Travel South Carolina What Is The Carolina Lowcountry? Put this dreamy land of live oaks and Spanish moss on your bucket list. By Valerie Fraser Luesse Valerie Fraser Luesse Valerie Fraser Luesse has been affiliated with Southern Living and its parent company since 1988. She has written some 30 Southern Journal essays for the magazine and extensively covered the unique cultural pockets of the South, including Acadian Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta, South Florida, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She released her fourth Southern novel with Revell in 2021. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 14, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Robbie Caponetto Few places in the South have more mystique than South Carolina's Lowcountry. The name itself has an alluring ring to it, even if you have no idea where—or what—it actually is. And like another geographic wonder in its neighboring state, the South Carolina Lowcountry can be as tricky to define as North Carolina's Outer Banks. There's even a Low Country vs. Lowcountry debate. So What Is The Lowcountry? Generally, it's defined as four counties: Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, and Hampton. However, some sources push it farther up to include Charleston and Pawleys Island (we're fine with that), while others take it all the way up to the geological Fall Line that separates the Appalachian Piedmont from the Atlantic Coastal Plain (that's a little too far for us). The Lowcountry is identified as much by its character as a precise spot on the map. You'll know it when you see it: Saltwater and marshlands thick with cordgrass; live oaks and Spanish moss; sweetgrass baskets and rich Gullah culture; she-crab soup and shrimp and grits and all kinds of seafood deliciousness over rice; raised houses with deep porches and tall shuttered windows; pluff mud and palmettos. Bounded by the Atlantic on one side and the Savannah River on the other, the Lowcountry is one watery place, and the marshlands and sea islands that buffer the mainland coast from the throes of the Atlantic make for the kind of vistas that will have you taking pictures of everything. On the other hand, there's plenty to do. Hilton Head is on every golfer's bucket list. And then there's Charleston and its nearby islands. Enough said. Except for this: You should go. Visit The Lowcountry Whether you're looking to tee off on a carpet of green, spot sea turtles, or chill in a rocking chair on a front porch with watery views to die for, South Carolina has your ideal spot: Isle of Palms Is the Coastal Getaway of the Summer A Lowcountry Christmas: Celebrate the Season on St. Simons Island and Sea Island 10 Scenic Beaches Near Charleston for a Sunny Escape 7 Things to Do in Kiawah Island, South Carolina The South's Best Small Town 2022: Beaufort, South Carolina Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit