Category: Land Vacations

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Christmas Traditions around the World

We have so many traditions, especially for holidays and it’s fun to learn about traditions in other countries.

Philippines

The Saturday before Christmas Eve, in the city of San Fernando – the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines”, is a “Giant Lantern Festival”. The festival is a century old tradition which is a competition between each of the surrounding districts. The original lanterns were 2 feet tall and now are 20 feet tall. The lanterns are made from a variety of materials such as colored plastic, fiberglass and handmade paper. They consist of thousands of spinning lights that light up the night sky and symbolize the Star of Bethlehem and unwavering hope.

Sweden has used a Yule goat as a Christmas symbol since ancient pagan festivals. It is a symbol of generosity and plenty. The goat was also supposed to help deliver presents and is almost as popular in displays, decorations and on trees as reindeer are. Gävle, Sweden, in 1966, had the idea of making a giant straw goat. The goat is more than 42 feet high, 23 feet wide, weighs 3.6 tons and is built every year on December 1. It has been in the Guinness Book of World Records. Unfortunately Gave’s goat has been burned 35 times in the last 50 years. Do the people keep building the goat because they get lots of visitors each year to see if the goat survives or is it just they love their tradition?

Austria has a tradition at their St. Nicholas festivities on December 6. St. Nicholas rewards the well behaved with gifts. He is joined at the festivals by an evil accomplice, Krampus. Krampus is an anti-St. Nicholas who comes to warn and punish naughty children. He is a devil figure, often in chains, dressed in fur with a scary devil mast with horns and a long red tongue. He carries a wooden stick or switches to threaten children who misbehave. Sometimes he appears with a sack or basket strapped to his back to cart off evil children for eating or transporting to Hell. The US has introduce Krampus in post cards, holiday cards and several movies.

Japan doesn’t celebrate Christmas in a big way but they do have a traditional meal. Or traditional since 1974, when Kentucky Fried Chicken did a very successful advertising campaign which featured Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner. It is so popular that people order their dinners months in advance or wait in line for hours, just have have their fried chicken dinner for Christmas.

Iceland celebrates for 13 days before Christmas. Each night children leave their shoes by the window. One of the 13 troll like “Yule Lad” characters comes during the night, leaving good boys and girls a small gift or candy. Naughty children get rotten potatoes in their shoes. The 13 Yule lads are troll like and each have their own speciality. Sheep-Cote Clod harasses sheep; Gully Gawk hides in gullies waiting for an opportunity to sneak in the cow sed and steal milk; Stubby is unusually short and steals pans to eat the food left in them; Spoon-Licker steals wooden spoons to lick and is extremely thin; Pot-Licker steals leftovers from pots; Bowl-Licker hides under beds and waits for someone to put down a bowl which he steals; Door-Slammer likes to slam doors, especially during the nigh; Skyr-Gobbler loves skyr (similar to yogurt); Sausage-Swiper hides in the rafters and steals sausages that are being smokes; Window-Peeper is a voyeur who looks through windows in search of things to steal; Doorway-Sniffer has an abnormally large nose and acute sense of smell which he uses to find laufabrauo (leaf bread – a traditional Icelandic Christmas bread made very thin, decorated and fried); Meat-Hook use a hook to step meat; Candle-Stealer follows children to steal their candles; Gryla, the mother of the Yule lads whom Icelandic mothers would scare their children from misbehaving by telling them Gryla would abduct them; Leppaluoi is the husband of Gryla, not evil but lazy. These 13 trolls are known for the mischief their name suggests.

Denmark homes are decorated with superstitious characters called “nisser”. “Nissers” are believed to provide protection from evil and misfortune if treated well. They are however, known to be short tempered when insulted or offended. They usually play tricks, steal things or even injure livestock if offended. Their name means “a household spirit” or goblin in Norwegian. They are generally described as being short, having a long white beard and wearing a cone or knit cap. They look similar to garden gnomes.

On Christmas Eve, Danish families place their Christmas tree in the middle of the room and dance around it singing carols.

