Drive north on East Ashley Avenue until it dead ends (parking is available along the road). The Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve is located here.
There is a self-pay fee of $1/person to enter the preserve, but dogs are not permitted. Fortunately, there is a beach access point next to the entrance to the preserve, and leashed dogs are permitted on the beach. So this is the route we took to get a view of the lighthouse.
It's about a mile round trip hike to the point (through the preserve or taking the beach route). This is a popular kite surfing site as well.
Our sweet doggie, Sadie, had a great time on the beach, meeting new friends as she always does.
There are multiple jetties to protect the beach from erosion.
And there she is, the beautiful Morris Island Light.
Built in 1876 at a cost of about $150,000, 161 feet tall, and was equipped with a first order fresnel lens. Originally it was 1,200 feet from the water's edge, but is now several hundred feet offshore. Jetties built in 1889 to protect shipping lanes to Charleston Harbor altered the ocean's currents resulting in rapid erosion of Morris Island.
By 1938, the shoreline reached the lighthouse. It was decommissioned in 1962. In 2010, the state invested $735,000 on a project to preserve and stabilize the lighthouse, as hurricane damage is of major concern.
I walked over to the beach area of the Preserve where there are windswept trees, while John and Sadie waited on Folly Beach.
We even saw a wedding take place here. What an intimate setting for romance!
This was a lovely hike and one of the highlights of our stay in Charleston. We highly recommend it! There are lots of fun places to stop for a bite to eat or enjoy a cocktail in the town of Folly Beach as well.
For information about efforts to preserve the Morris Island Light, go to www.savethelight.org.
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