Back to Edisto State Park. We come here twice a year now. February is a great time to come. The weather is usually cool, not too cold, and the island isn’t so crowded. Campers are usually retired or remote workers. The campground itself is still usually full on the weekends, so, reservations far in advance is still a must. We also come in June so we can enjoy the beach more. It gets hot (low 90s today), but a dip in the ocean relieves that…at least for a bit. Finding a site takes advance planning, trial and error, as well as flexibility. However, it can be done. We have been successful finding great, shady spaces every year… so far.
This year, we snagged spot 63. I believe it is my favorite. The path to the beach is adjacent to the space and it has plenty of shade. We have 3 trees that allow us to erect our Trillium 3-Person Hammock. I also put up a water misting system over the hammock for those hot days. Walmart sells them for $20, well worth it.
We typically eat out while camping. At the end of setting up, maintaing the campsite, our 3 dogs and 3 cats and all the other things that have to be done, I don’t feel like cooking. We occasionally cook burgers over the campfire, which are so incredible, but, I would really like some fried shrimp and a cold beer at the end of the day. We typically go to Whaley’s for the Fried Shrimp and house made potato chips. McConkey’s also has great shrimp. Oh, don’t forgot about the Sea Cow. All three must be sampled. Every place is a short bike ride. This also allows us to visit the island viewing the houses, the Spanish moss covered trees, the marsh area and, of course, the beach. Need some dessert? Bike up the road (4 miles) to George and Pink’s. They have the best homemade pies. They are a bit hard to transport on a bike, but we managed by strapping them to our bike rack.
This time, I went to Flowers Seafood Market and picked up 4 8oz lobster tails. The folks there were extremely helpful with advice on how to cook them in a campground firepit. I will share the details in a later post. They were so good! The dinner for 4 was still pretty expensive, but lobster at the campsite was worth it. Maybe I should have taken a picture before we ate them all.
The only downside to Edisto is the beach itself. It is kind of Shelly, not the sugary sand of the Florida Gulf Coast. The water was nice and easy to get in and out. If you want a unique beach experience, ride up a couple of miles to Driftwood Beach. It is like you were transformed to a tropical beach.
