Folly Beach is a six mile barrier island south of Charleston with one road on and off it, a single commercial street and a reputation as the scrappier, surfier alternative to the resort islands. The island sorts itself into three ends, so plan by where you park rather than by the hour, and treat parking as the real constraint on any summer day here.
The top 12, ranked
Ranked by how consistently each pick appears across official Folly Beach sources, the local destination marketing organization, and recent independent roundups.
- Top pick
#1Best for Families · #1 of 12Folly Beach Pier
Family AttractionCenter Street and the middle of the islandOpen daily through the year on a long schedule that extends overnight in the fishing season, with a separate charge for rods and a paid lot at the baseFree with paid optionsThe Edwin S Taylor pier runs more than a thousand feet into the Atlantic from the end of Center Street, rebuilt in concrete and reopened after the timber original was condemned, with a diamond shaped platform at the far end and a shelter halfway out. Anglers work it around the clock in season, and the pilings themselves create the peak that surfers ride on either side.
Local tipYou can walk the deck without fishing, and the far end is the best place on the island to look back at the whole strand.
- Top pick
2Best for Surfing · #2 of 12
The Washout
ParkThe east endOpen at all hours as public beach, with the best conditions tied to swell and tide rather than any scheduleFreeA stretch of East Ashley Avenue where a 1930s storm cut through the dunes has become the best known surf break in South Carolina, holding a sandbar shape that works on almost any swell and drawing the same crowd of regulars year round. The break is also a spectator sport, watched from the road and the low dune line rather than requiring anyone to get wet.
Local tipIt works best on a rising tide with an offshore wind, and the lineup is genuinely crowded, so beginners should learn somewhere else on the island.
- Top pick
3Best for Families · #3 of 12
Folly Beach County Park
ParkThe west endOpen daily on a daylight schedule that lengthens in summer, with a per vehicle gate charge and lifeguards only in the warm monthsTicketedThe county park at the western tip of the island is the one place on Folly with a proper car park, seasonal lifeguards, showers, restrooms and a snack bar, which makes it the sensible choice for a full beach day with children. It looks out toward Bird Key, a protected seabird nesting island, and it faces the right way for sunset.
Local tipThis is the most reliable parking on the island because it is a gated lot with a per car charge, so use it when the street parking is hopeless.
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#4Best for Icons · #4 of 12The Morris Island Lighthouse
Historic SiteThe east endVisible at any hour from the east end of Folly, with the closest views at low tide and the interior permanently closed to the publicFreeThe brick tower of 1876 stood well inland when it was built, and a century and a half of erosion has left it standing in open water several hundred yards off the northeast tip of Folly, which is why it is the most photographed object on this coast. A volunteer group bought it for a dollar in 2000 and has been stabilizing the foundation ever since.
Local tipThe lighthouse is surrounded by water with a strong inlet current, so it cannot be walked to at any tide and should only be approached by boat.
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#5Best for Wildlife · #5 of 12Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve
ParkThe east endOpen in daylight through the year at no charge, with sections roped off during shorebird nesting and turtle seasonFreeThe northeast tip of the island is protected land of maritime forest, salt marsh and eroding beach, reached by a sand path from the end of East Ashley Avenue that opens onto the shore facing the lighthouse. It is the best birding ground on Folly, with nesting Wilson's plovers and loggerhead turtles using the same beach, and it holds the wrecked trees and old military remains of a shoreline in retreat.
Local tipDogs are not allowed anywhere in the preserve, and the walk out to the point is longer and softer underfoot than it looks from the road.
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#6Best for Walking · #6 of 12Center Street
Neighborhood LandmarkCenter Street and the middle of the islandShops and bars keep long daily hours through the summer, thinning noticeably from late autumn into early springFree with paid optionsFolly's only commercial street runs four short blocks from the Folly River bridge straight down to the pier, carrying the surf shops, bars, ice cream counters and beach outfitters in a low rise strip that has resisted becoming a resort. It is the whole of the island's public life, and everything on it is within a few minutes of the sand.
Local tipIt is a five minute walk end to end, so park once near the river rather than trying to reposition closer to the pier.
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#7Best for Beach days · #7 of 12The Public Beach Accesses on Ashley and Arctic
ParkCenter Street and the middle of the islandAccessible at all hours through the year, with paid parking enforced across the island and the busiest access points full by mid morning in summerFree with paid optionsNumbered public walkovers run the length of the island off Ashley and Arctic avenues, several of them with ramps, wheelchair matting and accessible parking bays, and they are how most visitors actually reach the sand. The beach itself is continuous and public from end to end, so the practical question is only which access you can park near.
