SOUTH CAROLINA: Coastal Expeditions (Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina)

Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina : Coastal Expeditions

Coastal Expeditions is located at both Shem Creek (open 8 AM to 5 PM) & Isle of Palms (9AM to 5 PM) and offers kayak & paddleboard rentals as well as various types of tours (see coastalexpeditions.com for details). The office staff at the Shem Creek location were very friendly and helpful.

On this day, April 21, 2021, I signed up for a 2 hour kayak tour with a guide. We kayaked out of Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Our guide, Sophie introduced us to our kayaks, paddling techniques and discussed safety protocols before we got into the water. Sophie was awesome! She is a marine biologist from the University of Charleston, originally from Chicago. She was extremely knowledgeable about the ecosystems of Shem Creek, including but not limited to the wildlife, oysters, plough mud, as well as the history of the area. She was very helpful, patient and upbeat. You can tell she truly loved her job. The conditions were perfect, air temp 75-80, water temp 70+, with very calm waters.

On this tour, I met a very nice family from Cape Cod. They were here on spring break with their two high school children (boy & girl). The mom was a history teacher and the dad was a lawyer turned commercial fisherman (interesting story). We kayaked through the many canals and into the harbor where we saw pelicans and other water fowl, as well as several large shrimp boats.

Overall, it was a terrific experience and I would highly recommend checking out Coastal Expeditions while visiting the Mt. Pleasant, SC area. You have so many options between kayaking, paddle boarding, boat tours and programs for the kids (see coastalexpeditions.com for details). You won't be disappointed! Make your stay in Mt. Pleasant a memorable one. Check out pictures in the Gallery.