Summerville, SC is a small town situated to the northwest of Charleston, South Carolina. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metro and has just over 50,000 inhabitants as of the 2020 census. Although Summerville is fairly small and suburban, it packs a punch when it comes to things to do. We’ve put together a list of our favorite things to do in Summerville, SC below!
Azalea Park
Cost: Free
Time: 1-2 hours
Azalea Park is a beautiful park right next to downtown Summerville’s main strip. It’s the perfect place for a picnic or a photoshoot. However, the best thing about Azalea Park is its namesake azaleas which are usually in full bloom during the last few weeks of March or first few weeks of April each year. If you’re in town during that time, be sure to check out the Flowertown Festival (more on that below!).
Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Center
Cost: $10-20 per person
Time: 2-4 hours
Stars and Strikes is the perfect place for a family outing if you’re looking for things to do with your family in Summerville, SC. The facility boasts a plethora of family-friendly activities from bowling to laser tag to arcade games. It’s a great place for a family get-together or a birthday party. You’re certain to make wonderful memories if you plan a visit while staying in Summerville, SC.
Downtown Summerville
Cost: Free (unless you go shopping!)
Time: 1-2 hours
Summerville, South Carolina is an old town with a storied past. It began as Pineland Village in 1785. Because of its age, the town shows off a tremendous amount of charm, from its antebellum homes to modern boutiques, you’re certain to find some southern charm in Summerville. One of the most charming parts of the town is its main street (aptly named Main Street). We recommend taking a stroll through the center of town where you’ll find a beautiful fountain and park benches. You won’t have a shortage of places to eat or things to do as you explore downtown Summerville. Be sure to check out Geurin’s Pharmacy! It’s the oldest pharmacy in South Carolina and dates back to 1871.
Colonial Dorchester Historic Site
Cost: <$5 per person, kids 5 and under are free
Time: 1-2 hours
The Colonial Dorchester Historic Site, colloquially known as Fort Dorchester, has a long and tumultuous past. It began with a massive land grant of 1800 acres to a Mr. John Smith (how original) of England. He and his wife arrived in 1675, but they never had children, so when John Smith passed away, his land went back to the state. In 1696, a group of puritans from Dorchester, Massachusetts acquired 4050 acres (including the original 1800 acres) and decided to settle there. This became the town of Dorchester, South Carolina.
Dorchester thrived through much of the 1700s until the Revolutionary War. At that time, the town fell to the British and much of it was destroyed. When the British were finally run out of the town, there was no movement to rebuild. Instead, many relocated to the nearby Summerville, SC due to its higher ground and better draining soil.
To this day, you can still visit and see the remains of Fort Dorchester. The park boasts some of the best-preserved tabby walls and fortifications in the country. During low tide, you can even see the remnants of an old wharf that date from when the town was a bustling economic hub.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Cost: $15-30 per person, kids 5 and under are free
Time: 3-4 hours
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is one of the premier attractions in the Charleston and Summerville, SC area. It has been selected as one of “America’s Most Beautiful Gardens” by Travel and Leisure Magazine and is the only formal garden in the state of South Carolina that holds this honor.
The property was founded in 1676 by the Drayton family and has been open to the public since 1870. Its age makes it the oldest public tourist site in the Lowcountry and the oldest public garden in the United States!
Gardens aren’t the only thing to see on the grounds, though. There is a nature tram ride, nature boat tour, swamp gardens, and the plantation house tour to check out while you’re on the property.
As you can imagine, there is quite a lot to see and do at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, making it difficult to fit everything into one day. However, one of the best parts of visiting Magnolia Planation and Gardens is one of its policies for general admission ticket holders. If you don’t see everything you want to see in one day, you’re allowed to return to the grounds once within 7 days for free! This is an especially wonderful policy for new parents or those with young children, since life doesn’t always go as expected.
Summerville Farmers Market
Cost: Free
Time: 1-2 hours
The Summerville Farmers Market is a seasonal market located in historic downtown Summerville, SC. The market is open every Saturday, April to November, from 8 AM to 1 PM. It features a bunch of local vendors selling everything from fresh produce to hand-poured candles and even handmade furniture. It’s a wonderful place to bring the family on a lazy Saturday morning.
