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If you are planning a family vacation to the SC coast, a stellar beach to visit is Isle of Palms. Things to do at IOP near Charleston are endless. Isle of Palms is convenient, family-friendly, and fun. You can even make a fun day trip out of it! She shares all the information that you need, including things to do, where to eat, and how much parking costs if you’re just planning a quick day trip at this local South Carolina beach.

About Isle of Palms

Recently my family traveled to Charleston to spend the day at Isle of Palms. Yes, you read that right – we went for the day. Isle of Palms is completely doable as a day trip. It’s perfect if you’re like me and live on a budget but long to breathe in the salt air.

Let me tell you, I was so impressed. There’s a quaint beachfront road lined with restaurants and shops. The shops are your typical beach shops filled with t-shirts, trinkets, and every size/shape boogie board to hit the market. You know, the kind of shops full of souvenirs found only on the coast.

There are also plenty of unique places to eat, a wonderful and clean beach, and fun shops to explore!

Isle of Palms: Things to Do With Your Family

One of the best things to do while in town is to head to the beach. The beach at IOP is flat, and there is plenty of room, even during high tide. The boys had a great time with boogie and skimboards. You can also spend the day looking for seashells, building sandcastles, or just enjoying the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean. You can occasionally catch live music right by the dunes!

South Carolina’s crazy weather pattern has created a more hazardous environment for swimmers, so always be cautious of rip tides. In the midst of your family fun, make sure to keep an eye on the colored flag at the lifeguard stand.

Big Family Day Trip Tip: Isle of Palms County Park

If you park at Isle of Palms County Park, you’ll have restrooms, outdoor showers, and changing rooms available to you. This is a big deal when you’ll have 3 hour plus ride back home!

The beach can get pretty crowded, especially on Saturday, so plan to get there early in the day if you want a large space on the beach to set up camp. If you are in need of chair and umbrella rentals, there is a company for that! You can rent surfboards, bikes, chairs, and umbrellas from IOP Beach Chair Co. They even rent accessible beach wheelchairs.

You’ll also find rentals for chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards available at a cart by the restrooms at Isle of Palms County Park.

Bonus tip: There is a Harris Teeter across the street from Isle of Palms park. It’s a good place to stop before the beach to load up on snacks, fruit, or even some pre-made sandwiches. You’ll save some money here over restaurants and beach carts!

There’s certainly no shortage of food choices. Whether you enjoy live music and seafood, or you’re looking for some good ol’ American burgers and fries, you will find a delicious meal at Isle of Palms. One of the most popular places is Acme Lowcountry Kitchen. They have mostly seafood options and use fresh and local ingredients, which would make for a great dinner after a long day on the beach. They also have a pretty decent kids’ menu, which is always a plus.

If you are looking for something delicious right off Ocean Boulevard, then Smugglers Island Eats and Raw Bar will hit the spot. They pride themselves on a family-friendly atmosphere with a casual vibe. Smugglers, of course, offers seafood like fried shrimp baskets but also has smash burgers and vegetarian options if you want something else. Their frozen daiquiris are delicious by the way!

One of the most popular beach restaurants in IOP is Coconut Joe’s Beach Grill. They have lots of seafood dishes like crabcakes and shrimp and grits that are delicious, but they also have burgers and sandwiches. The restaurant is located by the ocean on Ocean Boulevard and offers a rooftop bar for patrons to enjoy a delicious cocktail while taking in the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.

If you are a nature lover, then going on an ecology tour of the waterways and marshes near IOP would be a perfect addition to your trip. Barrier Island Eco Tours has public tours that are guided by a naturalist and include boat excursions, dolphin tours, an exploration of Capers Island, and more. You are certain to see lots of sealife on your excursion, and it is a wonderful way to learn more about the SC coast while also having a blast. The company offers public trips, private charters, school trips, and special events throughout the year.

Isle of Palms Beach Parking

The beachfront Isle of Palms County Park offers great parking, snack bars, restrooms, and beach access. Admission prices vary depending on the season but car prices do not exceed $15 during the week, and $20 on Saturday. If Saturday is your only option for travel, you’ll want to get an early start. The County Park lot will fill up, I promise. I’m speaking from experience.

