Home Inspection in Folly Beach, SC

Charleston is a peninsula surrounded by water, but it isn’t necessarily a beach town, per se. If you’re after the best Charleston beaches, you’ll need to plan ahead to drive to visit one of the sea islands that flank the city. The decision will pay dividends, however, as each beach offers wide views to the horizon, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and plenty of space to enjoy both. Most on this list come with a “beach town,” to boot, from Edisto’s sleepy seafood shacks to live bands at the Windjammer as the sun sets on Isle of Palms.

Whatever you’re after, pack some sunscreen and keep these tips in your back pocket for assured fun in the sun: The later in the day you arrive, the more crowded it will be. If you are picky about your place on the sand, then go to Charleston beaches early. The combo of tourists who generally have later starts to the day plus locals who like to knock off work early to get a few hours of beach time equals an increase in traffic and a decrease in towel real estate nearest peak sunshine. Note that each beach has its own rules for parking, from Folly’s “wheels off the road” rule to Isle of Palms’ city operated lots. It’s a delicate dance between livable beach communities and visitor pressure, so respect and patience keep public access palatable for all.

Heads-up: drinking and smoking on most Charleston beaches is a big no no, and can cost you big time. It’s a rule that is consistently enforced, and most locals know someone (or have been someone) who came with beer or other alcoholic beverages in a beach tote and left with a tan and a fine of up to $1000. Also, note that vibes vary from beach to beach. Each one of Charleston’s beach towns has its own culture. While Folly Beach is a free-stylin’ hippie, Edisto is a genteel country cousin, and Isle of Palms a fun-loving student on spring break. This is, of course, a simplification, but can help with deciding which to-the-water trek most fits your interests.

Read on for our complete Charleston city guide, which includes:

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FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — Sea turtle nesting season arrived earlier than normal this year.

Trained volunteers with the Folly Beach Turtle Watch program located a loggerhead nest Tuesday morning while walking the beach. The volunteers are part of a team of over 1,500 volunteers and biologists that regularly patrol South Carolina's beaches through the fall to count, monitor and protect local sea turtle nests.

"With warmer winter conditions and increased observations of loggerheads being reported in our waters, there was some expectation that nesting would begin soon," said biologist Michelle Pate, who oversees the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' sea turtle nesting program.

"We ask that beachfront residents and visitors recreating on our coast turn off lights at night as sea turtles begin this annual ritual of nesting."

READ MORE | "South Carolina Aquarium and Coast Guard release five Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into ocean."

May 1 traditionally marks the beginning of sea turtle season in South Carolina, but recent sea turtle activity indicates nesting might begin early this year. Seabrook Island has already seen the first two ‘false crawls’ of the season, made by loggerhead females who came ashore but returned to sea without successfully nesting.

Other early nest years include Garden City on April 29 last year, Kiawah Island on April 26 in 2019, and Folly Beach on April 29 in 2002.

Nesting requires significant energy for female sea turtles, scientists have discovered. The typical result is a pattern of nesting that fluctuates from year to year.

Overall, sea turtle nest numbers across the Southeast have trended up over the past decade, making biologists across the region optimistic that these threatened reptiles are beginning to recover after several decades of conservation efforts.

South Carolina Sea Turtle Nest Numbers:

Sea turtle clutches average 120 eggs and hatch after approximately 60 days.

Four sea turtle species nest on South Carolina beaches: loggerheads, greens, Kemp’s ridleys, and leatherbacks. All four species are classified as endangered or threatened and are protected under the Endangered Species Act in addition to state law.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Folly Beach is working hard to finalize its 2026 budget.

On Tuesday, the city council held a work session and reviewed the proposed budget. Federal funding cuts have made this year more of a challenge, but the mayor says they’ve come out with a balanced budget without increasing taxes.

Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin says finalizing the budget is always a challenge, but especially this year.

“We have been saving all along for rainy days, and it rained on us,” Goodwin said.

The city has been affected by federal funding shifts. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, previously used for stormwater drainage projects, has been cancelled, and $1.8 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for the redundant water main is in jeopardy. This means they’ll have to dip into general funds they’ve been saving up for years.

“We have built that up over the years wisely, so we had the money we could go get this year,” Goodwin said.

Staff members are seeking alternate funding and communicating with representatives about local fiscal impacts. A big topic at the work session was the Center Street project. By upgrading stormwater drainage systems, they hope to alleviate flooding on the busy street.

“Essentially, Center Street is going to be torn up one piece at a time to put in a bigger drain system,” Goodwin said.

The mayor said you should expect a busy construction season there this summer. The council is prioritizing the completion of existing capital projects, but Mayor Goodwin says they always have to be prepared for the unknown.

“You might find some Civil War relics, bombs, who knows, they wash up all the time on the ends of the beaches. I think we had two occasions of that last year, where people found old cannon balls, and then you have to go through a whole process of making sure they’re not going to explode. When you start digging up around here, you never know what you’re going to find,” Goodwin said.

Maintaining tourism-related facilities and the beach is one topic many locals feel passionate about prioritizing.

