processed. There is also a guided trolley tour. Visitors can take a walk along a boardwalk around some of its tea fields. The plantation also has a gift shop and snack bar. You might consider coming during its biggest event, the Annual First Flush Festival in mid-May, with food, arts and crafts vendors and live entertainment.
-
2
After your visit to the tea plantation, drive to the Irvin-House Vineyards off Bears Bluff Road. Admission is free and tours are available every Saturday at this 48-acre vineyard that produces five award-winning wines from muscadine grapes. Thursday through Saturday, wine tastings are offered also. The wine is sold at area supermarkets. Two popular events held here are the Blessing of the Vine in November and the Annual Grape Stomping Festival in August that includes food and other entertainment.
-
-
3
Bring a picnic lunch or snack when visiting Wadmalaw, as there are no restaurants or shops on the island. However, there are a few restaurants within reasonable driving distance south toward Seabrook Island that will add a pleasant end to your day, such as Rosebank Farms Cafe at the Waterfront Marketplace in Bohicket Marina, as well as Chez Fish, serving French cuisine on Betsy Kerrison Parkway. Otherwise, refreshments can be purchased at the tea plantation or the winery.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Irvin-House Vineyards is closed in January.
