12 Jan Six fun winter activities you can enjoy on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast® Although most visitors to South Carolina’s Hammock Coast® arrive in the spring, summer or fall months, winter is also a wonderful time of year to experience what the area has to offer. From museums and historic buildings to bird watching, beach bonfires and a new indoor golf experience, the Hammock Coast offers a plethora of activities for the winter visitor. We have compiled a list of our six best bets for cold-weather activities. Beach Bonfire Cozy up to the fire with loved ones or friends with Coastal Bonfire Co. Specializing in creating upscale beach events, with eclectic furnishings, picture worthy moments, and a story to tell, they provide everything you need to enjoy an unforgettable, elevated bonfire experience on the beach. And it’s a way to stay warm on an otherwise chilly winter’s day or evening on the beach. “We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality and most environmentally friendly beach bonfire experience free of smoke,” said owner Brock Abshire. “We do this with smokeless fire pits and our hardwood sawdust bricks.” He said the Hammock Coast is the only area in the state where year-round beach bonfires are legal. Coastal Bonfire has about a dozen ad-on options that include chairs, tables, tiki torches, S’mores, photography and even live music. The company also provides a Bluetooth speaker, a trash can, pillows, blankets, a cooler and more. “We take care of all the work so you can just show up and have a great time,” Abshire said, adding that a beach bonfire is a unique experience that many have never had. “Sitting under the stars, listening to the waves crash and staring into a fire is such a memorable experience for any occasion.” For more information or to make a reservation, call 843-284-6465 or click here. Indoor Golf Performance Indoor Golf, a new business located on Ocean Highway just across from the North Causeway to Pawleys Island, offers golf enthusiasts a chance to play at more than 350 courses around the world without ever leaving Pawleys Island and South Carolina’s Hammock Coast®! It’s all possible through simulators that offer an immersive golf experience while in the comfort of a heated building. Cold weather or an inconvenient rainstorm won’t ruin your game at Performance Indoor Golf! If being able to simulate hundreds of golf courses wasn’t enough, customers can also receive automated pro tips on how to improve their swing and putt. Julie Hiott, one of four owners of Performance Indoor Golf, said it’s all possible through the company’s series of simulators that are, in turn, powered by Trackman. “The Trackman system,” Hiott explained, “will analyze your golf swing and immediately provide data on the simulator, as well as the app on your phone.” The membership-only club that opened earlier this year offers its golf simulators in a climate-controlled environment, so there’s no golf day ruined by the weather. It’s never exhaustingly humid (South Carolina golfers know all about that), and it’s never too cold, even on a winter’s day. The business is also owned by Hiott’s husband, Jimmy, and friends Garland and Vicki Greenway. Performance Indoor Golf offers a choice of weekly, one-month, three-month, six-month and annual membership. It’s open for members from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. “You can either join online or give us a call, and we can assist you with how to join,” Hiott said. “Once you are a member, we will give you access to our faciliuty through Pro Data Key, and you will be able to access the door with your phone using Bluetooth.” Then members can download the Trackman app on their phone and use Your Golf Booking to book a bay anytime they would like to use the simulator, she said. All of this is accessible online. Performance Indoor Golf is located at 10555 Ocean Highway, Suite D, in Pawleys Island. For more information, click here, or call 843-344-1356. 5 Museums in Georgetown Discover the stories of the diverse cultures, history, architecture, and people of South Carolina’s Hammock Coast® in the five museums of historic Georgetown, South Carolina’s third oldest city, founded in 1729. And you can enjoy the museums even when the weather outside might be cold and inhospitable. -Kaminski House Museum Built in 1769 by South Carolina merchant Paul Trapier, the Kaminski House Museum displays richly detailed period furnishings, interior décor, and landscaping that were loved by the families who lived there over the centuries. Admission ranges from $6 to $12. It is located at 1003 Front Street in Georgetown. For more information, call 843-546-7706, or click here. -The Gullah Museum Contributions from enslaved Africans brought to South Carolina’s coast and islands in the colonial era are celebrated at the Gullah Museum. The museum’s presentations include Gullah Geechee culture, Lowcountry crop cultivation, animal husbandry, distinctive arts and crafts, foods, music, worship, and language. Free admission. Donations accepted. It is located at 123 King Street, Unit 6, in Georgetown. For information, call 843-527-1851, or click here. -Georgetown County Museum Muskets, marshland, rice, rivers, and revolution: The Georgetown County Museum reveals 300 years of the lives of early residents. Exhibits highlight early maritime culture; how Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox) outwitted British troops during the American Revolution; indigo and rice cultivation and, later, the timber industry. