We visited Charleston, South Carolina in mid-February 2021. Our first stop was the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve on Folly Island. The preserve is located at the end of Ashley Avenue on the northeastern end of Folly Island. From the gate at the northeast end of Ashley Avenue, a 0.40-mile trail leads to the beach and a view of the Morris Island Lighthouse. The first ¼ mile is a paved road covered in graffiti with most messages being positive and all that I saw being family-friendly.
The Morris Island Lighthouse stands 161 feet high and was completed in 1876 at a cost of nearly $150,000. When built, the lighthouse was well inland on Morris Island. However, the island has eroded over the intervening years so that the lighthouse is now over 1700 feet offshore. Unfortunately, the clouds were so low that it almost looked like fog on the day we visited and our view of the lighthouse was not optimal.
Very few free parallel parking spaces are available along Ashley Avenue. However, off-street parking on Summer Place Lane and paid parallel parking on Ashley Avenue is available at a rate of $2 per hour up to $10, payable in advance with a debit or credit card.
 |
| Graffiti covered pedestrian road |
 |
| End of the road and start of the trail |
 |
| From the top of the dunes, the Morris Island Lighthouse disappears into the fog |
 |
| A closer look reveals the base of the lighthouse |
 |
| Descending to the beach |
 |
| Deadly currents at this end of the island |
 |
| Beach erosion-control boulders |
 |
| A flock of geese fly over |
 |
| Another view of the lighthouse |
 |
| A closer view |
 |
| Trees growing on the dunes |
An entry fee of $1 per person is collected on the honor system at the kiosk at the end of Ashley Avenue.