The market is located behind the Summerville Town Hall in the parking lot of the First Citizens Bank. Be sure to come hungry, as there are typically quite a few food trucks featuring some wonderful Lowcountry staples.
Middleton Place
Cost: $15-35 per person, kids under 5 are free
Time: 3-4 hours
Middleton Place is a historic plantation located on the Ashley River just outside of Summerville, South Carolina. It is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States. The home dates from the mid-1700s with construction beginning in the 1730s.
A ticket includes access to 65 acres of formal landscaped gardens, exhibitions on 18th and 19th century plantation life, and daily outdoor tours of the Stableyards. The house museum tour is extra, but well worth it in our opinion.
There is also a wonderful restaurant on the property that is accessible to visitors to Middleton Place. It’s open daily from 11 AM to 3 PM for lunch and reservations are not required. The restaurant is also open from 5 PM to 8:30 PM from Tuesday-Sunday for dinner. Reservations are required for dinner.
Gahagan Park
Cost: Free
Time: 1-2 hours
If you’re looking for a place to kill some time with the kiddos or have a picnic lunch, then look no further than Gahagan Park. The park is owned and maintained by the Town of Summerville, which helps to keep it clean and safe for families.
There is a children’s playground known as the Plantation Playground. It has a large climbing castle, walkways, and overlooks. There are also a number of swing sets.
In addition to the playground, there are also picnic tables, shelters, baseball/softball fields, and public restrooms. The park is open during daylight hours and is free for everyone.
Cinemark Movies 8
Cost: $10-20 per person
Time: 1-2 hours
If it’s a rainy, gross day and you’re looking for things to do in Summerville, SC, then look no further than Cinemark Movies 8, the local movie theater in Summerville. The theater is located in Summerville’s Azalea Square, which is a great place to take care of shopping needs before or after your movie. Cinemark regularly updates the movies it’s showing, making it a great place to catch the latest flick. There are also ample restaurants nearby which can be a wonderful addition to your movie date night or outing with the kids.
Flowertown Festival
Cost: Free
Time: 2-3 hours
The Flowertown Festival is an annual festival located in Summerville, SC. It happens every year at the end of March or beginning of April and lasts for the weekend. The timing of the festival was chosen to line up with the blooming of Summerville’s Azalea bushes every year. While they don’t guarantee it will always coincide with the blooms, you are certain to have a wonderful time at this family-friendly event.
The Flowertown Festival gets its name from Summerville’s nickname of Flowertown. It has been put on every year since 1973 and funds health and wellness programs at the local Summerville YMCA. Every year, thousands of people flock to Summerville to admire the floral colors and enjoy walking through the festival.
At the festival, you can expect to find ample food trucks and vendors, free parking, activities for children, and local artists. One of the coolest parts of the Flowertown Festival is the sheer number of local artists selling their crafts. Every year, over 200 jury-selected artists are in attendance, making it one of the best places in the Lowcountry to buy artist-crafted wares.
If you’re interested in learning more about the festival, check out their official page through the Summerville YMCA.
Coastal Carolina Fair
Cost: $15-30 per person, kids 5 and under are free
Time: 2-3 hours
The Coastal Carolina Fair is another Summerville, SC favorite that comes just once per year. Each October, the fair is set up at the Exchange Park in neighboring Ladson, South Carolina. The Exchange Park is essentially a giant fairgrounds (similar to a county fairgrounds) and it puts on the event.
Over 300,000 people attend the fair each year, so it’s certainly one of the flagship events held in Summerville. The event has been going on since 1957, making it one of the longest running events in the Lowcountry.
The Coastal Carolina Fair is chock full of everything you’d expect from a county fair: funnel cakes, carnival games and prizes, and plenty of rides and activities for children. The fair also includes a variety of shows where prizes are awarded; this is similar to a county fair, but much more focused on creative arts like topiary sculpting, photography displays, and fiddle contests.
While the fair does run for a couple of weeks, be sure to get in early, as it gets packed on weekends and toward the end of the fair. If you’re planning a trip to Summerville, SC in late October or early November, be sure to check it out!
