Shem Creek (Dolphin Kayaking & Shrimp Boats) & Charleston Harbor Sunset Schooner Sails

Ten minutes across the Cooper River from downtown in Mount Pleasant (or reachable via the Charleston Water Taxi plus a short walk or Uber), a winding tidal marsh inlet called Shem Creek serves as home port to Charleston's working commercial shrimp-trawler and crabbing fleet, and is a premier place in South Carolina to see wild Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, pelicans and manatees (in summer) from the water's edge.

1. Walking the Free 'Shem Creek Park Boardwalk' & Kayaking with Dolphins

• The 650-Metre Wooden Boardwalk (Free, Open from Dawn Until Late Evening): park at the public Shem Creek Park lot (on Coleman Blvd at Mill Street) and walk out along a 650-metre elevated cedar boardwalk that winds right beside the wooden hulls of working shrimp trawlers (where fishermen unload bushels of sweet white and brown creek shrimp in the afternoon) and out over the spartina salt marsh to a covered pavilion looking straight back across Charleston Harbor at the Ravenel Bridge.
• Rent a Kayak or Join a 2-Hour Guided Dolphin Paddle (Coastal Expeditions or Nature Adventures on the Creek): launching from the wooden floating docks on Shrimp Boat Lane, you paddle into the calm, flat tidal creek where resident pods of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins swim near your kayak paddle, alongside great blue herons, ospreys, brown pelicans and, from June through September, gentle West Indian Manatees that swim up the creek to drink fresh water from dock hoses.
• Waterfront Dock Dining & Sunset Drinks on Shem Creek: both sides of the creek are lined with open-air wooden restaurant decks. Order fresh local peel-and-eat shrimp, hushpuppies and oysters at Tavern & Table, Saltwater Cowboys, Water's Edge, Vickery's or Red's Ice House.

2. Charleston Harbor Sunset Sails (The 'Schooner Pride' & 'Palmetto Breeze')

To sail across the middle of Charleston Harbor at golden hour, board the 84-foot, three-masted wooden topsail Schooner Pride (departing from Aquarium Wharf downtown) or the 50-foot sailing catamaran Palmetto Breeze (departing from Shem Creek). Once clear of the dock, the captain shuts off the engine and raises the canvas sails, gliding silently past Castle Pinckney, Fort Sumter and the Battery mansions as the sun sets over the Ashley River.