The Spirit of Old Beaufort

West Street extension

Tours depart from just behind the John Market Verdier House Museum.

843/525-0459

Tuesday to Saturday at 10am, 11:30am, 1:15, and 3:30pm.

Admission Charged

This tour takes you on a 2 hour journey through the old town, exploring local history, architecture, horticulture, and Low Country life.

St. Helen's Episcopal Church

501 Church St.

843/522-1722

Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm

Admission Free

This church traces its origin back to 1712, and visitors can see its classic interior and visit the graveyard, where tombstones served as operating tables during the Civil War.

North Street Aquarium

608 North Street

843-524-1550 Thursday-Saturday, 10am-6pm

The first public aquarium in South Carolina. Features local marine life.

John Mark Verdier House Museum (843) 379-6335 801 Bay St. Mon -Sat, 11am-4pm Admission Charged

The museum is a restored 1802 house built for a wealthy merchant-planter, partially furnished to depict the life of a merchant planter during the period 1800-25. It is one of the best examples of the Federal period and was once known as the Lafayette Building, because the Marquis de Lafayette is said to have spoken here in 1825.

The Beaufort Museum 713 Craven St.

843-379-3331 Mon-Sat, 10:30 am-4 pm. Admission Charged The museum is housed in the 1795 Beaufort Arsenal. Exhibits tell the story of the individual crops that created plantation life and the wars which changed the character of the area along with that of the country.

Parris Island Museum

Marine Corps Recruit Depot 843-228-2951 Call for hours of operation. Admission Free Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Easter. The Parris Island Museum in the War Memorial Building depicts the history of Parris Island since the French Huguenots landed in 1562. The museum is full of exhibits about historic Beaufort, including 127 different types of weapons, depicting all the wars the Marine Corps has been involved in. Civil War buffs and kids will enjoy the big Civil War display with its miniature battle scenes. Visitors also may thrill to the color and precision of graduation ceremonies, which are conducted almost every Friday year-round.

Penn Center York W. Bailey Museum St. Helena Island 843-838-2432

Monday-Saturday, 11m-4pm

Admission Charged The site of the country’s first school for freed slaves and one of the most significant African American historical and cultural institutions in existence today.

Old Sheldon Church Ruins U.S. 21, Beaufort

Admission Free Remains of Prince William's Parish Church, 1745-55. It was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War, reconstructed in 1825 and burned by Sherman's troops in 1865.

Cole-Heyward House Bluffton 843-757-6293

Tuesday-Friday, 10am-3pm; Saturday,11am-2pm

Admission Charged Museum typical of the West Indies style home, partially restored and managed by the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society. Seven additional homes are in Bluffton's national historic district. Low country Estuarium - A Coastal Learning Center

Corner of 14th St. and Paris Ave., Port Royal

843-524-6600

Friday-Saturday, 10am-5pm, other days by appointment

Admission Charged

The Lowcountry Estuarium is a learning center designed to provide hands-on learning about the coastal environments of our beautiful area, such as salt marshes, beaches, coastal waters, and estuaries with creature feeding twice daily.

Prehistoric Gift Shop and Shark Museum 1628 Paris Ave. Port Royal, SC 29935 843-525-1961

Call for hours.

Admission Charged. Prehistoric museum displaying the largest collection of giant sharks teeth in the world.

Hunting Island State Park

Highway 21

843-838-2011

Admission Charged

16 miles east of Beaufort, is South Carolina's most visited state park. It has three miles of clean, safe beach along the Atlantic Ocean, picnic tables and camp sites with an ocean view, plus an 1873 lighthouse that offers a bird's eye view of the pristine island and coastal waters that embrace it. Hiking trails pierce the subtropical forest of palmettos, pine and moss-draped oak and offer glimpses of the abundant bird and wildlife residents. A pier offers a venue for fishing and crabbing and a spot to watch dolphins do their own fishing. An ambling marsh walk reveals secrets of the tidal marsh and presents an opportunity to watch millions of scurrying crabs. A large lagoon is a perfect staging area for launching kayaks. A Visitors Center and a Nature Center provide a wealth of information about the coastal ecology. An annual South Carolina Park Passport lets you access this state park -- and dozens of other parks throughout the state -- for a modest annual fee.