Yahoo Travel: Folly Beach, SC: The Edge of America

Yahoo Travel: Folly Beach, SC: The Edge of America

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Cross the Bridge to Folly Beach, Where America’s Edge Ends

Cross one bridge from Charleston, and you land at the edge of America.

The Town That Keeps Rebuilding Itself

But this easygoing character has been tested by time and nature. Hurricanes have flattened buildings here more than once, and fires have taken their share too. Each time, the town rebuilds. What comes back always looks a little different, but the same resilient spirit shows up again.

Take the shoreline. Hurricane Hugo carved out a stretch back in 1989, leaving an open channel where wind now blows straight across the sand into the Folly River. That same wind, sculpted by Hugo’s legacy, helps create some of the most reliable waves on the East Coast.

Where the Best Waves Meet the Pier

Six miles of Atlantic shoreline stretch out ahead of you, backed by a town that moves at its own pace. The shoreline runs wide and flat, perfect for a long walk or an afternoon of doing nothing at all.

The nickname “the edge of America” takes on a literal meaning out here, where the land seems to give way to the power of the ocean.

Shoreline folly beach jenny ellen photography

Just beyond the surf, the Edwin S. Taylor Fishing pier stretches more than 1,000 feet into the Atlantic.

Folly Beach is more than a destination; it’s a state of mind. It’s the feeling of salt on your skin and the sound of waves in your ears.

A Lighthouse Stands Alone in the Water

Off the northeast tip of the island, the Morris Island Lighthouse rises straight out of open water. Shifting sand and decades of storms moved the shoreline away from the tower, leaving it stranded offshore.

The lighthouse went dark in the 1960s, decommissioned and left to face the weather on its own.

That effort keeps the lighthouse standing as one of the recognized symbols of the Charleston coast.

The Real Edge of America

Beachcombers walk this stretch searching for shells, coral, and shark teeth washed up along the tide line.

Folly beach pier charleston south carolina east coast

The whole street carries the same laid-back energy as the water a few blocks away.

Casual oceanfront spots serve up seafood plates alongside burgers and coffee, with no dress code required. Nothing here asks you to dress up or plan.

You reach Folly Beach by crossing James Island, about 12 miles south of downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

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