41 historic tours and trails in South Carolina: 19 walking tours and ranger programs, 6 driving trails, National Historic Trails and heritage areas, and more. 14 are free. Prices and schedules come from each operator’s own page.
Header photo: The Miles Brewton House, completed in 1769, on a Charleston street, photographed by Carol M. Highsmith in 1980. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-highsm-17069.
- 41tours and trails
- 19walking tours and ranger programs
- 14free
- 6trails and heritage areas
- Self-guided walking
- Guided walking
- Ranger-led
- House tour
- Boat/train/trolley
- Audio/app
- Driving trail
- National Historic Trail
- Heritage area
Download this data: CSV · JSON · 41 tours · free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to It’s South Carolina. All open data: catalog.json.
Self-guided walking tours (6)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Towne Landing self-guided grounds 1670 settlement site, replica ship Adventure, replica 17th-century dwelling, gardens | Charleston | SC State Parks | $12 adults; $7.50 SC seniors; $7 ages 6-15 | Grounds daily 9-5 | See official site |
| Patriots Point ships USS Yorktown and USS Laffey (both NHLs) | Mount Pleasant | Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum | See official site | Daily 10-5 (ticket window closes 4) | See official site |
| Reconstruction Era NHP downtown Beaufort Old Beaufort Firehouse visitor center and dozens of Reconstruction-era properties within walking distance | Beaufort | National Park Service | Free | Grounds sunrise-sunset | See official site |
| Kings Mountain battlefield trail and visitor center film Thirty-minute live-action film, museum, and trails across the 1780 battlefield | Blacksburg | National Park Service | Free | Grounds 9-5 daily; visitor center Wed-Sun 9-5 | Film 30 minutes; trail length see official site |
| Landsford Canal trail to the Davie Mill site Earthen canal floor between stone walls | Catawba | SC State Parks | $6 adults; $3.75 SC seniors; $3.50 ages 6-15 | Daylight to dark | About a mile to Davie Mill site |
| Ninety Six NHS self-guided tour Star Fort earthworks, siege lines and colonial town sites; park film and Junior Ranger activities | Ninety Six | National Park Service | Free | Grounds dawn-dusk; visitor center Wed-Sun 9-4:30 | See official site |
Guided walking tours (9)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H. L. Hunley weekend tours The submarine in its conservation lab, exhibits and store | North Charleston | Friends of the Hunley | $24 ages 13+; $15 ages 6-12; $20 seniors/military | Sat 10-5; Sun 10-3 | Most visitors stay 1-2 hours |
| Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park tours Site of the first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people (per park) | Hilton Head Island | Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park | See official site | Park open daily 6 a.m.-9 p.m. | See official site |
| McLeod Plantation guided tours Life before and after emancipation, Freedmen’s Bureau, Gullah culture | James Island | Charleston County Parks | $20 ages 13+; $15 ages 60+; $6 ages 3-12 | 9:30, 11, 12:30, 2 | See official site |
| Penn Center docent-led tours Penn School NHL District campus and York W. Bailey Museum | St. Helena Island | Penn Center, Inc. | $15 (docent-led tour and documentary); self-guided $10 | Daily 10, 12 and 3 | See official site |
| Camden Battlefield walk De Kalb monument and the 476-acre core battlefield | Camden (Flat Rock Rd) | Historic Camden | Free self-guided; guided tour tickets at Cunningham House, 222 Broad St. | Daylight hours; call ahead for guided tours | About 1 1/2 hours |
| Historic Brattonsville guided tours 30+ historic structures of the Bratton plantation community | McConnells | Culture & Heritage Museums | Included with admission ($12 adults; $10 seniors; $8 ages 4-17) | Tue-Sat 11 and 2; Sun self-guided | See official site |
| Historic Camden guided tours Kershaw-Cornwallis House, log houses, colonial Camden site | Camden | Historic Camden | $5 adults; $4 seniors, military, students; under 6 free | Tue-Sat 10:30 and 2:30; Sun 2:30; or by appointment | See official site |
| Historic Columbia neighborhood walking tours Guided walks through Columbia’s historic neighborhoods | Columbia | Historic Columbia | $10 non-members; $5 members | Select Sundays 1-2:30 (University Hill Nov 15, 2026; Hollywood-Rose Hill Dec 13, 2026; Arsenal Hill Jan 17, 2027) | 90 minutes |
