4 Best Sights in Moncks Corner, Charleston

Explore the inky swamp waters of this natural area in a flat-bottom boat, or walk along paths lined with moss-draped cypress trees, azaleas, camellias, daffodils, wisteria, and dogwoods. You can marvel at the clouds of butterflies in the butterfly house, and see snakes and fish up close in the Swamparium. The swamp garden was created from what was once the freshwater reserve of the vast Dean Hall rice plantation. The site is about 24 miles north of Charleston via U.S. 52, between Goose Creek and Moncks Corner.

Pack a picnic and your fishing poles, or hit the hiking, biking, horseback-riding, and motorbike trails in 260,000 acres of swamps, lakes, oaks, and pines. Bring a canoe to explore the peaceful black water of the Wambaw Creek Wilderness Canoe Trail, hike the Swamp Fox Passage of the Palmetto Trail, or pitch a tent at one of five rustic campgrounds within the forest.

This active Trappist monastery overlooking the Cooper River is on the site of the former plantation owned by Henry Laurens, a slaveholder whose wealth came from the Transatlantic slave trade. It was later the home of noted publisher Henry Luce and his wife Clare Boothe Luce, who commissioned renowned landscape architect Loutrell Briggs to design a garden in 1937. That garden remains a stunning place for a serene walk or contemplative rest on a waterfront bench. You can take a guided tour of the church or even stay here for a spiritual retreat in the sleek, modern facility with individual rooms and private baths. Hearing the monks sing during their normal daily routine and attending the annual Piccolo Spoleto Festival concerts here are peaceful and spiritual experiences. The gift shop sells oyster mushrooms and garden compost from the abbey's farm as well as candies, preserves, and creamed honey from other Trappist abbeys. Tours are offered at 11:30 am on Friday and Saturday.

Four miles of boardwalks and unpaved paths take you through Biggin Swamp and along the last portion of the country's first true canal, constructed in large part through the labor of enslaved people. An interpretive center details the history of the canal, which was used to transport goods from upstate South Carolina to the port of Charleston for the first half of the 19th century. The circa-1840 Stony Landing Plantation House is furnished with period reproductions. Also on-site (and included in admission) is the Berkeley County Museum and Heritage Center, which tells the story of the county's cultural and natural history, including spotlighting the enslaved people who built the rice and mineral extraction industry that enabled this interior area to flourish. Prefer to explore by boat? Rent a canoe and venture up the canal for $5 per half hour.