Life on Paws and Wheels

Simba and I visited and hiked the Lake Waccamaw Nature Loop at Lake Waccamaw State Park in North Carolina , exploring a peaceful landscape of pine forest, wetlands, wooden boardwalks, and trails surrounding one of the most unusual lakes in the southeastern United States. At first glance, Lake Waccamaw looks like a beautiful but otherwise ordinary coastal lake. Once you learn what's happening beneath the water and throughout the surrounding ecosystem, however, it becomes clear that this is a very unusual place. Lake Waccamaw is the largest of North Carolina's Carolina bay lakes , occupying one of the mysterious oval-shaped depressions scattered across the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Its unusual water chemistry supports an extraordinary collection of plants and animals, including species found nowhere else on Earth. The surrounding region is also home to carnivorous plants, American alligators, countless birds, reptiles, and more than 50 species of fish. For Simba and me, the hike wa...

Simba and I visited and hiked through Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina , a historic former rice plantation along the Ashley River where centuries of human history are intertwined with some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the Lowcountry. Massive live oaks draped in Spanish moss tower over winding paths, picturesque bridges cross ponds and waterways, and miles of trails lead through gardens, forests, wetlands, and wildlife habitat. Magnolia is undeniably beautiful, but its history is much more complicated than its peaceful appearance might suggest. The property began as a plantation, and for generations its wealth depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans who cultivated rice, worked in the household, maintained the grounds, and helped create the landscape that eventually became famous as Magnolia's gardens. Understanding those lives is essential to understanding the property rather than viewing Magnolia simply as a beautiful collection ...

Simba and I visited and hiked through Stono River County Park near Johns Island, South Carolina , a beautiful 85.5-acre Lowcountry park where wooded trails, tidal wetlands, long elevated boardwalks, and an island in the Stono River combine to create a surprisingly varied hiking experience. Located at the foot of the John F. Limehouse Memorial Bridge, the park offers an easy way to leave the developed Charleston area behind and experience the marshes and waterways that define so much of coastal South Carolina. With only about 1.5 miles of trails, this isn't a particularly long or difficult hike. What makes it interesting is how quickly the surroundings change. Simba and I started among the trees on the mainland, followed the trail toward the marsh, crossed more than 1,000 feet of tidal wetlands on an elevated boardwalk, and eventually reached a marsh island with additional trails and views across the Stono River. It's a relatively short adventure that manages to pack several dis...

Simba and I visited and hiked Palmetto Islands County Park in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina , a beautiful 943-acre park filled with maritime forest, tidal wetlands, marsh islands, boardwalks, nature trails, and classic Lowcountry scenery. Located just outside Charleston, the park feels surprisingly removed from the busy historic streets and attractions nearby. Instead of old buildings, monuments, and city traffic, we found shady forests filled with palmettos and Spanish moss, wooden boardwalks stretching across wetlands, tidal creeks, wildlife habitat, and miles of peaceful trails. Palmetto Islands County Park was designed as a nature-oriented park where visitors can explore several relatively undisturbed marsh islands and the coastal environments surrounding them. With both paved and unpaved trails, it's an easy place to spend several hours wandering through the natural side of the South Carolina Lowcountry. And, of course, Simba got to hike the trails with me! 🐾 🌴 943 Acres o...