James Island (County Park) 3/21/23 - 3/25/23 (#17) - Part 2

We left George Smith on Tuesday morning, headed to James Island County Park about 7 miles outside of Charleston, SC. 

Lots of opinions on this park & we found that the variations all depended on which campsite you selected. We were in #9 in the 1st loop. It was large & not close to neighbors on the 'living side'. However, the cars coming into this loop came straight at this site but turned before headlights bothered us. 

Several people had complained about the traffic & lots of kids. Even though there were several families with children (Spring Break?) there during the 1st part of our stay, we thought they were all well behaved & just kids being kids. The site did have some flooding the one morning it rained (Wed). 

But, it all dried up quickly. I can see where it would be a problem if it rained a lot. Greg believed the flooding could be easily prevented by a short french drain put in by the roadway. 

While there are several privately owned plantations all around Charleston We visited nearby McLeod Plantation which is only a few miles from the CG. It is a county runned Historic Site & the tour guide was very good. Note: Each guide can focus on whatever they want. Ours focused more on the history of how McCleod was established & on a slave girl who was purchased to be a companion to a daughter. It was quite interesting but I would have liked a bit more info on the family themselves. One interesting note was that once 'the war' started the owners left the island & left some slaves to care for the property while they were gone. Once slavery was abolished, the ones left behind were given portions of the land but it was soon taken away from them because they had no way to pay the taxes. 

The next day we decided to take the park shuttle into Charleston ($10pp round trip), instead of trying to find parking in the city. It dropped us off at the visitor center & was an easy walk to the few things we wanted to see (mansions, rainbow row, etc.). We decided not to take any tours or go into any museums. Note: The horse & carriage tours are highly recommended. We agreed that if we were staying in the city, that would be something we would do.

We had lunch at Poogan's Porch & then walked down to the city market. Meh, wouldn't recommend it. It is by the cruise ship terminal & very crowded. While it did have a lot of local vendors it felt more like a covered flea market. While waiting for the shuttle, we had a glass of wine at a small cafe just around the cafe from the visitor center. Got back to the CG around 3:30p.

We were going to spend some time at Folly Beach on Friday but we had driven there after the plantation tour on Wed. & decided not to go back. Just relaxed most of the day but I did get 3 mile hike in, on a few of the paved trails in the park.

Overall, I would recommend the park to anyone who doesn't mind driving SC roadways with a camper in tow. It has a LOT for families to do (splash zone, pool, rock climbing wall, kayak/canoe rental, etc.). Just be careful of the site you choose (stay away from ANY buddy sites, unless you know the buddy - very close together). If you go during December, the Christmas lights are supposed to be 2nd to none.

Notes: 

- Gary & Charleen from JI with their rescue pup - Puffer Mud (they were headed to Island Oaks in FL).

- Abby, a very sweet & friendly lab retriever who had recently lost her pack mate.

- Hoss & Porter two large mixed pups.

- Boone, a friendly setter mix from Alberta.

- Monte, king cavalier / poodle mix from NY. His owner was in the process of selling their motorhome to someone back in NY.