Kayaking the Black River

Myrtle Beach, SC -
No other Atlantic state can boast of as much coastal marshland as South Carolina. Persons of all ages with a spirit of adventure and an appreciation of nature and history will enjoy paddling the slow moving waters of the Tidelands of South Carolina. No prior experience is necessary and only moderate physical ability is required.

This beautiful, yet fragile ecosystem is known for the variety of its wildlife and some of the most magnificent cypress trees you're likely to find anywhere!

Kayaking is the perfect way to spend a day or even an evening on the Black River. The Back River is the ancient road of colonial commerce that served plantations since the 1700's. The clear "black" water ebbs and flows calmly through wilderness cypress and tupelo swamps and spreads through creeks to the hidden ponds of the 1300 acre Black River Nature Preserve owned by the nature conservancy. Eventually the river joins with waters of the Sampit, Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers to form Winyah Bay, the third largest estuarine system on the East Coast of North America.

This beautiful, yet fragile ecosystem is known for the variety of its wildlife and some of the most magnificent cypress trees you're likely to find anywhere! Ducks, beavers and otters swim playfully alongside spider lilies while owls and swamp canaries roost in the trees. Deer, wild turkey and wood storks dart here and there on the banks of the river.

With an abundance of Nature preserves, salt marshes, creeks and canals, a kayak or canoe lets you glide quietly through the wonder and beauty of the marshlands as a welcomed participant in nature. The Historic Harbor and Seaport of Georgetown is a perfect place to learn to Kayak and sometimes see a gator or two!

The harbor has been an important part of trade since 1732 and Georgetown boasts more than 50 buildings and sites on the National Register of Historic Places. While paddling along the shores of Goat Island, it's possible to view the magnificent Fyfe and Kaminski houses and Rice Museum's Clock Tower. Shrimp Boats and the tall ship, Jolly Rover, share the harbor with visiting yachts from around the world.

A bit quieter, perhaps, are the Salt marsh Creeks just off of Hunington Beach State Park at Murrells Inlet. Spartina cord grass marshes and creeks from the sandy dunes flow past mysterious Drunken Jack Island, reputed to hold the treasures of the pirate Blackbeard. See bald eagles, sea turtles, wadding shore birds, oyster catchers…maybe even a few porpoise and stingrays, if you're lucky. Amidst the sand dunes and maritime forest is a fresh water lagoon with alligators basking in the late afternoon sun.

The largest undeveloped fresh water island, however, is Sandy Island, managed by the Nature Conservancy. The island is home to an indigenous population descended from plantation slaves and lies adjacent to Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge. Paddle up to the island and walk through part of the preserve's diverse 9,000 acres of scrub oak sand ridges, Carolina Bays and long leaf yellow pine forests that provide habitat for fox and bobcats, deer, black bears, migratory ducks and endangered red cockaded woodpeckers.

Half-day kayak tours are scheduled year round with evening tours available from Mid-April through mid-September. Moonlight tours are scheduled during the summer months during the week preceding the full moon. Very little equipment is needed if you have an adventurous spirit.