Local tipWhere you park on the street, all four tires must be off the pavement and the car must face with the traffic, or it will be ticketed.
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8Best for First timers · #8 of 12
Surf Lessons and Board Hire
TourThe east endLessons run through the year with the fullest program from late spring to early autumn, and camps concentrated in the school holidaysTicketedFolly has small, forgiving, consistent waves outside of storm swells, which is exactly what a first surf lesson needs, and the island's schools run private and group sessions, week long summer camps and board and wetsuit hire by the half day. Instructors keep beginners well away from the crowded peak at the Washout and work the gentler sandbars instead.
Local tipBook a morning slot, because the wind usually turns onshore by early afternoon and flattens whatever shape the waves had.
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#9Best for On the water · #9 of 12Boat and Kayak Trips on the Folly River
TourCenter Street and the middle of the islandTrips run through the year with departures set by the tide and the weather rather than fixed hours, and the fullest schedule in the warm monthsTicketedSmall boats leave the marina on the back side of the island for the salt marsh behind Folly, running dolphin and birding cruises, fossil hunting drops on Morris Island and beach landings that reach the lighthouse far more closely than any walk from shore. Kayak and paddleboard trips work the same creeks on the tide.
Local tipA boat drop is the only realistic way to stand near the lighthouse, since the tip of Folly is separated from it by a deep, fast inlet.
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10Best for Free things · #10 of 12
Folly River Park and the Karen Stringer Dock
ParkCenter Street and the middle of the islandOpen daily in daylight at no charge, with the dock usable at most stages of the tideFreeA town park at the top of Center Street, on the river side of the island as you come over the bridge, has pavilions, picnic tables, a fitness area, a rain garden and a community dock where people fish and crab. It faces west across the marsh, which makes it the island's sunset spot for anyone not walking to the west end.
Local tipThe pavilions are first come and first served rather than bookable, and they fill on any pleasant weekend afternoon.
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#11Best for History · #11 of 12Mosquito Beach Historic District
Historic SiteOff the island, Folly Road and the creeksThe road and waterfront are open at any hour, while the businesses along it keep their own irregular hours weighted to weekends and the warm monthsFree with paid optionsOn Sol Legare Island, a few minutes off the Folly Road on the way to the island, a short creekside strip was built by Black entrepreneurs as a place where Lowcountry African American families could gather when the public beaches were closed to them. It is the only one of the county's six historic Black beaches with its buildings still standing, and descendant families still run it.
Local tipThis is a living community rather than a museum, so treat it as somewhere to visit respectfully and spend money rather than to photograph and leave.
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12Best for Dog owners · #12 of 12
Folly Beach Bark Park
ParkCenter Street and the middle of the islandOpen in daylight through the year, while dog access to the beach itself is governed by seasonal hours that tighten through the summerFreeA fenced dog park sits under natural shade near the water tower on the east side of the island, with water stations, seating, waste bins and posted rules. It matters more than a dog park usually would here, because the beach itself carries seasonal leash requirements and daytime restrictions through the warm months that catch a lot of visitors out.
Local tipDogs are banned outright from the Lighthouse Inlet preserve at the east end, whatever the rules are on the main strand that day.
Where things cluster
Folly is one long island with a single road down it, and it divides cleanly into three ends plus the creeks behind.
- Center Street and the middle of the islandThe four blocks between the Folly River bridge and the pier hold the shops, bars, surf outfitters, the river park and the busiest beach accesses. Everything here is walkable, which is the whole argument for parking once and staying put.
- The east endEast Ashley Avenue runs out past the Washout to a dead end and a sand path into the Lighthouse Inlet preserve, with the Morris Island Lighthouse standing offshore beyond it. This is the surfing, birding and erosion end of the island.
- The west endWest Ashley Avenue ends at the county park, the only gated lot on Folly and the only guarded beach, looking across the Stono inlet to the Bird Key seabird sanctuary. It is also where the island watches the sun go down.
- Off the island, Folly Road and the creeksBetween Folly and James Island the road crosses a run of tidal creeks and small islands, including Sol Legare and Mosquito Beach and the oyster shacks around Bowens Island. Charleston is about twenty five minutes further on.
