BACKROADS • JUNE 2021
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WE’RE OUTTA HERE Walterboro, South Carolina When Daytona time rolls our way we know so many of you are eager to return to the old normal and open up your riding season with Bike Week. If you are hauling your machines, or better, riding down south, we have a fantastic overnight, well worth a two-night stay. Down in the low country of South Carolina is the quaint town of Walterboro. The city boasts fine examples of 19th-century architecture including many beautiful historic churches. The South Carolina Artisans Center is located in Walterboro and provides a retail outlet for the state’s finest folk art and crafts. There is plenty of nature to be found in this region and the town Wildlife Sanctuary is comprised of over 800 acres of braided creek and hardwood flats. The sanctuary offers boardwalks, bridges, bike, and walking trails for viewing natural lowcountry wildlife and beauty. Spanish moss drips from Cypress trees and wildflowers abound as you pass a beaver pond, duck pond, butterfly garden. Best of all – it is free. If you are looking for a real nature experience and want to overnight in a very
a weekend destination keeping you on the backroads special way then get ready to paddle. The largest Private Wildlife Refuge on the Edisto River, accessible only by canoe, offers guests unparalleled privacy and stunning views from world-class treehouses. Treehouses! This stretch of the longest, free-flowing blackwater river in the southeastern United States has sandy banks and a shallow, sandy bottom - perfect for swimming and picnicking. When water is higher, as in the winter months, you can paddle right into forests of cypress trees. The river’s winding, undeveloped shoreline offers you the perfect and real escape. At the end of your paddle, you can stay in the most marvelous treehouses like Tarzan & Jane. If you would like a slightly easier and very nice place for the night, Waltersboro offers several B & Bs – one standout is the Old Academy on Hampton Street. The Old Academy was originally built and used as Walterboro’s first schoolhouse. Owners Don and Jean Sterling bought it in 1990 and opened it as a bed and breakfast in 1996. In 1998 they were presented with the William Lowndes Award by the Colleton County Historical Society for the preservation of a historic building. Don and Jean offer superior rooms at very reasonable prices. The truth is we discovered Waltersboro while on a mission for Dr. Seymour O’Life. As Tom Jones would say… “It’s not unusual” for O’Life to request a little side-trip from us when he knows we are passing something odd and