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Sullivan's Island Beach
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Sullivan's Island Beach
Sullivans Island is my favorite beach in Charleston.
I'm scared of the ocean when I cannot sea what is swimming around me, so you won't find me swimming very often off the shore of SC unless it's a hot August day and Jon promises to stay by my side.
I do however love walking on the beach Fall through Spring. When my daughter was born last December I enjoyed weekly strolls with her in the Bjorn on Sullivan Island beach. It was quiet, peaceful, and she slept well.
This is the quintessential lowcountry beach. Perfect for families and friends.
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When I say I like Sullivan's Island beach the best, my younger brother and even my wife cringe. "No waves," they cry.
Hey, I love the riding waves but there is more to the beach experience and Sullivan's Island covers all that.
The beach is very walkable. When the tide is low, a giant sandbar emerges which is packed down enough that you can ride bikes, roll the baby stroller, get a good jog in w/o jacking up your knees too much, or play some bocce ball (everyone plays it here so you'll have to get good fast).
True, there are no big waves but that means it is a bit more quiet. If you want to take a nice swim, there is a whole ocean of water and I don't have to watch your back to make sure I'm not in the line of a surfer or bodysurfer.
Parking never seems to be much of an issue here either so long as it's not the heat of the day.
Saw concerns about beverage policies here - while I certainly wouldn't recommend breaking the law, I'm thinking about what they want here. Safe environment (don't drive, don't act like a moron), no trash (pick up after myself - for some reason when I get busted up drunk I want to throw cans in weird places), and family-appropriate atmosphere (kids ask "daddy, that man lost his swimsuit and is running really fast trying to find it.)
No cans/bottles = no difficult questions = happy residents that could literally have you killed and dropped off-sea = happy polititicans who don't want to be dropped off-sea = my uninterrupted (if not slightly addled) game of bocce. Thus, a great time to pick battles about "sticking it to the man" and just enjoy the day.
Nice historic houses and a quaint feel (and some pimped out houses that are anything but historic). Couple side streets that don't get much vehicle traffic so the off-beach part of the island is very walkable, too.
Lighthouse is fugly but any lighthouse still has some charm.
Pretty cool because the container ships and cruise ships get pretty close to the south end of the Island when they enter the harbor. Awesome to see these things lumbering in from the open sea or back out.
Not sure if it's just during out-of-season times of the year but all the dog owners come out so if you like dogs or have one, it should be a blast. If you're like me and didn't know about doggie day (love doges, but brought out the baby carriage), not so good.
What I like about most of the Charleston Islands is that they kept the commercial development off them for the most part. Sucks in big cities where the beach is just one massive concrete structure after another. Sure, here in Charleston it's 3 million dollar home after another but I like parking in their yard and letting out a good belch and/or scratch before enjoying the day.
You also have a collection of nice restaurants as you come across the bridge. Check out my reviews of Poes and there are a few other good spots from the most casual to your linen tablecloth-type places. Of course Isle of Palms is just a mile or two down the road.
What do the local's call the Island? Some go with the full name. Others call it "Sullivan's". If you're the kind of person with more than 4 words in your typical coffee order, throw on some chinos, pour a glass of chard & just call it "Sully's". Nobody will judge you either way.
What I recommend is going out on lazy days when you don't want the surf action or go early during the day and follow it up with lunch at one of the restaurants (hit them when they first open at 11 because they fill up quick) before retiring to a cool spot for the afternoon. Maybe follow up w/ some volleyball up at IOP or a late afternoon / early evening downtown. Good times aplenty.
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YAY! So happy to see Matthew thought of yelping Sullivan's beach! This is my favorite (and really only) beach to frequent. It's definitely more family friendly and less for the surfer crowd but I personally like it becauses it's mainly locals (besides the families renting SI houses).
Two weeks ago I would have given SI beach 5 stars but on my last trip to the beach I noticed a glaring sign that read "No drinking on the beach - $1034 fine" WHAT. Did I read that right? Did my God given right to drink on the beach get taken from me? It used to be no glass bottles on the beach but now no booze.
Charleston (and SC's) moniker is "Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places." If this BS keeps up I'm lobbying to have it changed to "Charleston - Where Fun comes to Die."
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Sully's is a neat little beach, with lots of fishing, places to walk around, and sometimes some of the best surfing in SC. I love to go surf fishing here or down by Ft. Moultrie, which is a hot spot for catching Red Fish in particular. Another good spot to go fishing is down at Breech Inlet. We go shark fishing there during the summer months, mostly at night. Sometimes it's hot there, and other times you hardly even catch a nibble. You can have dogs on the beach anytime of the year, which is a big draw for a lot of folks. The lone surfing spot is down at the end of the street where Bert's Bar is. It only breaks on certain swells, which happen very infrequently around here, but when it does, this place goes off. The swell you want to look for is... Haha! Can't tell you that! If you want to know bad enough, learn the swells and directions. Gotta keep the crowd factor to a minimum.
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