Covid-Safe Fun in Charleston SC
October 19, 2021 9:27 PM Subscribe
What are some covid-safe (outdoors, not large groups) things to do in Charleston, SC?
Events, places to see, things to do year round are great.
Bonus points:
- Any recommendations specific to the weekend of Nov. 6, 2021
- Affordable / free
Events, places to see, things to do year round are great.
Bonus points:
- Any recommendations specific to the weekend of Nov. 6, 2021
- Affordable / free
Seconding holgate's idea. Pair it with lunch/dinner at one of the fun places on Folly that have outdoor seating: Jack of Cups (especially if you're vegetarian), Low Life, or Chico Feo.
Harbor tour at sunset is also a high probability of dolphin spotting.
Downtown has a highly walkable historical district -- there are lots of self-guided walking tours, depending on your interest/commitment level. Me, I might park down near the Battery, gawk at the mansions, sneer at the Confederate shit in Waterfront Park, walk up to Waterfront Park, gawking at more mansions along the way, then take Queen St. over to Archdale, where the graveyard of the Unitarian Church is cool as hell and worth seeing. Then either keep on Archdale or, if window-shopping is your bag, walk out the back side of the cemetery and continue north on King to the College of Charleston (NB that Friday is a tour day for prospective families, so a lot more foot traffic than usual from about 10-2) -it's historic and beautiful, and then head a block north and have a coffee or beer on the patio at Kudu. (If it's Friday afternoon, and you're so inclined, MeMail me and I might be able to join you!)
Plantation tours: Magnolia if you want the pretty landscape and a way-too-sanitized version of history, and/or need to entertain a small child with a hedge maze and a petting zoo. McLeod if you want exactly the opposite: a really well done, critical, centering-the-experience-of-the-enslaved learning experience. It would be upsetting for young kids.
Saturday afternoon/evening, take the Brewery Trolley -- I haven't been to all of these, but many of them have outdoor seating -- and drink your way across the peninsula's nine breweries. Skip any that look too crowded or indoors-only.
They're nonsense, but they keep my more imaginative students employed as guides and people have a good time: take a ghost tour, why the hell not.
Restaurants that have been conscientiously doing COVID-safe outdoor dining from the beginning, even when others were playing fast and loose with the (minimal) regulations: Edmund's Oast (both the restaurant and the brewpub/taproom) Kwei Fei and Ellis Creek Fish Camp on James Island.
Enjoy Charleston! You picked a fantastic time to visit.
posted by dr. boludo at 11:59 PM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Harbor tour at sunset is also a high probability of dolphin spotting.
Downtown has a highly walkable historical district -- there are lots of self-guided walking tours, depending on your interest/commitment level. Me, I might park down near the Battery, gawk at the mansions, sneer at the Confederate shit in Waterfront Park, walk up to Waterfront Park, gawking at more mansions along the way, then take Queen St. over to Archdale, where the graveyard of the Unitarian Church is cool as hell and worth seeing. Then either keep on Archdale or, if window-shopping is your bag, walk out the back side of the cemetery and continue north on King to the College of Charleston (NB that Friday is a tour day for prospective families, so a lot more foot traffic than usual from about 10-2) -it's historic and beautiful, and then head a block north and have a coffee or beer on the patio at Kudu. (If it's Friday afternoon, and you're so inclined, MeMail me and I might be able to join you!)
Plantation tours: Magnolia if you want the pretty landscape and a way-too-sanitized version of history, and/or need to entertain a small child with a hedge maze and a petting zoo. McLeod if you want exactly the opposite: a really well done, critical, centering-the-experience-of-the-enslaved learning experience. It would be upsetting for young kids.
Saturday afternoon/evening, take the Brewery Trolley -- I haven't been to all of these, but many of them have outdoor seating -- and drink your way across the peninsula's nine breweries. Skip any that look too crowded or indoors-only.
They're nonsense, but they keep my more imaginative students employed as guides and people have a good time: take a ghost tour, why the hell not.
Restaurants that have been conscientiously doing COVID-safe outdoor dining from the beginning, even when others were playing fast and loose with the (minimal) regulations: Edmund's Oast (both the restaurant and the brewpub/taproom) Kwei Fei and Ellis Creek Fish Camp on James Island.
Enjoy Charleston! You picked a fantastic time to visit.
posted by dr. boludo at 11:59 PM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Edit: "Sneer at the Confederate shit in White Point Garden..."
posted by dr. boludo at 12:12 AM on October 20, 2021
posted by dr. boludo at 12:12 AM on October 20, 2021
this is a couple hours away but the drive is beautiful, the site stunning, and the bbq restaurant nearby the best i had on my trip there- the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden
posted by wowenthusiast at 6:11 AM on October 20, 2021
posted by wowenthusiast at 6:11 AM on October 20, 2021
All three beaches are amazing, but walking Folly Beach to pier and back in the morning is memorable.
Marion Square Farmers market on Saturdays, but probably too crowded for you. . THere's not a ton of outdoor seating at restaurants (same as before basically), but there's one very cute street seating where half a parking space was taken up at Babas on Cannon
posted by sandmanwv at 7:03 AM on October 20, 2021
Marion Square Farmers market on Saturdays, but probably too crowded for you. . THere's not a ton of outdoor seating at restaurants (same as before basically), but there's one very cute street seating where half a parking space was taken up at Babas on Cannon
posted by sandmanwv at 7:03 AM on October 20, 2021
Don't rule out Magnolia Plantation. Joe McGill has worked hard to include the history of the enslaved people there.
He is also the founder of the Slave Dwelling Project.
The Old Slave Mart Museum is also an excellent small museum downtown.
posted by mareli at 12:18 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
He is also the founder of the Slave Dwelling Project.
The Old Slave Mart Museum is also an excellent small museum downtown.
posted by mareli at 12:18 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. This gives me a lot to look forward to.
posted by mr_bovis at 6:53 PM on October 20, 2021
posted by mr_bovis at 6:53 PM on October 20, 2021
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posted by holgate at 10:44 PM on October 19, 2021