Famous South Carolina Landmarks: What They Are, Visiting

Things to Do › Landmarks

16 of South Carolina's best-known landmarks, with what each one is, whether you can visit or go inside, and what it costs, from the owner's or agency's own page. Of these, 2 are free to see.

Landmarks16on this page
Regions4Upstate, Midlands, Lowcountry…
Free2as the operator states
CheckedOct 262026

The Short Answer

NPS lists 76 National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina, including the South Carolina State House (1976), Middleton Place (1971) and the Charleston Historic District (1960). source
Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861, is reached only by ferry through Fort Sumter Tours. source
Hunting Island Lighthouse reopened in 2026 for climbs of its 167 steps; SC State Parks calls it the only publicly accessible lighthouse in South Carolina. source
The City of Charleston says admission to Angel Oak is free and the public has access seven days a week, except holidays. source

Every Landmarks on Our List

Search this list16 of 16

Name	Where	What	When	Cost	Good to know	Source
Kings Mountain battlefield	Blacksburg Upstate	Site of the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain, with a 1.5-mile paved Battlefield Trail.	Not listed	'There are no fees charged to visit Kings Mountain National Military Park.'	Not listed	source
Liberty Bridge and Falls Park on the Reedy	Greenville Upstate	345-foot pedestrian bridge over the Reedy River falls with a curved concrete deck supported by a single suspension cable.	Not listed	Not stated on the pages read.	Not listed	source
Oconee Station blockhouse	Walhalla Upstate	Stone blockhouse used as an outpost by the SC State Militia from about 1792 to 1799, with the William Richards House.	Not listed	Free	Not listed	source
Raven Cliff Falls	Cleveland Upstate	Waterfall of Matthews Creek in Caesars Head State Park, listed at an estimated 420 feet; SC Trails calls it 'the king of South Carolina waterfalls'.	Not listed	Trail access $3 adults; $1.50 SC seniors; $1 children 6-15.	Not listed	source
Sassafras Mountain Overlook	northern Pickens County Upstate	SCDNR-owned overlook at 3,553 feet, the highest point in South Carolina, part of the Jocassee Gorges.	Not listed	Not stated.	Not listed	source
Stumphouse Tunnel	Walhalla Upstate	Unfinished railroad tunnel, 25 feet high and 17 feet wide, extending 1,617 feet into the mountain, beside Issaqueena Falls.	Not listed	'$5 per vehicle – cash or online payment via QR Code posted.'	Not listed	source
Table Rock Mountain	Pickens Upstate	3,124-foot granite dome in Table Rock State Park, reached by the 3.6-mile (one way) Table Rock Trail that ascends 2,000 feet.	Not listed	Park admission $6 adults; $3.75 SC seniors; $3.50 children 6-15.	Not listed	source
South Carolina State House	Columbia Midlands	Seat of state government, home to the Governor's office and the House and Senate chambers.	Weekday tour times differ by source: SC State Parks lists 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 Mon-Fri; scstatehouse.gov lists every half hour 9:30-3:30 during session (Jan-May) and hourly 9:30-2:30 otherwise.	Free	Not listed	source
Angel Oak	Johns Island Lowcountry	Live oak the City of Charleston calls 'considered to be the largest Live Oak Tree east of the Mississippi', estimated 300 to 400 years old, 65 feet tall, shading about 17,000 square feet.	Not listed	'Admission to the general public is free'; donations accepted.	Access: No blankets, drinks, food, props or tripods on or around the tree.	source
Charleston Historic District	Charleston Lowcountry	Listed by the NPS as a National Historic Landmark district (designated 10/09/60); many individual Charleston buildings are separate NHLs.	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	source
Fort Moultrie	Sullivan's Island Lowcountry	Fort on Sullivan's Island that began as a palmetto log fort built by Colonel Moultrie and the Second South Carolina Infantry and was modified through the mid-twentieth century.	Not listed	'A site fee of $10 per adult is required for Fort Moultrie'; adults are 16 and older. The park does not accept cash.	Not listed	source
Fort Sumter	Charleston (Charleston Harbor) Lowcountry	Fort in the middle of Charleston Harbor where Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861.	Not listed	Ferry tickets are bought from a third-party concessioner (fortsumtertours.com); NPS page gives no ferry price.	Not listed	source
H.L. Hunley (Warren Lasch Conservation Center)	North Charleston Lowcountry	The Friends of the Hunley call it the world's first successful combat submarine; tours are at the conservation center on the old Navy base.	Not listed	Ticket prices not shown on the home page read.	Not listed	source
Hunting Island Lighthouse	Hunting Island Lowcountry	Cast-iron lighthouse first built in 1859, rebuilt in 1875 and moved 1.3 miles inland in 1889; SC State Parks calls it the only publicly accessible lighthouse in South Carolina.	Not listed	Lighthouse admission $5 per person, bought at the oil house; park admission ($8 adult; $5 SC seniors; $4 children 6-15) is separate.	Not listed	source
Middleton Place	Dorchester County (near Charleston) Lowcountry	Listed by the NPS as a National Historic Landmark (designated 11/11/71).	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	source
Atalaya (Huntington Beach State Park)	Murrells Inlet Grand Strand	Former home of the Huntingtons inside Huntington Beach State Park; NPS lists 'Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens' as a National Historic Landmark.	Not listed	Atalaya admission $2 per person ages 6 and up; 5 and under free (plus park admission).	Access: Narrow hallways, turns and uneven surfaces; can be visited without stairs with some backtracking (access guide).	source