| South Carolina State House tours Guided tours of the capitol; brochures for self-paced visits | Columbia | State of South Carolina | See official site | Weekdays on the half hour 9:30-3:30 (gaps at midday); Saturdays 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30 | See official site |
Ranger-led programs (4)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Rivers Bridge Saturday tours Preserved Civil War battlefield | Ehrhardt | SC State Parks | $5 adults; $2.50 SC seniors, disabled, military; under 6 free | Saturdays | See official site |
| Charles Pinckney NHS pop-up guided programs Pinckney’s life and political work, plantation life and the people enslaved at Snee Farm | Mount Pleasant | National Park Service | Free | On request at the visitor center | Up to 1 hour; max 1/2 mile walking |
| Fort Moultrie living history and ranger programs Ranger talks, musket demonstrations, soldiers’ encampment and History Row activities | Sullivan’s Island | National Park Service | Included with $10 adult site fee; special event days announced as fee-free | Event days, e.g. ‘1861: The Year That Changed America’ (Apr 11, 2026) and Carolina Day 250 (June 27-28, 2026) | Talks hourly 10-3 on event days |
| Oconee Station ranger-guided tours Frontier blockhouse and Richards House | Walhalla | SC State Parks | Free (donations) | Call (864) 638-0079 | See official site |
Historic house tours (9)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drayton Hall house and landscape visit 1738 Palladian main house, galleries, landscape | Charleston (Ashley River Rd) | Drayton Hall Preservation Trust | $30 online / $35 on-site; youth 7-15 $15 / $18 | Wed-Mon 9-4:30 (gate closes 3) | See official site |
| Edmondston-Alston House guided tour Circa-1825 house | Charleston | Edmondston-Alston House | $15 adults; $10 students; $5 ages 6-13 | Wed-Sat every 30 minutes, 11:15-2:45 | 30-minute intervals |
| Hampton Plantation mansion tour Unfurnished Georgian mansion as an architectural study house | McClellanville | SC State Parks | $10 adults; $6 SC seniors; $5 ages 6-15 | Fri-Tue at noon and 2 | See official site |
| Historic Charleston Foundation house museum tours Aiken-Rhett House and Nathaniel Russell House by self-paced audio tour or guided group tour | Charleston | Historic Charleston Foundation | $16 adults per house; $24 adult combo; $7 youth / $12 youth combo | Mon 1-4; Tue-Sun 10-4 (last tour 4) | Self-paced |
| Preservation Society of Charleston Fall Tours Walking tours, house and garden tours and neighborhood tours | Charleston | Preservation Society of Charleston | Varies; e.g. $75 members / $100 non-members | October (Oct 1-31 in 2026; 50th year) | Varies by tour |
| The Charleston Festival (spring house and garden tours) Tours of private houses and gardens, concerts and lectures; 2027 is the 80th year of the spring festival begun in 1947 | Charleston | Historic Charleston Foundation | See official site (tickets on sale Dec 1, 2026) | April 1-24, 2027 | Multi-week festival |
| Historic Columbia house museum tours Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion and the Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home | Columbia | Historic Columbia | See official site | Wed-Sat 10:30-3; Sun 1:30-3 (from Welcome Center, 1616 Blanding St.) | Guided |
| Redcliffe Plantation house tours Hammond mansion and extant slave quarters | Beech Island | SC State Parks | $10 adults; $6 SC seniors; $5 ages 6-15 | Limited schedule; reserve at 803-827-1473 | See official site |
| Rose Hill Plantation house tours Home of Gov. William Henry Gist and the African Americans who lived there | Union | SC State Parks | $10 adults; $6 SC seniors; $5 ages 6-15 | Thu-Mon at 11, 1 and 3 | See official site |
Historic boat, train and trolley rides (5)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Sumter ferry tour Harbor ride to Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began; NPS rangers and exhibits at the fort | Charleston Harbor (departs Liberty Square, Charleston, and Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant) | Fort Sumter Tours (only NPS-authorized concessioner) | See official site | Liberty Square 9:30, 12:00, 2:45 (Feb 27-Nov 30 and Dec 26-31); 11:00 and 2:00 (Jan 2-Feb 26, Dec 1-24). Patriots Point 10:45 and 1:30 (peak); 12:30 (winter). No tours Thanksgiving, Dec 25, Jan 1 | 2 1/4 hours total, about 1 hour at the fort |