“Especially with the amount of people continuing to travel here over the years since we’ve been here, which is only 10 years, I can see how there is much more of a greater importance of keeping the city clean and the beach clean more than anything else,” James Island resident Julian Riani said.

James Island resident Stephen Fletcher has been surfing here for decades, and he says the council should be incorporating more for beach cleanups in the budget.

“They should buy some beach rigs and make an effort, particularly in the Center Street area, where the tourists are. To have this beach that nasty looking and junk on the beach, those guys in golf carts can’t handle that. Someone needs to have two beach rigs like they have down in Florida, and let’s clean the place up,” Fletcher said.

Goodwin said they’ve come to a balanced budget again without tax increases. Goodwin is hopeful they’ll get some grant money back. If you want to give your input before the budget is finalized, you can go to public hearings in May and June.

You can find the latest upcoming meetings here.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Folly Beach is making a significant comeback this beach season, thanks to a multi-million dollar renourishment project in collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers. April 22, 2025. (Jason Tighe/WCIV)

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FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — Folly Beach is making a significant comeback this beach season, thanks to a multi-million dollar renourishment project in collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers.

The project, which costs around $18 million, aims to widen the beaches for both storm protection and recreation.

"The beach looks great today. The renourishment project really helped," said Nicole Elko, the City of Folly Beach's Coastal Management Consultant. Elko reflected on the progress made so far, noting that last year's efforts brought more than 100 feet of sand to the beach, addressing the dangerously low sand levels caused by various weather events.

This year's focus is on reinforcing the six miles of beachfront dunes. "The contractor should be here with new sea grasses, and other plants that will go in along the dune system here," Elko said. Planting vegetation is expected to restore the health of the dunes, which have been damaged or destroyed by recent storms.

"During the last several hurricanes, many of Folly's dunes were eroded. So, there are some parts of the community that have seawalls exposed, or they did prior to the renourishments. So they're dunes are completely gone. So, building the dunes back with the sand that's available on the beach is a high priority of the project," Elko explained. The restoration work will help the upper part of the beach manage major flooding issues.

READ MORE | "Lowcountry Land Trust expands conservation with 254-acre acquisition"

Elko emphasized the importance of these protections for Folly Beach's way of life. "The economic benefit of the beach is critical for a community like Folly. They essentially can't operate without the beach," she said. Additionally, the project supports wildlife, including critical species that rely on the beach and dunes as their habitat.

This includes turtles, which nest in the dunes to protect their eggs. Turtle nesting season officially begins next month.

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The planting on the dunes represents a small portion of the overall project's cost, but it is a crucial step in ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of Folly Beach's coastline.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - Construction for the Folly Beach Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements Project is set to begin in a few weeks.

There were two community meetings to address the future construction plans of the project on Wednesday night, presenting the plans.

In the presentation, both the Weston & Samson Engineers and the Gulf Stream Construction team on this project broke down what community members could expect from the end of April. This is when they’ll start construction, until May 2026 or so when they wrap up final touches.

Below is the official expected timeline:

A lot of the questions from community members stemmed from concerns in terms of how this would impact their busiest season in the coming months.

“It might be a little bit of pain for a while, but for the most part, I think everybody will adjust. They’ll grumble a little, but other than that, it’ll be fine. These guys clearly know what they’re doing and clearly have worked on some major projects. Yeah. So, I’m not worried about it at all,” community member Kim Jaeger said.

In the presentation, they also took a look at what to expect during construction, like shifting lanes, losing some parking and taking away the palmetto trees, however, that is all temporary.

In fact, you can expect 39 more parking spots on the island and more trees after construction is over.

“We’re going to have a bonus of extra parking spots by the end of this project. So there’s a lot more pros than cons. It’s nice to have rain gardens, it’ll be a nice infrastructure, and it’ll improve Folly,” Jaeger said.

Another factor to consider in the midst of construction was also hurricane season coming up, however, both Jaeger and the project’s team said they would make do.

“We just know when it shows up, it shows up. You can’t do anything about it other than stay in that. So, I know that we, in general, will all end up at the same bag supply place, helping each other fill their bags, putting them in front of the businesses. So, in the end, it is what it is,” Jaeger said.

The Weston & Samson Engineers Project Manager, Chris Pyman, who’s on the project’s engineering team, said they know the timing isn’t ideal. However, since funding comes from a grant with the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program, there’s a reason for it.

“There are time constraints on the grant funding, and that’s why it has to start as soon as possible so that it can be completed by that June 2026 time frame,” Pyman said.

If bad weather comes through, the current drainage system will still work, even as new pipes are being installed.

During construction, they will break the project into a few different parts so they’re not taking up multiple streets at a time and will not hit Center Street until after Labor Day.

“You can’t force a timeline. There’s a lot of different variables involved. Permitting being one of the biggest question marks that you have to factor into your schedule on your timeline when you’re designing a project of this scale,” Pyman said.

The project’s team said they plan on uploading all of their presentation and other information on the City of Folly Beach website under the stormwater management page.

Gulf Stream Construction said they will also send out a two-week look-ahead schedule for the community as they go through this process.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.