loading spinner
South Carolina

Kayak the Lowcountry

Program No. 12440RJ
Join experts for a relaxed kayaking adventure in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, where you’ll paddle historic waterways, learn about regional culture and enjoy home-cooked meals.

Enroll with Confidence

We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more

Protecting the Environment

We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more

Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone? 800-454-5768
Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
Activity Level: Outdoor: Challenging (3)
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Filling Fast!
Nov 5 - Nov 10, 2023
Starting at
1,699
Mar 24 - Mar 29, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Nov 10 - Nov 15, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Activity Level: Outdoor: Challenging (3)
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Filling Fast!
Nov 5 - Nov 10, 2023
Starting at
2,149
Mar 24 - Mar 29, 2024
Starting at
2,259
Nov 10 - Nov 15, 2024
Starting at
2,259
Activity Level: Outdoor: Spirited (2)
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 17 - Mar 22, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Nov 3 - Nov 8, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Activity Level: Outdoor: Spirited (2)
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 17 - Mar 22, 2024
Starting at
2,259
Nov 3 - Nov 8, 2024
Starting at
2,259

At a Glance

Discover the beauty and secrets of South Carolina’s Lowcountry waterways, home to Spanish moss, marsh grasses, blackwater and abundant wildlife. Paddle on salt creeks, freshwater rivers and venture into woodland swamps as you study the ecological and historical culture of the Lowcountry, observing species of birds and wildflowers visible only from the water.
Activity Level
Varies by date
Varies by date. OUTDOOR: SPIRITED Dates: Intended for beginner and intermediate paddlers. Kayak 4 miles daily (about 3 hours); lift kayaks and gear. OUTDOOR: CHALLENGING Dates: Experienced and fit paddlers receive advanced instruction that assumes knowledge of strokes and techniques. Paddling up to 12 miles daily; sitting in kayak up to 4 hours; carrying kayak and gear. Conditions may include wind and opposing currents. Please note all our kayaks are singles; if you have never paddled a kayak solo before, we recommend that you choose the “Outdoor: Spirited” version of this program.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Paddlers will explore history first-hand from the water, meandering through salt marshes, past cypress trees, or under stately live oaks.
  • Enjoy delicious contemporary takes on lowcountry fare like Lowcountry Boil or collards, prepared by a local chef!
  • Relax and learn during various evening activities: study SC by Map, meet a sweetgrass basket maker, or hear stories from the lowcountry--there's something different every night.

General Notes

The Retreat Difference: This unique, often basic and no-frills experience at a Road Scholar Retreat includes opportunities for light exercise, interaction with the local community, an authentic farm-to-table or locally sourced meal and evening entertainment on at least one night. Small group program limited to 13 participants. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
April Childress
A native of South Carolina, April Childress has been sea kayaking for more than a decade. She is a popular instructor for Road Scholar programs, and she has kayaked in the Lower Exumas; rafted the Grand Canyon; served on a Mars Society research team in the Canadian High Arctic; and has photographed blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos Islands. April thinks there is no place in the world like South Carolina, and no better way to explore it than by water.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of April Childress
April Childress View biography
A native of South Carolina, April Childress has been sea kayaking for more than a decade. She is a popular instructor for Road Scholar programs, and she has kayaked in the Lower Exumas; rafted the Grand Canyon; served on a Mars Society research team in the Canadian High Arctic; and has photographed blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos Islands. April thinks there is no place in the world like South Carolina, and no better way to explore it than by water.
Profile Image of Elizabeth Anderegg
Elizabeth Anderegg View biography
A graduate of the College of Charleston, Elizabeth Anderegg is a lifelong canoeist who discovered kayaking when her two daughters grew older and preferred their boating independence. Since 2006, she has served as a kayak and birding expert for Nature Adventures Outfitters. Now an ACA Kayak Instructor and a South Carolina Coastal Master Naturalist, Elizabeth brings to Road Scholar her love of nature and the outdoors, and her love of sharing these with others.
Profile Image of Andy Smith
Andy Smith View biography
Andy is a whitewater instructor, attorney, gardener and river trip leader who lives in Mountain Rest, South Carolina with his wife Cina. Their farmstead is three miles from the Chattooga River, where he has been hosting paddlers since 1979. As an attorney, Andy dedicated twenty years to environmental protection and conservation. He has shucked oysters at a jazz club in New Orleans, managed a rustic fly-in resort on Crooked Island in The Bahamas and currently works at the Airey Law Firm in Seneca, South Carolina.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Water is Wide
by Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy's memoir about teaching on Daufuskee Island in a one-room schoolhouse. The book was made into the movie Conrack, starring Jon Voight. Sense of place and people. Product Description from publisher: The island is nearly deserted, haunting, beautiful. Across a slip of ocean lies South Carolina. But for the handful of families on Yamacraw island, America is a world away. For years the people here lived proudly from the sea, but now its waters are not safe. Waste from industry threatens their very existence--unless, somehow, they can learn a new life. But they will learn nothing without someone to teach them, and their school has no teacher. Here is PAT CONROY'S extraordinary drama based on his own experience: the true story of a man who gave a year of his life to an island and the new life its people gave him.
Tideland Treasure
by Todd Balantine
Our naturalist Bill Hamel says this is "a bible around here." Hand-drawn illustrations enhance the explanations. Each page was once an article in the local paper. Written for regular folks, there's information to satisfy trained naturalists.
The Prince of Tides
by Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy's novel captures the beauty of the lowcountry as it moves from present to past and back again. Made into a movie by the same title starring Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. Narrated by Tom Wingo, the novel explores the relationships between members of a dysfunctional family as it moves between the lowcountry to Manhattan. Shrimping, good description of salt marshes.
A Coast for All Seasons: A Naturalist's Guide to the Coast of South Carolina
by Miles O. Hayes, Jacqueline Michel and Joseph M. Holmes
Technical but readable discussions of beach erosion and our dynamic coastline. Beautifully illustrated with photos, drawings, and satellite images, this book will delight geology buffs and others drawn to the Carolina coast.
Nature Guide to the Carolina Coast: Common Birds, Crabs, Shells, Fish, and other Entities of the Coastal Environment (2n...
by Peter Meyer
General, practical, and short. Readable, entertaining guide recently expanded, updated, and revised.
South Carolina Naturalists: An Anthology, 1700-1860
by David Taylor and Rudy Mancke
Hardcover. "This volume illuminates the wealth and significance of antebellum natural history studies in South Carolina and the state's natural diversity," says the product description; our Bill Hamel notes that it's "great all around for naturalists and history lovers."
The Spirit of Sweetgrass
by Nicole Seitz
Seitz's main character is Essie Mae Laveau Jenkins, a Gullah sweetgrass basketmaker who weaves her magic on the roadside near Mt. Pleasant. With her special love baskets, she works to brings people together. Conflict ensues when her daughter wants her to go to a rest home, and the florist she's been trying to fix up turns out to be gay. Sweetgrass making, roadside basket sellers in the Charleston area, mystery, comedy, family relationships, friends.
"The Swamp Fox"
by Amy Crawford
Here's the link to this article about one of the most famous Revolutionary War heroes in SC, and one for whom counties and cities are named. Francis Marion used his knowledge of the swamps and woods of SC and his attention to details to outwit British troops and earn his nickname. A poor speller, he was nonetheless a great report-writer. www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/biography/fox.html
Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest
by Lawrence S. Earley
Our naturalist Bill Hamel says this is the "best all around for naturalists and history lovers." Longleaf pine forests are a special ecosystem and home to the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker.





Important registration tip:
If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
If you enroll after a lecture is complete, we’ll send you a recording of the event.