Dog-Friendly Trails, Parks & Gardens
Get out
Trails, gardens & the places that say no
Where the dog is welcome on the path, where it has to stay in the car, and where it cannot come at all. Pinckney Island is the one that catches people out. 19 where they are welcome, and 4 worth knowing about before you drive out.
Charleston
The Battery & White Point Garden
Dogs welcome
Leashed any time, and off-leash is permitted from dawn to 9am and again from 5pm to 11pm. It is unfenced and sits between two busy streets on the point, so only if the recall is genuinely reliable.
From consistent third-party sources · Source
Hollywood
ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
Leashed dogs OK
Unusually for a national wildlife refuge, ACE Basin allows dogs — Pinckney Island and the Savannah refuge do not. Dogs and cats only, restrained on a leash and under control at all times.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Audubon Newhall Preserve
Leashed dogs OK
Fifty acres of trails and a pond in the middle of the island, and leashed dogs are welcome — pick up after them. There are alligators in the pond, so keep the lead short.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Burkes Beach
Leashed dogs OK
Small, undeveloped access by the creek, and it follows the same town beach ordinance. Watch the signage at the Fish Haul Creek end, where the shorebird rules are stricter.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Coligny Beach Park
Leashed dogs OK
The island's busiest access, and it follows the town beach ordinance: no dogs between 10am and 5pm from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, leash or voice control the rest of the year. The beach board above has the answer for right now.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Driessen Beach Park
Leashed dogs OK
Town beach ordinance applies: restricted 10am to 5pm in high summer, leash or voice control otherwise. Boardwalk, showers and a lot of shade in the parking lot.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Edisto Island
Edisto Beach State Park
Leashed dogs OK
Leash or physical restraint at all times, and nothing in or around the lodging. Edisto is one of the friendlier stretches out of season — voice control is accepted on the sand from November through April.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Fish Haul Creek Park
Leashed dogs OK
The exception on Hilton Head: leash at all times here, no voice-control window, because the shorebird habitat at Fish Haul Creek is protected. Do not assume the island-wide beach rule applies at this one.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Folly Field Beach Park
Leashed dogs OK
Same town ordinance as the rest of the island — the midday summer restriction is the one that catches visitors out.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Savannah
Forsyth Park
Leashed dogs OK
Leashed dogs anywhere across the thirty acres except the Nature Center. Off-leash is a city ordinance violation here however many people you see chancing it — Savannah has fenced dog parks at Daffin and elsewhere for that.
From consistent third-party sources · Source
Savannah
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Leashed dogs OK
One of the better forts to bring a dog to: leashed at six feet, they can come inside the fort itself and along every trail on the monument. Not in the visitor centre. Do not leave a dog in the car here between June and September.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
McClellanville
Hampton Plantation State Historic Site
Leashed dogs OK
Leashed on the grounds, which are the good part anyway. No pets in the buildings, so the house tour is off the table.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Beaufort
Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park
Leashed dogs OK
Leashed dogs along the river walk and the green, and several of the restaurants facing the park keep a water bowl by the door. The easiest dog walk in Beaufort.
From consistent third-party sources · Source
St Helena Island
Hunting Island State Park
Leashed dogs OK
State-park rule is a leash no longer than six feet, everywhere, and no pets in or around the cabins and buildings. The beach itself closes to dogs in the middle of the day through turtle season — check the beach board above before you drive out.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Islanders Beach Park
Leashed dogs OK
Quieter than Coligny and the parking is resident-permit in season. Town beach ordinance applies to dogs.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Jarvis Creek Park
Leashed dogs OK
Fifty-three acres of town park with a pond, a fishing pier and a mile of flat trail. Leash required, plenty of shade, and no gate fee — the easy default on Hilton Head.
From consistent third-party sources · Source
Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island Beachwalker Park
Leashed dogs OK
The county rule is leashed and under control. The Town of Kiawah then adds a season on top: leashed from 1 March to 15 October, off-leash from 16 October to the end of February provided you stay with the dog and carry a lead. Leash up if Beach Patrol or another beachgoer asks — that is written into the rule.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Charleston
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens
Leashed dogs OK
Leashed dogs, six-foot lead, across the sixty-six acres of grounds, the gardens and the Audubon Swamp Garden. Not on any tour, not in the wildlife centre, not in the gift shop. One of the few big Charleston attractions that says yes at all.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Sea Pines Forest Preserve
Leashed dogs OK
Six hundred acres of trails, leashed at all times. There is a gate fee per vehicle to get into Sea Pines. Assume every pond holds an alligator and keep the dog four car lengths back from the water — this is not a precaution people here treat as optional.
From consistent third-party sources · Source
Johns Island
Angel Oak Tree
Partly
Leashed dogs are allowed in the designated areas, including the picnic ground, but not up at the tree itself — the root system is exactly what the city is protecting. Someone holds the lead while the other takes the photograph.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Mount Pleasant
Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens
Partly
Leashed dogs are welcome on the grounds and through the gardens and the Avenue of Oaks, but not inside the plantation house, not on the tractor tour, and not in the other buildings. Special events like the Pumpkin Patch are service animals only.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Edisto Island
Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve
Partly
Dogs are allowed across the 4,600 acres under voice control, but NOT on the causeway or the beach — which is the part everyone comes for. Grab a day pass at the kiosk. Closed Tuesdays and during scheduled hunts, and there is enough deer and turkey here that a dog with a poor recall will find them.
From consistent third-party sources · Source
Sullivan's Island
Fort Moultrie
Partly
Leashed dogs are fine on the paths, trails and grounds outside the fort. They cannot go inside the fort or the visitor centre, so bring someone who can hold the lead.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hardeeville
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge
Partly
Your dog can ride the four-and-a-half-mile Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive with you, in the car. Pets are not allowed on the refuge trails. Leashed walking is permitted at the Solomon Tract and north of I-95 off Purrysburg Road.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Ravenel
Caw Caw Interpretive Center
No dogs
No pets other than service animals. Charleston County runs it as a low-impact wildlife preserve, and bicycles are out too.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Charleston
Fort Sumter National Monument
No dogs
No dogs at Fort Sumter, and the ferry operator does not carry pets — which settles it, since the boat is the only way out. Fort Moultrie, the other half of the same national park, does take leashed dogs on its grounds.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
James Island
McLeod Plantation Historic Site
No dogs
No pets other than service animals, and no bicycles. Charleston County runs McLeod as a historic site rather than a park, and treats it accordingly.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Hilton Head Island
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
No dogs
No pets anywhere on the refuge unless they stay inside the vehicle, service animals excepted. It is posted at the entrance and it is enforced. Worth knowing before you drive out, because this is the most-walked trail system on the island and every visitor assumes the dog can come.
Confirmed on their own page · Source
Policies change and the host on the day has the final say. Call ahead if the trip depends on it.