A Pawley's Island Christmas (Days 3-4) - Brookgreen Gardens + Huntington State Park Beach
A sculpture experience at Brookgreen Gardens.
UPDATED: 2/4/2023
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With our sights set on visits to Huntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens, we set off on a very short (about 6 miles) drive to the town of Murrells Inlet. The morning was brisk with a warm sun and cool breeze when we arrived at Huntington Beach.
Within the park, we took a couple of short walks. The first was a boardwalk over a salt marsh. The walk itself was about 4/10ths of a mile out and back. The air was cool but the sun was nice and warm. We could hear the main road’s traffic in the distance, which disrupted the sense of nature somewhat. Next, we headed further into the park to a short path (about 1/4th of a mile) out to the beach. There were signs warning of alligators, though we only saw various marsh bird life. There were campgrounds here, and it would be a good spot to camp during cool weather.
Also located within the Huntington Beach State Park is Atalaya Castle , the winter home of Archer and Anne Huntington, founders of Brookgreen Gardens. The house's ruins were closed during our visit but can be toured. The house's architecture is unique and makes it appear to be more of an institutional building than a place anyone would call home.
For lunch, we headed a short ways down the road to The Claw House . Nothing beats seafood at the beach! The restaurant is large and overlooking the water with seating that appears to be open in the warmer months but enclosed as a bit of a sunroom during the colder months. It was nice to sit in the warm sun but protected from the wind!
Dustin ordered fish and chips, which were the standard fare with large cod fillets and crunchy straw fries. Lindsey had a meal that was absolutely delicious - called a crab stack. Mixed into a mold so that it stands as, well, a stack, it is a mix of crab, avocado, mango salsa, cilantro oil, and sriracha with some crispy chip-type things reminiscent of what is served with egg drop soup at our local Chinese restaurant. It was so good that it is one of those few meals from trips that stick with you. Because of his love of all things aquarium, Dustin enjoyed the enormous fish-only saltwater aquarium at the restaurant, too.
Sleepy and satiated from the large midday meal and local IPA brew, we decided it was time to get back outside and burn some of those calories at Brookgreen Gardens. Brookgreen Gardens is a registered National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1931 by Archer and Anne Huntington, who had their home, Atalaya, nearby, the gardens were developed as a place to house Anne’s sculptures as well as other pieces that they collected. Today, the gardens house the largest collection of sculptures by American artists and has been designated by many travel guides and newspapers as a top garden as well as one of the best places to visit in the Carolinas.
Having read online that the gardens had faced some destruction from Hurricane Florence in September 2018, just a few months before our visit, we found one section closed off and some repair work but overall it was truly minimal as far as we could tell. The gardens are large at over 9,000 acres and are on land that served as a rice plantation.
An outdoor, full sensory experience like Brookgreen is best experienced rather than written about, but to make an attempt at it: upon entering, we found meandering paths weaving in and out of various garden areas with different styles - from small, intimate green spaces to sweeping avenues of trees.
At the center were epic sculptures brought to life by their surrounds, and there were a multitude of other sculptures tucked away in each garden as well. There are a number of ponds as well as other water features throughout and the visage of sculptures reflected in the water only added to their grandeur and affect.
There were also two indoor sculpture buildings to view additional small to large sculptures. Around each corner or through each hedge was a new surprise and due to the meandering nature of the paths, no two experiences would be the same based on how you travel through the gardens.
I’m not sure how you come up with the idea to fill an entire pool with cranberries but it looked amazing!
Being December there were not many flowers blooming. I do love Poppies although not as much as pUppies! ;)
Lindsey enjoying the fall foliage.
Reflecting pools really add extra depth and feeling!
Pegasus in the sun.
Emily Dickinson made a showing.
Upside down palm trees look very strange.
Part of the area that had flooded from the hurricane was the ricefield area so we did not get to explore that or the low country trail, but there was some information we were able to view that explained more about the rice plantations and Gullah culture. One aspect of any (particularly southern) historic sites we go to that we always have an eye out is to see whether the site is addressing the challenging history of slavery and the era of plantations. Brookgreen also has dedicated programs and information on the Gullah culture.
Finally, after the main garden area and ricefield overlook portion, there is a child’s area (which we did not visit), and a small wildlife zoo that included birds and animals that are native to the area - animals such as otter, wild turkeys, and wildfowl.
Chickens: I like to think of them as backyard dinosaurs.
Why do red eyes make things look scary? I nicknamed these Demon Birds even though they seemed perfectly friendly.
There were so many different species of ducks in the waterfowl enclosure!
Cute little Grey Fox sleeping in his high perch.
In total, we spent about 2 hours 30 minutes at Brookgreen and walked about 4.25 miles. I would say we saw most but not all of it and, again, were unable to go into a few areas. When fully operational, I think it would be easy to spend half a day here, and there are picnic areas and a restaurant on site to further enjoy the time.
Fountain Waterfall at Brookgreen Gardens
This sculpture is quite possibly my favorite.
I can’t decide which angle I prefer!
Also of note, particularly since we visited on Christmas Eve: Brookgreen Gardens hosts an annual Night of a Thousand Candles on select nights in December. The event is mainly after dark and has the gardens lit by literally thousands of hand-lit candles. When we visited, they had just finished their last event of the season, and we saw the candles strewn throughout. It is evident that it would be incredibly magical to experience the gardens that way. Tickets sell out in advance and due to rain in the forecast, we decided not to get them for the one night we could have gone. If you’re visiting in another month, check out their event calendar for various music and other events.
The gardens were a wonderful way to spend our last day of the trip out and about. The next day was Christmas and so we had a low-key day with most areas closed and spent the time taking a long walk along the beach and, inspired, I also added in a run. Note to other runners/walkers out there: because of the erosion on the island, about every 5 houses or so on the beach are basically wooden ‘breaks’ (walls) to prevent too much sand from being swept to sea, so I had to run further up the beach on the dry sand in order to easily get over them. I do love beach running but the compacted wet sand is much easier, so that was not ideal at this beach.
We found Pawley’s Island to be a perfect family getaway for Christmas and allowed us the right mix of the things we enjoy - exploring an area, spending time outdoors, and there’s really nothing that matches a view from bed of sunsets and sunrises over the crashing ocean waves.
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Check out our other posts about South Carolina:
Moonrise over the Ocean
Watch a full super moon rise over the ocean near Pawley’s Island and see the changes in light and colors as it moved up from the horizon.