Hours, dates and prices are copied from each operator’s own page on the date shown; check before you go.

South Carolina National Historic Landmarks (Selected, NPS List)

Also on the NPS list: Drayton Hall (1960), Hampton Plantation (1970), Beaufort Historic District (1973), Penn School Historic District (1974), Camden Battlefield (1961), Ninety-Six and Star Fort (1973), Robert Smalls House (1973), Fort Hill / John C. Calhoun House in Clemson (1960), USS Yorktown and USS Laffey (1986) at Mount Pleasant. source

FAQ

Can you go inside Fort Sumter?

Yes, but only by ferry through the park's concessioner, Fort Sumter Tours; tickets are sold by that company, not the NPS. source

Can you climb the Hunting Island Lighthouse?

Yes, since it reopened in 2026: $5 per person plus park admission, first climb 9:30 a.m., last 4:30 p.m., climbers at least 44 inches tall. source

Is the Angel Oak free?

Yes. The City of Charleston says admission is free and donations are accepted; the park is closed holidays. source

Are South Carolina State House tours free?

Yes, guided and self-guided tours are free, Monday through Saturday. source

What We Could Not Confirm

Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.

Rainbow Row: no official City of Charleston or Explore Charleston page read (CVB URL tried did not load for us); not listed. Whether it is inside the Charleston Historic District NHL boundary was not confirmed.
Morris Island Lighthouse: no Charleston County Parks or state page read (ccprc.com URL 404); unofficial summary said it is offshore, closed to visitors and viewed from Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve at the east end of Folly Beach; not used.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge: no SCDOT page found (scdot.org URL 404); length, path width not confirmed.
Peachoid (Gaffney): Gaffney Board of Public Works site has a did not load; no official page read.
Old Sheldon Church Ruins: no page from the owning parish found; a Post and Courier report (unofficial summary only) said a permanent fence keeps visitors outside the ruins.
South of the Border: southoftheborder.com is not the attraction's site (it sells a skin cream); left out.
White Point Garden / The Battery: city facility page rendered no content; hours not confirmed.
Hunley ticket prices and Middleton Place hours/admission not confirmed on operator pages (hunley.org visit/tours URLs 404; middletonplace.org 403).
scstatehouse.gov/visit.php still shows a 2016 maintenance banner; tour times there may be dated and differ from the SC State Parks State House page.

Sources

Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina Landmarks”, itssouthcarolina.com/things-to-do/south-carolina-landmarks/ (updated 2026-10-26). 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.