South Carolina Trail Sites

Visit Historic Drayton Hall — Tour the nation’s oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. Explore Drayton Hall's 18th-century architecture, landscapes & the people who lived here.

On August 16, 1780, the unexpected Patriot success at Kings Mountain infused those favoring rebellion with new confidence.

When Jane Black Thomas overheard Loyalists plotting a surprise attack on her son's militia camp, she rode nearly 60 miles through dangerous territory to warn him. Her daring ride gave Colonel John Thomas Jr. and his Spartan Regiment time to prepare an ambush that repelled the attackers — fueling Patriot momentum toward the war-changing Battle of King's Mountain just three months later.

The Battle of Camden was a devastating defeat suffered by the Americans in the British military offensive in the South.

On May 29, 1780, British commander Banastre Tarleton engaged and overwhelmed a Patriot force under the command of Abraham Buford in a dreadful defeat for the Patriots.

During the British occupation of Charleston in 1781, these grounds were part of a British outpost to supply ammunition and provisions to patrolling British troops.

Not far from Camden Battlefield, Goodale State Park is lined with cypress trees, a spring-fed lake that offers boating, fishing, and hiking opportunities.

Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history. Over the last two and a half centuries, the building has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum.

The Piedmont’s Kings Mountain State Park has miles of forested trails perfect for supreme Kings Mountain hiking, two fishing lakes, and sits adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, one of many national park Revolutionary War sites.

Once a simple ferry site, it gained prominence after Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox," mustered the Williamsburg militia into his ranks in August of 1780

Francis Marion was a skilled military leader during the American Revolutionary War, known for his guerilla tactics and strategic maneuvers in the Southern Campaign. His contributions to the war effort and his enduring legacy as a symbol of American resilience and military ingenuity remain today.