Last Updated on June 5, 2025 by PorchLightReading
Family travel guide to Botany Bay located on Edisto Island, South Carolina. Only one hour from downtown Charleston and full of eroding, natural beauty.
Botany Bay is a beautiful heritage preserve and wildlife area located on Edisto Island. Being only an hour drive from downtown Charleston, it’s easy to see why this a must visit destination.
Eroding beaches, an island only accessible at low tide, a self guided driving tour that takes you under outstanding live oak trees with expansive canopies, and a boneyard beach full of driftwood, seashells and oak trees that were once part of this large plantation.
Let’s not forget, it’s also free to visit.
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- Table of Contents: Botany Bay Heritage Preserve, Edisto Island SC
- Location, hours of operation, and admission
- What to expect on the self guided driving tour
- How to visit Pockoy Island A.K.A Driftwood Beach
- Travel tips and other information
While camping on Edisto Island, we were on the search for a few different family adventures. Little did we know that this one would become one of our favorite places to visit, and a destination we visited multiple times in just a few days.
Botany Bay Edisto Island
Botany Bay is now a heritage preserve and wildlife management Area, but that hasn’t always been the case. This plantation has gone through several changes of hands over the last couple of centuries. It’s grown rice, corn, livestock, and in the early 1900’s, the finest sea-island cotton that would be shipped to France.
The history of this plantation is one I encourage you to read as you make your way through the self guided driving tour, and we’ll touch a bit more on it later in this article.
But first, how crazy is it to know that the only reason any of us get to enjoy the beauty of Botany Bay as a heritage preserve, is because the former owner (John Meyer) made a huge error in judgement and constructed something illegally.
LOCATION, HOURS OF OPERATION AND ADMISSION
Botany Bay is located just an hour drive from downtown Charleston at – Botany Bay Road. Edisto Island, SC 29438.
They are open during daylight hours to include 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. It’s also important to note that they are closed every Tuesday for scheduled hunts.
Admission to Botany Bay is free for everyone and they even allow dogs on leash. However, dogs are not allowed on the causeway or on the beach.
SELF-GUIDED DRIVING TOUR
As you enter the main gate you’ll need to pull over at the kiosk and sign in. They’ll asked for the number of people in your vehicle and where you’re traveling from. While there, be sure to grab a map for the guided tour.
This map has a timeline of the history of the land along with the route you’ll be driving. Along the way they have markers that correspond to the map and you can learn about the history of each location.
This driving tour can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes so be sure to plan your visit accordingly. For our family, it was just about a 30 minute tour as we read through each location and took our time to spot some wildlife in the distance.
Note- Be mindful that once you pass marker 4, it is a one way drive around the property.
HOW TO GET TO THE BEACH AT BOTANY BAY, EDISTO ISLAND
After signing in at the kiosk, follow the main road all the way till it comes to an end. You can either turn left and continue on the driving tour, or turn right and head to the beach.
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From there you will have to park in the parking lot and make your way over to Pockoy Island by foot. This island is only accessible during low tide, so be sure to keep that in mind while walking over and walking back, as part of the path will become flooded at high tide. It’s about 0.5 miles and consists of a flat, dirt trail. It’s also incredibly hot during the summer months with no shade until you reach the island. A hat or umbrella will be a welcome relief.
Some may call this area boneyard beach or driftwood beach, and if you’re not quite sure why, you soon will. Once the path ends it feels like you are in another world. Fallen trees and seashells line this untouched beach and a boneyard of oak trees lie before you.
At first it can take your breath away. Seeing nothing like this. Tree after tree is stuck in the beach sand all with a white, smooth, bark from being tossed by the tide.
Walking to the right you can walk under and around these fallen giants and eventually you’ll come to the tallest, straight roots, I have ever seen.
Believe it or not but the tree above has roots that are over 4 feet tall! It may look like a fun photo opportunity but it’s important to take caution. Little bugs like these trees as well.
Continuing down the beach you’ll eventually come to a large tide pool surrounded by palmetto trees. The beach will be split by a small channel and you can turn back and explore the other direction.
Depending on the time of your visit, you may come across a few orange signs with a cage over the sand. Edisto Island is home to many loggerhead sea turtles that like to make their nests along the beaches of South Carolina. It’s important to give these protected nests space so that after a couple of months these little ping pong sized eggs can hatch and make their way to the ocean.
TRAVEL TIPS AND INFORMATION
I’ve mentioned a few tips along the way, but sometimes it’s helpful to have it all listed out. It’s important to remember that this is a Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Area. This means we need to follow their rules to the T.
Note- This is not a friendly swimming beach. Because of all the driftwood and debris in the water it can be very dangerous.
- The beach is only accessible during low tide.
- No dogs allowed on beach or causeway.
- No taking anything from the area. That includes seashells, driftwood, or anything of the like.
- Open everyday from sunrise to sunset- Closed on Tuesdays.
- No restrooms are available.
You’ll also want to pack a few items of comfort. The path to the beach is not shaded so sunscreen is a must. You may also want a hat or umbrella.
It can get buggy while walking around the icehouse and surrounding area. Don’t forget the bug spray.
- Sunscreen
- Hat/umbrella
- Bugspray
- Lots of drinking water
Note- There is adult-youth catch and release fishing on Jason’s Lake Friday- Sunday, with valid saltwater fishing license. Adults must be accompanied by a youth 17 and younger.
The first afternoon we visited Botany Bay we were in awe of the live oak trees lining the dirt road. The sun was dipping low as we started the self guided driving tour, and the Spanish moss dripping from the trees was shimmering as we made our way over the dam in the salt water marsh.
We read the history of the plantation as we came to each each numbered marker but came to a full stop when we reached number 8. I read it out loud one more time in the truck in utter disbelief with what I had read the first time.
John “Jason” Meyer decided to make a lake on his property. So he took dirt from his land (creating a man made pond) and used the fill dirt to create a dam. It became a great fishing and duck hunting area but in doing so it destroyed the salt marsh that did not belong to him.
This illegal construction of the dam led Meyer and the attorney general to strike a deal. He would keep the dam and when Meyer and his wife passed away, the property would be given to the state as a wildlife refuge. An interesting story of how we all get to enjoy this protected area today.
We’ll see you on our next adventure.
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