| Gullah Tours Charleston places, history and stories of the Gullah people and Black Charlestonians, with the Gullah language featured, from a 25-passenger air-conditioned bus | Charleston | Gullah Tours (Alphonso Brown) | $35 per seat | Mon-Fri 11:00 and 1:00; Saturdays 11:00 and 1:00 (reservations required) | About 2 hours |
| Old South Carriage Co. carriage tours Horse-drawn carriage ride through the historic district with a guide | Charleston | Old South Carriage Co. | $50 adults 12+; $40 ages 4-11; infants free | Daily; new ‘Charleston’s Founding to Independence’ tour daily at 5:30 p.m. | 1 hour |
| Palmetto Carriage Works carriage tours Horse-drawn carriage ride through the historic district: houses, gardens and more | Charleston | Palmetto Carriage Works | $50 | Daily every 30 minutes, 9-5 | 1 hour |
| Brookgreen Gardens Low Country history and creek excursions Low Country history sites and creek excursions on former rice plantation land | Murrells Inlet | Brookgreen Gardens | See official site (on top of $25 adult admission) | Daily 9:30-5 | See official site |
Audio and app tours (2)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Green Book of South Carolina Free mobile travel guide to African American cultural sites, browsable by location or category | Statewide | S.C. African American Heritage Commission | Free | Year-round | 400+ sites |
| Cowpens Loop Road Audio Tour Driving loop around the 1781 battlefield narrated by historian Ed Bearss; also the Battlefield Trail | Chesnee | National Park Service | Free | Grounds 9-5; loop road closes 4:30 | See official site |
Driving trails (2)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Liberty Trail (South Carolina) Digital tours, on-site interpretation and preserved land at Revolutionary War sites of 1779-1782, e.g., Camden Battlefield, Kings Mountain, Cowpens, Fort Moultrie, Fort Watson, Fort Dorchester | Statewide | American Battlefield Trust with state partners | Free (apps free) | Year-round | Statewide network of battlefields and historic sites |
| U.S. Civil Rights Trail – South Carolina Featured sites incl. Mother Emanuel AME Church, Modjeska Monteith Simkins House, SC State House, Springfield Baptist Church (Greenville), McCrory’s sit-in site (Rock Hill); downloadable state itinerary | Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Greenwood, Orangeburg, Rock Hill, St. Helena Island, Summerton | U.S. Civil Rights Trail | Free (sites vary) | Year-round | 8 SC trail cities |
National Historic Trails (1)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Route of the Patriot militia in the 1780 Kings Mountain campaign; Commemorative Motor Route on state highways marked with the trail logo | Upstate SC (with NC, TN, VA) | National Park Service | Free | Year-round; annual commemoration of the 1780 march | 330 miles through four states; 80+ miles walkable |
National Heritage Areas and corridors (3)
| Tour or trail | Where | Run by | Price | When | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Places, communities and culture of the Gullah Geechee people | Coastal SC (corridor from Pender County, NC to St. Johns County, FL) | Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission (federal) | Free | Year-round | Four states along the coast and Sea Islands |
| South Carolina National Heritage Corridor Cherokee Foothills, Savannah and Ashley rivers, plantation houses, Edisto Island | 17 counties from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic | South Carolina National Heritage Corridor | Free | Year-round | 17 counties |
| Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor Revolutionary War battlefields, historic communities, farmsteads and landscapes of the Southern Campaign | Carolinas (8-mile-wide corridor across NC and SC counties) | Southern Campaign of the Revolution NHC (University of South Carolina listed on NPS page) | Free | Year-round | 8-mile-wide corridor |
What we could not verify
- Battle counts differ: the state tourism site says more than 200 Revolutionary War battles and skirmishes were fought in South Carolina; SC250 says more than in any other colony but gives no number.