Parking on the street is an option, but the spaces are limited on the weekends. There are electronic pay-boxes along the sidewalk, so make sure to have a card handy (it’s inexpensive). We lucked out with a spot on the street directly in front of beach access with a clean bathhouse.

Between the County Park and plenty of public beach access, you can’t go wrong with a trip to the Isle of Palms. Whether you are renting a home, having a day trip, staying at Wild Dunes Resort, or vacationing at one of the few hotels in town, you are certain to find your Isle of Palms vacation worthwhile.

Visit the Isle of Palms website for more information on where to eat, what to do, and where to stay if you need more than a day trip.

Find a Place to Stay in Isle of Palms

Use the map below to find the perfect place to stay in Isle of Palms. Kidding Around earns when you book through these links through an affiliate relationship with Stay 22.

What’s your favorite thing to do when visiting the Isle of Palms?

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston Beach Foundation is asking the city of Isle of Palms and South Carolina Department of Transportation to revoke current parking plans along beach access points.

The group disclosed its concerns in a letter on November 27, claiming the “general public is being denied their constitutional guaranty of equality and privilege.”

Isle of Palms City Council put the regulations into place in 2015 with the goal of making the beaches functional and safe.

The 2015 parking plan, amended in 2017, cost $250,000 in taxpayer dollars and is modeled off similar plans in both Charleston and Columbia.

The city claims the plan was made to manage “unbridled growth” in the region, both nearby in Charleston and further out in the Lowcountry.

Activists say it does not match up with the increase in commercial use of the island or overall population growth.

“Revoke the 2015 parking plan on Isle of Palms, return all residential-only parking spaces on both Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms back to the general public,” Michael Barnett says.

Barnett says the plan eliminated a number of free spots and instead gave them to short-term rentals in nearby neighborhoods.

The Charleston Beach Foundation also claims the area has since become a hot spot for commercial use, with the city voting in a referendum on Nov. 7 to not limit short-term rental licenses.

“They were really the first to do it. They started to do it piece by piece, which really got my attention because I was a surfer,” Barnett says. “Businesses are operating in these areas. Not basically, they are. They’re not residential neighborhoods anymore.”

City officials weighed in on the matter.

“We are very much a residential community. Certainly, in season, we have a lot more visitors than we do residents. But we provide eight times the among of parking required by the state,” Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds says.

Pounds says the island offers an abundance of free parking with the current plan, scattered around 56 beach access points.

“It’s not about increasing revenues, being punitive. It’s about making sure every spaces available can be used properly.”

The foundation mentioned encroachment and “excessive fines” as to why the plan should be reworked.

“Why would a parking ticket for parking in a residential area, or having your tires on the road, be 3x the state average on Isle of Palms?” Barnett says.

Pounds says the plan is set in place for now.

“We can’t do anything without approval and oversight, and we have a really good relationship with SCDOT. If there were any changes we were looking to make, we’d certainly have to work in conjunction with them,” Pounds says.

The SCDOT and Isle of Palms City Council both say they are starting the initial review process for the Charleston Beach Foundation’s request.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCIV) — There’s a controversial fight raging over an unauthorized structure's future. The dispute is between an Isle of Palms homeowner and city and state leaders over a retaining wall he's installing on what he claims is his property.

“What was happening, is the waters were coming in so severely that my soils in my yard were unstable,” said homeowner Rom Reddy. “We put in a retaining wall. It is not erosion control.”

Reddy said he's just trying to protect his land from heavy weather conditions.

IOP homeowner defies state and city orders, insists controversial wall is his property (WCIV)

“We wanted to put sand back in front of it, at our expense if need be. They say we can't. Why would you not want to put sand back on a beach? Now, we are faced with having to reinforce this structure because it's ocean-facing,” Reddy said.

City and state officials said this is an unauthorized project happening within city lines. The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) issued a cease and desist to Reddy on Feb. 1- instructing him to stop work immediately.

City leaders said they're in the process of possibly changing a city ordinance.

READ MORE: Unauthorized seawall on Isle of Palms sparks DHEC intervention

“There's one ordinance on the city books that doesn't allow any type of structure within 250 feet of an OCRM line,” Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds said. “Right now that's all the way up to Ocean Boulevard given the change of the shoreline. We're just kind of in the middle of an erosion cycle that's painful to be involved with.”