To read details about this year’s fair, check out the official website of the event.
Cypress Gardens
Cost: $5-10 per person, kids 5 and under are free
Time: 1-2 hours
Cypress Gardens is a massive, 170-acre nature preserve and gardens located just outside of Summerville, SC in nearby Moncks Corner, SC. The main attraction at Cypress Gardens is its 80-acre blackwater, bald cypress swamp. The gardens have been open to the public since 1932 and have been used in several TV shows and movies, including The Notebook and The Patriot.
The swamp is accessible by foot trails and swamp boat. If you decide to take a guided swamp boat tour (which we recommend!) it will be an additional $5 per person and on-site reservations are required. They also have self-guided boat tours that are free, but subject to availability. Keep in mind that these are not motorized boats and there are swamp creatures, like alligators, that are a common sight. We prefer to stick with the guide.
After you’ve taken the quintessential boat tour, you can check out a number of other attractions that Cypress Gardens has. The park has a butterfly house where you and the kids can see a variety of flowering plants, live butterflies, and many native birds. There is also a “swamparium” that features local swamp creatures in an aquarium-style setting.
The park offers some seasonal events, like Halloween in the Swamp, which are really fun for a group. Check their website in September or October for more details on this event. Also, if you’re visiting during the warmer, more humid months, be sure to pack the mosquito repellant. It can get quite buggy near the stagnant water.
The park is open 7 days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM, but last entrance is at 4 PM. Berkeley County residents can take advantage of Free Saturdays with a photo ID.
World’s Largest Sweet Tea
Cost: Free (unless you buy something)
Time: 10-20 minutes
Although this is hotly disputed, Summerville claims to be the home of sweet tea in the US. Tea was imported into Charleston (and neighboring Summerville) in the 1700s, then in the 1800s, Dr. Charles Shepard started the Pinehurst Tea Plantation. Since Summerville used to be known as Pinehurst, the narrative does make sense.
To pay homage to sweet tea and its birthplace, Summerville create the “World’s Largest Sweet Tea”. It’s tucked in a back alley off of Main Street, but definitely worth stopping by for an Instagram-able photo opportunity.
Antiques and Boutiques
Cost: Free (unless you buy something)
Time: 1-2 hours
Summerville, SC and the surrounding area are known for their history. There are a number of antebellum homes still in existence, with family histories dating back many generations. That naturally makes Summerville, SC a hotbed for great antique finds, especially given its proximity to nearby, and historically affluent, Charleston.
There are several antique shops in the Summerville area, but there are a couple right downtown that are a short walk away from Main Street. One of our favorites is EveryThingChic~ETC. It has a nice mixture of antiques and handcrafted goods from local artisans.
As for boutiques, there are even more options on the main drag in Summerville, SC. One of our favorite boutiques is Katie Mae’s. Her store used to be more antiques, but she’s since pivoted into furniture (new and used), southern home decor, and women’s boutique goods. It’s just around the corner from the World’s Largest Sweet Tea.
Drayton Hall
Cost: $10-$30 per person, kids under 7 are free
Time: 2-3 hours
Drayton Hall is an 18th century plantation house that is thought to have been completed and occupied beginning the the 1750s. It is located next to the Ashley River. The Drayton family preserved the estate for seven generations, but the house is now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is managed by the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust. The latter opened the house to the public in 1976. It is an important piece of Lowcountry history because it is the only plantation house on the Ashley River to have survived both the Revolutionary and Civil wars. It has even been rated as Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Place to See in South Carolina.
Drayton Hall is open to the public from Wednesday through Monday every week (and closed Tuesdays). You can buy tickets in advance or at the gate, but please note that cash is not accepted here. Admission grants access to the main house, galleries, and gardens. The main house tour comes with a complimentary audio tour, but try to remember to bring your own headphones. Alternatively, you can purchase cheap headphones onsite.
If you’re looking for a truly enriching historical experience, you may want to consider Drayton Hall’s interpreter-led house tour instead. It is available each day at 9 AM, 2:30 PM, and 3:30 PM and lasts an hour. The tour can only be purchased through the website and is $35 per person (instead of the typical $26). Be sure to check out their website for the latest information on opening times and prices.