In July, Adam and I set off on our first road trip adventure with the kids, with Charleston, SC as the pinnacle of our trip. We are all beach people at heart, but despite numerous trips to Florida, Mexico, and Hawaii, we haven’t spent any time on the East coast. The slower pace of Covid life seemed like a good opportunity for a road trip to visit family (two hours inland) and create beach memories with the kids. We checked out three of the more popular Charleston beaches (Folly Beach, Kiawah, and Isle of Palms), and came away with a strong opinion as to the best Charleston beach for families.
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I share quite a bit about our family’s time at these beaches, so feel free to skip to the end if you’re just trying to find out which is the best Charleston beach for families.
We stayed downtown Charleston at the historic Francis Marion Hotel, which was beautiful, affordable, and in a great location on King Street, which is basically the “main drag” of downtown Charleston. We could easily walk to tons of shops and restaurants, and while in the Quicksilver shop downtown, we asked the sales girl which beach to hit first. She said Folly was the best, and where all the locals go to surf, so that was the first Charleston beach on our list.
Folly Beach
Adam and I fell in love with just about everything in Charleston. Even driving out to the beaches was enjoyable because of how beautiful everything is! Maybe we were just enamored with how different it is from MN, but seriously, who can dispute that this is gorgeous?
Folly Beach is located on Folly Island, a barrier island with an unobstructed view of the Atlantic. It’s super convenient, just a short 20 minute drive from downtown Charleston, through the suburb of James Island. Parking was a little tricky, with limited street spots available, and we weren’t sure if it was because we got there so late in the day, or if it’s always like that, but we had to make multiple loops around town before finding a spot and after struggling to find a booth to pay in, asked a local, who told us we needed to downloaded an app on my phone. The second day, I forgot to extend our parking time block, and we had a panic moment when we realized we’d gone over by nearly two hours. Adam ran to check, and thankfully the car was still there, and we were able to pay the appropriate fee from my phone.
We arrived late in the day, around 5:30 pm, and didn’t plan on staying for more than an hour. Adam and I didn’t even wear our swimsuits. After hiking for four miles downtown in the Battery District, the kids couldn’t wait to get in the water!
I forced Kaden to take a picture with me before he disappeared into the ocean for the next hour and a half.
The surf was strong and quick, and the kids were so disappointed they didn’t have boogie boards, but at least they were able to body surf.
Adam ended up getting pretty wet because we were worried Arabella would get sucked out to sea if he didn’t stay close. The undertow was STRONG.
We were all reluctant to leave, but we promised to come back the next day, and by the time we dragged the kids out of the water, we were all starving.
We planned to eat at one of the the colorful and quirky restaurants in the cute hipster-vibey “town” area of Folly Beach. I wish I’d taken more pictures of the cute shops and restaurants, but we were desperately trying to figure out where to eat, and I just didn’t think about it.
We quickly learned after stopping at a couple of restaurants that without a reservation, we were going to wait a long time to eat. My sweet girl and I both get pretty hangry, and Kaden tends to melt without calories, so we decided to drive back toward Charleston and ate a delicious Mexican dinner at Zia Taqueria.
After visiting Fort Sumter the next day, we headed straight back out to Folly Beach, and it was HOT. I want to say nearly 100 degrees and very humid. The water was super warm; it had to be at least 88 degrees and felt like bath water, so we spent nearly 3 hours straight swimming, with a few breaks to play in the sand.
I love the white sand of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, but this endless view into the Atlantic is equally gorgeous. One thing I love about the beach (OK, I love ALL the things about the beach), is that it makes me feel so small and reminds me how powerful and creative God is. I love the reminder that our life on this earth is bigger than just ourselves.
While we all loved it, I would not say that Folly Beach was the best Charleston beach for families.
Kiawah Beachwalker Park
We checked out Kiawah Island on our third day in Charleston. It’s a bit further out–a 45 minute drive through the suburb of John’s Island–but the journey is beautiful, inspiring dreams of owning a house with ocean boat access someday.
Unbeknownst to us, most of Kiawah Island’s 10 miles of beaches is privately owned, either by residents or resorts. We inadvertently drove into a resort entrance, before the guard kindly directed us toward the only public beach on Kiawah Island, Kiawah Beachwalker Park (on the West end of the island). We had to pay to park (I think $10?), walk through a very well designed (and clean) public restroom and changing area, and then take a beautiful boardwalk out to the beach. For the record, parking was much easier here than at Folly Beach.
The park also has a small concessions stand that sells beach gear, and the kids begged for boogie boards, but I couldn’t in good conscience spend the “convenience charge” for those boogie boards knowing we could find them for less than half somewhere else.
I’d have to say that Kiawah Beach was the most beautiful we visited during our time in Charleston, as well as the quietest, although there were still a fair amount of people there.
We packed sandwiches, and the beach was so quiet, we nearly got mauled by seagulls as we tried to eat.
Once again, the kids were like fish, hanging out in the water for most of the day… I spent most of the day swimming with them, but had to take a few reading and photography breaks.
And the kids took a few breaks for digging.
Despite being the most gorgeous beach we visited, I still wouldn’t say Kiawah Beachwalker Park was the best Charleston beach for families. We’ll save that designation for the last one.
Isle of Palms (The Best Charleston Beach for Families)
We unanimously voted that Isle of Palms was the best Charleston beach for families! A half hour drive through the suburb of Mount Pleasant (also our favorite Charleston suburb), Isle of Palms was not as busy as Folly Beach, and not as private as Kiawah Beachwalker Park. Parking was stress free, with a mix of street parking and a huge open lot. Shops and restaurants lined the street, and we FINALLY found an affordable place to buy boogie boards called My Favorite Things. Of course, it was on our last beach day of the trip, but better late than never, right?
The shop also had a real live talking parrot, which pretty much blew Arabella’s mind.
We came fully prepared for our day at Isle of Palms!
We brought hats, tons of Sun Bum sunblock (our absolute favorite!), newly purchased boogie boards, our Yeti cooler bag filled with beverages and lunch, towels, and a Sun Bum umbrella we were gifted for buying over $100 worth of Sun Bum products.
Adam “modeling” the umbrella. 🙂
We spent the full day at Isle of Palms, and I’d say we saved the best for last.
All day, the kids begged for us to change our plans and spend just one more day at the beach! We had tickets to The Biltmore for the next day, and those weren’t cheap, or refundable… So staying wasn’t an option, but we all would have if we could have!
We had a relaxing lunch (with no seagull attacks), and spent a few more hours in the ocean.
Kaden was out boogie boarding almost the entire day, so I didn’t get many pictures of him!
The best part about this beach dat was that for the first time, we were able to eat dinner by the ocean, at a beachy little grill called Coconut Joe’s!
We didn’t have a reservation, but were still able to walk right in right around 5:30 pm.
After a long beach day, we were all happy to have a delicious meal with little effort.
We were all a bit red eyed from the salt water, but SOOOOO happy. Beach life is the best life!
I’ve included my own rankings chart showing why we decided Isle of Palms is the best Charleston beach for families. These are all just my opinions. For our family, private ranks higher than busy. I recognize that other families may have different beach priorities, but this is where things stand for us!
Check out this Conde Nast Traveler article for some other Charleston beaches we didn’t make it to!