- NPS says the Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor was designated in 2023, but the NPS South Carolina summary (2020 figures) still counts three heritage areas, so we do not state a total.
- Gullah Tours lists Saturday tours at 11 and 1 on its reservations page, and at 11, 1 and 3 on its contact page.
We re-check these when the source pages change. Spot something we missed? Use the corrections page.
Frequently asked questions
Do Charleston tour guides need a license?
The City of Charleston’s tour guide certification is voluntary. Guides who want it pass a 200-question written exam based on the city’s Tour Guide Training Manual, with 70% to pass; the exam costs $50 and the manual $45. Certification lasts 3 years, and becomes lifetime after 25 years (source: City of Charleston: Tour Guide Certification).
What is the best historic tour season in Charleston?
Spring. Historic Charleston Foundation’s Charleston Festival runs April 1-24, 2027, with tours of private houses and gardens, concerts and lectures. It is the 80th year of the spring festival begun in 1947, and tickets go on sale December 1, 2026 (source: Historic Charleston Foundation: The Charleston Festival).
What is the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor?
It is a National Heritage Area for the places, communities and culture of the Gullah Geechee people, designated by Congress on October 12, 2006. It runs along the coast from Pender County, North Carolina, through coastal South Carolina to St. Johns County, Florida (source: NPS: Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor).
Last checked October 20, 2026 by the It’s South Carolina editors against each operator’s, agency’s or organizer’s own page.
Sources
- Fort Sumter ferry tour
- Fort Moultrie living history and ranger programs
- Charles Pinckney NHS pop-up guided programs
- Cowpens Loop Road Audio Tour
- Kings Mountain battlefield trail and visitor center film
- Ninety Six NHS self-guided tour
- Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
- Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor
- South Carolina National Heritage Corridor
- Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor
- The Liberty Trail (South Carolina)
- U.S. Civil Rights Trail – South Carolina
- The Green Book of South Carolina
- Historic Charleston Foundation house museum tours
- The Charleston Festival (spring house and garden tours)
- Preservation Society of Charleston Fall Tours
- Historic Columbia house museum tours
- Historic Columbia neighborhood walking tours
- South Carolina State House tours
- Hampton Plantation mansion tour
- Rose Hill Plantation house tours
- Redcliffe Plantation house tours
- Battle of Rivers Bridge Saturday tours
- Oconee Station ranger-guided tours
- Charles Towne Landing self-guided grounds
- Landsford Canal trail to the Davie Mill site
- Camden Battlefield walk
- Historic Camden guided tours
- Historic Brattonsville guided tours
- Penn Center docent-led tours
- McLeod Plantation guided tours
- Drayton Hall house and landscape visit
- Edmondston-Alston House guided tour
- H. L. Hunley weekend tours
- Old South Carriage Co. carriage tours
- Palmetto Carriage Works carriage tours
- Gullah Tours
- Reconstruction Era NHP downtown Beaufort
- Patriots Point ships
- Brookgreen Gardens Low Country history and creek excursions
- Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park tours
Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “Historic Tours in South Carolina: Walking Tours, Trails and Ranger Programs”, itssouthcarolina.com/history/historic-tours/ (updated ). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.