"For a water-based city that prides itself on its maritime heritage, it's kind of sad how few water-related parks we have," Council member Ross Appel told the Post and Courier this summer. By the city's count, Charleston has just under 130 named parks and recreation facilities, and about two dozen of them give visitors access to tidal water.
That count grew in 2026, and the new parks are in West Ashley and on James Island. Old Towne Creek County Park opened on June 30. Fort Pemberton Park has been open since July and got its formal ribbon-cutting on Sept. 17. Both were private land for decades. In both cases, the way the public got the land still shapes what you can do once you're through the gate. A gardener's conservation easement keeps one park quiet, and the rules on a conservation grant keep the other focused on a fort and a river view instead of a playground.
Old Towne Creek Runs on a Gardener's Instructions
The 67 acres at 1400 Old Towne Road are protected as a living memorial to Emily Simmons Ravenel, who lived from 1886 to 1971. Her daughter, Emily Ravenel Farrow, put that protection in place. Both women were serious gardeners, and many of the ornamental plants in the park today are theirs. In her estate plans, Mrs. Farrow placed a conservation easement on the property with strict limits on development, so the land would stay "a quiet place for learning and reflection."
The park took a long time to arrive. The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission eventually bought the land from Lowcountry Land Trust, gathered public input on a master plan in 2017, and broke ground in 2023. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2026 for its landscape setting and for the architecture of its Main House and Caretaker's House.
The easement shows in the design. The park is built around walking and looking:
- A one-mile loop trail with a packed stone surface along Old Towne Creek
- Boardwalk trails and a dock with marsh views
- An arboretum with a live oak allée and blooming ornamentals, where a live oak was planted as a community tree on opening day
- The Giving Tree, an outdoor art installation that raises money for the Charleston County Parks Foundation
- A small amphitheater that doubles as an outdoor classroom
- A nature-inspired playground with rubberized surfacing and accessible play elements
The buildings carry the site's own history. The original "Rain Hut," which once sheltered students of the Saint Andrews Riding Academy, now serves as the Welcome Center. The Fox Field Shelter was built by Clemson School of Architecture's CommunityBUILD program, and the Paddock Pavilion near the playground has restrooms and outdoor seating.
The water is for looking at. The dock offers views only, and the park rules ban fishing, swimming, wading, crabbing and personal canoes or kayaks. Alcohol, tobacco, drones and open fires are also prohibited, and visitors are asked to stay on marked paths. Leashed dogs are welcome as long as owners keep them under control and clean up after them.
Fort Pemberton's Funding Bought a Fort and a Shoreline
Fort Pemberton Park sits at 221 Yates Ave. in Riverland Terrace. It covers 8.7 acres on the Stono River and gives visitors what Old Towne Creek doesn't, which is a way onto the water. The city added a fishing dock, a kayak launch, a half-mile walking path, a picnic shelter, a restroom and a parking lot. Separate ADA-accessible entrances lead to the upper historic fort area and the lower waterfront.
The city bought the property in 2019 for nearly $5.79 million. Most of that came from Charleston County's Greenbelt program, which is funded by the 2004 half-cent Transportation Sales Tax and exists to protect natural areas. That is why the park is built around its historic and natural features instead of swing sets or slides. The city spent $1.72 million of its own money, and progress stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other partners included former owner Peter Evans, the South Carolina Conservation Bank, The Conservation Fund, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust and the Charleston Parks Conservancy.
The fort itself dates to 1861. Confederate Brig. Gen. John C. Pemberton ordered the five-sided earthwork built to keep Union troops out of Wappoo Creek. It measured 400 by 350 feet and held 20 guns, two powder magazines and a furnace for heating iron cannonballs, along with a 700-foot defensive wall. It never saw a battle before Charleston was captured in 1865. The city partly reconstructed it using survey records the Union Army made after taking it, according to Matt Compton, the city's special projects administrator.
