When you get to the four-way stop on the Tour Route, turn right into the beach access parking lot. There you’ll find the trailhead to the picturesque Pockoy Island Trail—there is a causeway built by slaves that takes you over the marsh and through a densely wooded hammock. Then cross a small barrier island to arrive at the preserve’s 2.8 miles of seashore.

Erosion on Botany Bay Beach has left a “boneyard” of dead trees along the sand, creating a unique coastline you’ve got to walk to fully appreciate. Shell collection is prohibited; as a result the beach is full of whelks, scallops, clams, mussels, oysters, sea stars and sand dollars.

The area is open for general public visitation during daylight hours (a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset). The area is closed on Tuesdays and for scheduled special hunts.

Photos courtesy of Perry Baker.

To reach the entrance of Botany Bay Plantation WMA, travel down SC Highway 174 toward Edisto Beach and turn left onto Botany Bay Road, which is about 8.5 miles south of the McKinley Washington Bridge. Follow this dirt road two miles to near where it dead-ends. Turn left at the gate into the property. The kiosk at the main gate contains maps and other important information.