According to DHEC, erosion control structures have been banned on beachfronts in the state since the 1980s, and only the agency's Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) is authorized to alter beaches.

“That's why the OCRM has rules, and that's why the state has rules around what you can and can't do on an active beach,” Pounds said. The mayor added that the OCRM has claimed jurisdiction on this specific wall.

However, homeowner Rom Reddy stands strong in his argument he's doing no wrong.

“The state claims that whatever we are doing to reinforce what we have inside my yard, now it is inside my property. It's not on the active beach. How is it active beach inside my yard? An active beach is not a term used in the law. The beach critical areas are very clearly defined in the law.” Rom Reddy said, “I want to keep re-emphasizing that it is in my property outside of the state jurisdictional lines passed by the law.”

READ MORE: Sullivan's Island group urges protection of Maritime Forest

Since receiving the cease and desist, Reddy said his crews have continued to build.

According to DHEC regulations, if a person refuses to follow department directions, the department may file a lawsuit.

The Army Corp of Engineers is preparing to begin their erosion project in the area next month.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Isle of Palms city crews are working diligently to restore the beach after it experienced heavy erosion during Tropical Storm Idalia.

The loss of tons of sand to erosion means the drop off between the access points and the beaches can reach several feet, making it dangerous for people to reach the beach from these points.

Until the restoration of the beach is completed, Public Beach Access 1B, 2A, and 3A will be closed until further notice.

“The cleanup will happen over the next couple of days and then next week we’ll start doing scrapping at low tide to bring some of the sand back up,” Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds said. “And build a dune in front of these people’s houses to protect them for the rest of the hurricane season.”

Not only is it hurricane season, but it’s also sea turtle nesting season. Inclement weather can leave turtles exposed, but Pounds said the city is doing all it can to keep the turtles protected.

“You’re not in the dunes and hopefully not disturbing the nest,” Pounds said. “Our turtle team does a great as far as marking the nest or moving them when they feel like they’re in harm’s way. So, it’s very coordinated with our local turtle team as well as the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to make sure they’re aware of what’s going, you know?”

Despite the city not receiving federal funding, city leaders have managed to receive an emergency permit from the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management to begin restoration work Tuesday.

Pounds stresses the importance of maintaining safety before heading into Labor Day weekend.

“So, we just ask folks to be respectful of the workers that’ll be coming in and out of here. There’s going to be trucks and bulldozers and all kind of stuff going on. So just watch out and be careful,” Pounds says. “Our guys will be out here next week with the bulldozers when most of our summer crowd is gone. So, the timing is decent from that standpoint, we just need to get protection on the beach for these folk’s home as soon as we can.”

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD)- Erosion on the Isle of Palms continues to be a big concern for IOP city leaders and property owners.

Council members, the mayor and coastal engineering experts met Tuesday afternoon to discuss short term solutions.

The issue is so urgent that city leaders took action, approving more than a million dollars to fund short-term solutions for the erosion.

Beach erosion has long been a problem on the Isle of Palms

“There’s a lot of concern,” City councilmember Rusty Streetman said.

However, the city says it’s starting to get worse.

“Some of our residents down there have hit the critical line of 20 feet, water within 20 feet of their structure,” Mayor Phillip Pounds said.

The city has no control over one of the major causes of the erosion, king tides.

“Tides were supposed to be 6 and a half feet and with the winds and waves, it was about 8 and half, so pretty significant difference than what we were expecting,” Pounds said.

However, what leaders say they can control, is their response to the issue.

Pounds said, “We need some immediate relief and some immediate guidance to our residents down there on what they can and can’t do.”

“Beach erosion will always be here, it’s a fact of life. We live with it so we just have to try and plan as well as we can to handle that,” Streetman said.

The city approved about one and a half million dollars to continue digging sand from the shoreline for dune renourishment.

It’s a project that has been ongoing since tropical storm Idalia hit in August.

They also say they’ll use that money to bring in more sand if needed and provide sandbags for residents who need them.

Streetman said, “We also have a beach renourishment fund that is taxed onto the accommodations tax, that is targeted just for beach renourishment.”

In January, a long-term renourishment project in partnership with the Army Corp of Engineers will begin.

They’re going to rebuild some of the beach in hopes of mitigating erosion for years to come.