Make it a day
Park once and work the middle
Arrive early enough to get a space near Center Street, walk the pier first while the light is low and the deck is quiet, then take a numbered access onto the strand for the middle of the day. Drive out to the east end in the late afternoon for the Washout and the walk to the lighthouse view, and finish back at the river park for the sunset over the marsh.
The island, then the water
Give the first day to the island itself, the pier, Center Street, a stretch of beach and the walk out to the Lighthouse Inlet preserve at the east end. Use the second to get on the water, taking a boat trip from the marina for dolphins, the marsh and a landing near the Morris Island Lighthouse, and stop at Sol Legare on the way back off the island.
Guarded sand and a beginner wave
Use the county park at the west end, where the gated lot, the lifeguards, the showers and the snack bar remove most of the friction from a beach day with children. Book a morning surf lesson on the gentler sandbars before the wind turns, and keep the pier in reserve for the late afternoon when everyone has had enough sun.
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Best time to visit
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Late spring and early autumn are the best of it, with warm water, manageable crowds and parking that is merely difficult rather than impossible. July and August are hot, humid and completely full, and on the worst summer weekends the island runs out of legal parking before lunch. September and October bring the cleanest surf of the year along with the tail of hurricane season, which is the tradeoff. Winter is quiet, cool and windy, the pier and the beach stay open, and a good share of the Center Street businesses cut back their days.
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Folly Beach things to do FAQ
Parking, timing, cost, and weather answers for a smoother visit.
Where do you park at Folly Beach, and what are the rules?
Parking is the single hardest part of a day at Folly and it is worth planning around. Street parking is free in places and paid in others, it is enforced actively, and wherever you leave the car all four tires must be off the pavement with the vehicle facing the direction of traffic. You cannot park on sidewalks, dunes, revetments, crosswalks, at yellow or red curbs, within twenty feet of an intersection or within fifteen feet of a hydrant. The most reliable option is the gated county park lot at the west end, which charges per car, followed by the paid lot at the pier.
Can you walk to the Morris Island Lighthouse?
No. The lighthouse stands in open water several hundred yards off the northeast tip of Folly Beach, separated from the shore by a deep inlet with a strong tidal current. It was built on dry land in 1876, and erosion has moved the shoreline away from it since, so the only safe way to get close is by boat, and several operators run drop offs and cruises from the marina behind the island. From land, the view is from the end of the Lighthouse Inlet preserve path.
Is the Folly Beach Pier open again after the rebuild?
Yes. The original timber pier was closed and demolished after decades of deterioration, and a longer concrete replacement, the Edwin S Taylor Folly Beach Fishing Pier, opened in its place at the end of Center Street. It runs over a thousand feet out, with a shelter partway and a wide platform at the end. You can walk the deck without paying to fish, and rod fees and a paid car park apply separately.
Where should a beginner surf at Folly Beach?
Not at the Washout. That break is the best on the island and the most crowded, with a lineup of regulars and a peak that does not forgive learners. The gentler sandbars along the middle of the island are where the surf schools take beginners, and the waves at Folly are generally small and slow outside of storm swells, which is what makes it a good place to learn at all. Morning sessions are better, because the wind usually goes onshore by early afternoon.
How far is Folly Beach from Charleston?
About twenty five minutes and eleven miles by the only road, out through James Island on Folly Road. That makes Folly the closest beach to downtown Charleston and a common day trip in both directions, although the traffic on that road backs up badly on summer weekends. Charleston has its own guide on this site, which is the better place to plan the city half of a trip.
Can you take dogs to Folly Beach?
On the main beach, yes, but under seasonal rules that tighten in the warm months, with leash requirements and restricted daytime hours through the summer. Check the current signage rather than assuming, because enforcement is real. Dogs are not permitted at all in the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve at the east end, which protects nesting shorebirds and turtles. The town also runs a fenced bark park near the water tower on the east side.
Keep planning
Use these nearby guides to extend your Folly Beach trip with a different pace and a clear next stop.
Hero image: The Morris Island Lighthouse, photograph by Chey Dubia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9. Image credits. #1 Folly Beach Pier: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #4 The Morris Island Lighthouse: Chey Dubia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #5 Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #6 Center Street: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #7 The Public Beach Accesses on Ashley and Arctic: RJ Matthews, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #9 Boat and Kayak Trips on the Folly River: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #11 Mosquito Beach Historic District: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.