Folly Beach, South Carolina calls itself the Edge of America and it earns that name fast

Charleston’s wild, wave-battered neighbor

Eight miles south of Charleston, a 12-square-mile barrier island sits at the end of the road with its feet in the Atlantic. Locals call it the Edge of America, and that name earns itself fast.

Folly Beach became its own city in 1973, and it has never tried to be anything like its polished neighbor to the north.

What it is instead is seven miles of wide sandy shoreline, a 161-foot lighthouse standing in the sea, and a surf break carved by a hurricane.

The island that was once called Coffin Island

The name Folly comes from an Old English word for dense brush and foliage, and that description fit the island long before anyone thought to build on it.

Written records go back to the 1690s under King William III.

At some point the island picked up a darker nickname, Coffin Island, after sick passengers from arriving ships were left ashore to recover or die. Shipwreck survivors reportedly stayed and put down roots.

Union troops used it as a staging ground during the Civil War.

Six weeks on a battered island changed American music

In the summer of 1934, composer George Gershwin rented a beach cottage on Folly and stayed for six weeks. He called the place a battered South Seas island.

He was there to work with author DuBose Heyward on the music for an opera called Porgy and Bess, and the island gave him what he needed.

The cottage where he lived was wiped out by a hurricane in 1938, but the opera it helped produce became one of the most celebrated in American history.

The cottage where “Summertime” took shape

The Heyward family’s 1933 summer cottage at 712 West Ashley Avenue still stands.

It’s a quiet, preserved piece of the island’s past, with original wood interiors, three bedrooms, and a small writer’s booth.

Gershwin and the Heywards worked on Porgy and Bess inside those walls, and their collaboration produced some of the most recognized music in American opera.

The piano Gershwin played during those sessions sits today at the Charleston Museum, about eight miles north.

Walk 1,045 feet over the Atlantic on the pier

The Edwin S. Taylor Folly Beach Fishing Pier reopened on Dec. 26, 2022, and it runs 1,045 feet straight into the ocean.

The structure is 25 feet wide and sits 22 feet above sea level, resting on 228 concrete pilings built to last 65-plus years.

At the far end, a diamond-shaped platform measuring 7,500 square feet gives you room to spread out, look back at the island, and watch the horizon. Find it at 101 East Arctic Ave.

Cast a line or just watch the dolphins cruise by

Anglers set up along the pier’s railings for king mackerel, red drum, bluefish, and whiting. Covered sections with benches give you shade when the sun gets serious.

Dolphins show up regularly from both sides of the railing, and if you time it right, you might catch a military flyover above the waterline.

The pier also hosts Moonlight Mixer shag dances, fishing tournaments, and seasonal events throughout the year. Hours run from 6 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. daily.

A 161-foot lighthouse that the sea swallowed whole

The Morris Island Lighthouse went up in 1876 for just under $150,000 and stood about 1,200 feet from the water. Jetties built in 1889 rewired the ocean currents, and the shoreline eroded fast.

Today the red-and-white spiral tower rises 161 feet out of the water several hundred feet offshore. The light went dark in 1962, and the National Register of Historic Places added it in 1982.

It’s one of the most recognized lighthouse silhouettes on the entire East Coast.

How a nonprofit saved a tower standing in the sea

By 1999, the old brick tower had no owner willing to fight for it.

A nonprofit called Save the Light bought the lighthouse for $75,000 and kept it from being lost to neglect and erosion. Ownership eventually passed to the state of South Carolina.

The structure still stands in the water where it has been for generations, slowly surrounded by sea but no longer in danger of disappearing. That $75,000 purchase is one of the better deals in historic preservation.

Catch the lighthouse at sunrise from the east end

Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve sits at the island’s far east end, and a short paved path of about four-tenths of a mile leads you down to the shoreline.

The view from the water’s edge puts the lighthouse straight in front of you.

The currents there run strong, so swimming isn’t recommended, but the spot has a reputation as one of the best sunrise locations in the Charleston area.

Boat tours from nearby marinas can take you closer to the tower. The preserve opens at 7 a.m.

Hurricane Hugo turned a neighborhood into a surf break

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo cleared out an entire block of beachfront homes at the island’s east end. What the storm left behind was a flat, open stretch of coastline with nothing to break the wind.

That stretch became The Washout, now one of the best surf breaks on the East Coast. The wind rolls in unimpeded and shapes strong, consistent waves.

Intermediate and advanced surfers work it regularly. If you’re still learning, the conditions there will let you know quickly.

The oldest surf shop in South Carolina turns 60

McKevlin’s Surf Shop has been on Center Street since 1965, making it the oldest surf shop in South Carolina and one of the oldest on the entire East Coast.

It functions as a gathering point as much as a store, the kind of place where generations of local surfers have passed through and kept coming back.

If you’re new to the water, surf instructors on the island can set you up with lessons and rentals. Water temperatures in summer often run around 82 degrees, which makes it genuinely comfortable.

Sea turtles own the beach after dark every summer

From May 1 through Oct. 31, loggerhead sea turtles come ashore on Folly Beach to nest. A single female can lay up to 120 eggs in one nest.

The city enforces a lights-out rule along the beachfront at night during the season so the turtles aren’t thrown off course by artificial light.

The Folly Beach Turtle Watch has walked the island’s seven miles of shoreline every morning since 1993, marking new nests as they find them. The beach belongs to the turtles after the sun goes down.

Explore Folly Beach, South Carolina

Folly Beach sits about eight miles south of downtown Charleston, and you can spend an easy day or a full long weekend without running out of things to do.

Start at Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve on West Ashley Avenue, open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., for the lighthouse views and the driftwood beach.

Then work your way to the pier at 101 East Arctic Ave., open 6 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Admission to the pier is $2 for sightseeing. Parking near the pier runs $15 for the day.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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