Charleston--with its history, its gardens and tree-lined streets, its walled homes, and the annual Spoleto Arts Festival--is a fine starting point for visitors. It's a coastal city and is thus in proximity to the longtime favorite resort of Myrtle Beach and the modern island resorts of Hilton Head and Kiawah.

The coastal plain also is the site of 12 state parks, four of which are completely oceanfront. One is even on a subtropical barrier island with several miles of wide, sandy beaches, lagoons, and lush vegetation. South Carolina has a total of more than 47 state parks, some on the shores of picturesque inland lakes, others in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Few of the mountains are over 3,000 feet high, and all are heavily forested. South Carolina also has six national park areas--two national monuments, a national battlefield, a national military park and two national historic sites.

The midlands of South Carolina offer some of the state's finest scenic, recreational, historical, and cultural attractions. This region is dotted with lakes, streams, and rivers surrounding Columbia, the state's capital. Close by is pre-Revolutionary Camden, South Carolina's oldest-existing inland town, where many of its original 80 buildings are being restored. Nearby is Historic Camden, a Revolutionary War Park with fine restored buildings and a craft shop.

Hunting is a popular sport in the midlands, with a plentitude of quail, dove, raccoons, possum, white-tailed deer, and foxes. Fox hunts are a favorite activity in the sandy plains around Aiken and Camden, where fine hunting horses, steeplechasers, trotters, pacers, and polo ponies are trained.