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. It is located at 120 Broad Street in Georgetown. For information, call 843-545-7020, or click here. -South Carolina Maritime Museum The nautical history of South Carolina surfaces through interactive exhibits, rare maritime artifacts, model ships, and artwork at the South Carolina Maritime Museum. Among the exhibits are the prized Fresnel lens of the Georgetown Lighthouse, shipwreck artifacts, and rare fossils, including the massive teeth of mosasaurs. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. It is located at 729 Front Steet in Georgetown. For information, call 843-520-0111, or click here. -The Rice Museum Rice cultivation once made Georgetown County, SC, the wealthiest in the U.S. Collections of dioramas, maps, paintings, and artifacts, including the Browns Ferry Vessel, the oldest vessel of colonial manufacture on exhibit in America, showcase the rice cultivation economy in colonial Georgetown. The Rice Museum is in the Old Market Building and Town Clock. Admission ranges from $5 to $9. It is located at 633 Front Street in Georgetown. For information, call 843-546-7423, or click here. Hopsewee Plantation Built circa 1740, nearly 40 years before the American Revolutionary War, Hopsewee Plantation was one of the South’s major rice plantations and the birthplace of Thomas Lynch Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Now a private residence, the National Historic Landmark is located along the Hammock Coast region in Georgetown County – half way between Myrtle Beach and Charleston on Highway 17 (Ocean Highway) in the heart of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. It is located 12 miles south of the city of Georgetown. Tickets for the guided tour of the home and grounds are available here for quick, easy and secure booking, as well as by phone at 843-546-7891. Admission to the museum is free with a paid ticket to the plantation. House tours are available Tuesday to Saturday on the hour, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors ages 65 and over, $5 for students ages 12 to 17, and $3 for children ages 6 to 11. Contact Hopsewee for groups of 10 or more. Dining at Hopsewee’s delightful tearoom is available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Lowcountry favorites served up daily. Special English-style teas with a Southern flair can also be enjoyed. There is also a new museum on the property dedicated to the history of Hopsewee Plantation. Owner Raejean Beattie said the museum adds another element to a Hopsewee Plantation visit. “There is so much to do here now,” she said. “We have a wonderful house tour, the slave cabins are being revitalized so they will last for a while longer, the tea room, the Gullah presentations, and now the museum. You can really come here and spend the day.” She said they especially want to make sure people know as much as possible about the enslaved people who lived and worked at Hopsewee. “When it comes to the enslaved individuals who lived at Hopsewee, we know little of their lifestyle, belongings, dress and homes,” Raejean said. “What we have learned is presented here (in the museum) so that all may have a better understanding of what life was like for those who were forcefully brought here, who were born here, who lived, loved, labored and died here, and even, perhaps, sometimes laughed here.” Hopsewee Plantation is located at 494 Hopsewee Road, Georgetown. For information, call 843-546-7891, or click here. Birding – winter migration Bird enthusiasts are keen to discover the wonders and beauty of this unspoiled area. Indeed, birdwatchers know that along the beaches, marshes and tidal creeks, as well as Tall Leaf Pine forests, of the Hammock Coast® hundreds of bird species can be spotted. And the winter migration from December to March bring even more birds to the area. The Hammock Coast® is a birder’s paradise. In fact, it’s considered the best birding area in South Carolina and one of the best in the Southeast. Huntington Beach State Park boasts a 330-bird checklist with an impressive rarities roster. February is also the annual date for the Hammock Coast Birding Festival, which draw visitors from across America and Canada for several days of birdwatching tours and lectures. Beyond the park, the Hammock Coast® offers additional opportunities for birders who can spot bald eagles, egrets, herons, ruddy turnstones, purple sandpipers and so many more. World-famous Brookgreen Gardens offers birders even more opportunities for sightings and offers daily shows about raptors and owls at its Lowcountry Zoo. And Audubon notes that birders should not miss Hobcaw Barony, due to its important location at the mouth of Winyah Bay. Hobcaw Barony, near Georgetown, is home to thousands of pristine acres. This large, undisturbed tract has extensive longleaf pine forests with Red-cockaded Woodpecker colonies and excellent Bachman’s Sparrow habitat. The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, the Black River Cypress Preserve, and the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge also offers tens of thousands of acres of more opportunities for birding on the Hammock Coast. Compiled by Clayton Stairs / tourism manager for the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and South Carolina’s Hammock Coast® 0 Hammock-All, Birding, Georgetown, Golf, Gullah Geechee, Pawleys Island