You won't find any of that history explained on site. There are no historical markers or interpretive signs, because the county and federal Land and Water Conservation grants that paid for most of the park come with specific rules on how the money can be spent, city spokesperson Bay Sheehan said. Old Towne Creek has interpretive signage on the cultural and natural history of its site. At Fort Pemberton, the earthworks are there without any explanation.
The neighbors got to the park before the ribbon-cutting did. Riverland Terrace residents held their own "First Sunset" picnic and soft opening at the end of May. Neil Sneath, president of the Riverland Terrace Neighborhood Association, said some neighbors had worried about traffic or noise. He estimates that most have been enjoying the park since it quietly opened, and he hopes visitors keep respecting the people who live nearby. "The vibes can't really be measured," he said.
The Two Parks Side by Side
| Old Towne Creek County Park | Fort Pemberton Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 1400 Old Towne Road, West Ashley | 221 Yates Ave., James Island |
| Operator | Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission | City of Charleston |
| Size | 67 acres | 8.7 acres |
| Hours | 8 a.m. to sunset, September through December | 7 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset |
| Admission | $2 per person; free for Gold Pass members and children 2 and under | No fee stated by the city |
| On the water | Views only; no fishing, crabbing or kayaks | Fishing dock and kayak launch |
| Trail | One-mile packed stone loop | Half-mile walking path |
| Dogs | Allowed on leash | No published policy found |
Sunset Sets the Schedule at Both Gates
The hours matter more than they look in the table, and they matter more each week this fall. Old Towne Creek closes at sunset, and its entry gate stops letting cars in 30 minutes before closing. Fort Pemberton stays open until 30 minutes after sunset and reopens at 7 a.m. As the days get shorter, an after-work walk at Old Towne Creek means getting there well before dark. At Fort Pemberton, the closing time is set around the main attraction, the sun going down over the Stono River from a west-facing shore that was private for decades.
"For the first time, this waterfront is open to the public," Mayor William Cogswell said at the ribbon-cutting, according to Live 5 News. "This property sat behind private hands for decades, and now every resident and visitor can walk it, fish off the dock, or just take in the view of the Stono River."
Events at Old Towne Creek follow the easement's lead, and the season's evening series is already over. Wine Down Wednesday ran from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 26, Sept. 9 and Sept. 23, with wine, live music and food trucks. The county's Aug. 20 announcement listed no dates after that. The next program on the park's calendar is Early Birding on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 7 to 9 a.m. It costs $12, is led by a birding professional and is open to all skill levels. The city's announcement after the ribbon-cutting says Fort Pemberton stays open to the public daily.
The Peninsula's Turn Comes in 2028
The peninsula's large new park is still under construction. The Lowcountry Lowline, a walking and biking path planned for the former rail corridor under Interstate 26, broke ground last December. Nearly 10 months later, the Post and Courier reports, it doesn't look much closer to finished. On Sept. 22, City Council unanimously approved a $2 million contract update because the stormwater design had "changed drastically." Work is set to resume on Oct. 19. That was the fifth change to the contract with Edifice Construction LLC, which now totals more than $10.3 million.
The first phase had been expected to reach substantial completion in February. That target is now August 2027, and the city says the Lowline should open between Sheppard and Mount Pleasant streets in early 2028. Mayor Cogswell said a more detailed update will go to the city's traffic and transportation committee on Oct. 27.
The Lowline follows a familiar pattern. Friends of the Lowline has been working since 2012 to turn the compacted rail bed into green space that can absorb stormwater. Old Towne Creek’s planning process included public input in 2017, and Fort Pemberton took seven years from purchase to ribbon-cutting. Through at least 2027, the newest places in Charleston to walk a trail by the water or fish off a public dock are a gardener's preserved estate in West Ashley and a partly rebuilt Civil War fort on the Stono.
Parks like these come from long, patient deals where the terms of the transfer determine what the property becomes. Selling a business works the same way: the structure agreed at closing shapes what the next owner inherits. If you own a business serving West Ashley, James Island or the wider Charleston area and want to understand its value before you consider a sale, Meridian Business Advisors offers a confidential conversation as the first step. Inquire about this business.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
