5 Best Sights in West of the Ashley River, Charleston

This off-the-radar gem of a park (and zoo) marks the site of the original 1670 settlement of Charles Towne, the first permanent European settlement in South Carolina. Begin with the visitor center's 12-room, interactive museum and exhibit hall that tells the history of the early settlers and their relationship with the Kiawah people who were here when they arrived. Be sure to visit the exhibits about the enslaved people and indentured servants who also arrived with the English. Kids will make a beeline for the Adventure, a full-size replica of the colonists' 17th-century tall ship that's docked on the creek running through the park. The grounds are threaded with 6 miles of paths through forest and marsh, including an Animal Forest zoo where you can see black bears, bobcats, pumas, and bison. All in all, there are 664 acres of gardens and forest, including an elegant live oak alley. Leashed dogs are allowed (although not in the Animal Forest), and rental bikes are available for $5 an hour.

Established in the 1730s, Middleton Place was at the center of the Middleton family’s empire of rice plantations, where they enslaved 3,500 people on 63,000 acres of properties throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry. With its massive three-story brick manor home and prized gardens, Middleton Place continues to be a grand statement of wealth and the bitter injustice and cruely behind it.

To get the complete picture of life on the plantation, take the Beyond the Fields tour and film, focused on the lives of the Africans and African Americans who lived and worked at Middleton. The tour begins at Eliza’s House, a restored 1870s sharecropper’s home.

Middleton's original manor home was destroyed in the Civil War, but one of its flanking buildings, which served as the gentlemen’s guest quarters, was salvaged and transformed into the family’s post-war residence. It now serves as a house museum, displaying impressive English silver, furniture, original paintings, and historic documents, including an early silk copy of the Declaration of Independence. In the stable yards, historic interpreters use authentic tools to demonstrate spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, and other skills from the era. Heritage-breed farm animals, such as water buffalo and cashmere goats, are housed here, along with peacocks.

Restored in the 1920s, the breathtakingly beautiful gardens include camellias, roses, and blooms of all seasons that form floral allées (alleys) along terraced lawns and around a pair of ornamental lakes, which are shaped like butterfly wings. Wear comfortable walking shoes to explore Middleton's gardens, and dress to be outside.

Located in idyllic countryside 40 minutes from downtown Charleston, Deep Water's 48-acre property grows native muscadine grapes on Wadmalaw Island. Bring a picnic to enjoy under the live oaks after you wander among the vines. All six varietals can be tasted for $10, which includes a wine glass to take home.

The only plantation house on the Ashley River to have survived the Civil War intact, Drayton Hall is considered the nation's finest example of Palladian-inspired architecture. A National Trust Historic Site built between 1738 and 1742, it's an invaluable lesson in history as well as in architecture. Visitors can pay their respects at the African American cemetery—one of the oldest in the nation still in use—and experience the 30-minute "Port to Plantation" program that uses maps and historic documents to examine the lives of the enslaved Africans who built Charleston's economy. Inside the main home, rooms are unfurnished to highlight the original plaster moldings, opulent hand-carved woodwork, and other ornamental details. Regular tours, with guides known for their in-depth knowledge, depart on the half hour.

Beautiful Magnolia Plantation is home to the oldest public garden in the country, a sprawling estate created entirely by the labor of enslaved people. Established in the 1670s by Thomas Drayton after he moved from Barbados (where he also enslaved people), the extensive garden was started in the late 17th century and has evolved into a Romantic-style green space overflowing with plants, including a vast array of azaleas and camellias and a topiary maze. Exhibits surrounding the plantation's five former slave dwellings give insight into the enslaved people who lived here, with tours curated by prominent African American historian Joseph McGill. Outside of the gardens and historic buildings, take a train or boat to tour the grounds, or traverse more than 500 acres of trails by foot or bike (bring your own). The adjacent Audubon Swamp Garden invites a long stroll on its network of boardwalks and bridges. There's also a petting zoo, a nature center, and a reptile house.