The Irish leave a tall red candle in a front window on December 24, a welcoming symbol of warmth and shelter for Mary and Joseph. Traditional Christmas fare in Ireland often includes homemade roast goose or turkey, vegetables, cranberries, and potatoes. And they serve Christmas Pudding, or Plum Pudding. One superstition of the pudding is that it should be made with 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and His Disciples and that every member of the family should take turns stirring the pudding with a wooden spam from east to west, in honor of the Wise Men.

Boxing Day, celebrated on December 26, is an important day when they traditionally have football games and horse racing. Another tradition for the Christmas season in Ireland that I like – in some towns, Women’s Christmas is January 6 (also known as the Feast of the Epiphany). The women are given the day off and men do the housework and cooking.

Christmas dinner in Poland typically has an extra setting at the table in case anyone shows up uninvited. Nothing can be eaten until the first star is seen in the sky (a reminder of the Wisemen who followed a star to visit Jesus). At the table are 12 dishes, meant to give you good luck for the next 12 months, or a symbol of Jesus’s 12 disciples. It is traditionally meat free (to remember the animals who took care of Baby Jesus in the manger). One of the must haves is “barszcz” which is a beetroot soup. Carp is often the main dish along with bios which is made of cabbage, bacon and dried plums. Most also have a popular dessert, a poppy seed roll made of sweet yeast bread, mixed dried fruit and nuts or a moist cake made with honey (like gingerbread) or gingerbreads.

In Poland people prepare their homes for Christmas by cleaning everything, including windows and carpets. Everything must be clean for Christmas Day!

Ukraine celebrates Christmas on January 7 because they use the old “Julian” calendar for their church festivals. They eat their main Christmas meal, called the Holy Supper, on January 6. As with Poland, you can”t begin the meal until the first star is seen in the sky. They also have 12 dishes with no meat. A similar meal is eaten.

Farmers might want to add this to their traditions. In Ukraine they have a dish made of cooked wheat mixed with honey and ground poppy seeds. Most families throw a spoonful of this mix at the ceiling – if it sticks, there will be a good harvest in the new year.

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Lucky Places

Looking for a little luck this year? While you could wish on a star or hunt for a four-leaf clover, there are certain locations around the world that are famous for bringing people good fortune in love, work, family, finances and more. Some even bring better health.

Close to home is Friendship Oak in Long Beach, MS. On the front lawn of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park campus stands a sprawling oak tree more than 500 years old and nearly six stories tall. It is said that those who enter its shade together will remain friends for the rest of their lives.

At Jade Cove in Big Sur, CA you might find a jade stone. People typically find the dark green jades here. In many cultures around the world, jade is thought to bring good luck.

Hoover Dam, on the Nevada side, there are two 30 foot tall bronze statues known as the Winged Figures of the Republic. Touching the feet is said to bring you good luck.

Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield, Illinois has a large bronze bust of Lincoln in front of the memorial. Millions of people have rubbed the nose of the statue for good luck.


The two best known locations around the world are the Trevi Fountain in Rome and the Blarney Stone in Blarney, Ireland.

The Trevi Fountain dates back to the 1700s but the tradition of throwing coins into it became even more popular in the 1950s thanks to the American film “Three Coins in the Fountain”. Visitors fling a coin with their right hand backward over their left shoulder into the fountain. Some say tossing one coin over your back into the fountain assures you will return to Rome. Two coins brings love and three means you’ll get married. Over $1 million in coins is collected every year and donated to a local charity.

If you kiss the Blarney Stone in the Blarney Castle built over 600 years ago, you will have the gift of “blarney” or the gift of eloquence and good fortune in matters of persuasion. By the way, the only way kiss it is to climb to the top of the battlements, lean over backward holding on to a metal bar, scoot yourself over to the edge and kiss the stone.

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, is a 6th century place of worship turned into a museum. It is considered one of the world’s great monuments and it is also a major tourist attraction. The Weeping Column or the Column of St. Gregory is said to “weep” with healing holy water. Visitors can put their thumb into a hole in the side of the column and if it comes out damp, legend says their Illness will be cured. Another legend says that when you put your thumb in the hole and rotate your hand, you will be granted a wish.

Il Porcellino is a bronze boar statue in Florence, Italy, sculpted in 1634, which draws hundreds of visitors a day hoping for good luck. Visitors rub the boar’s snout while dropping a coin in his mouth. If the coin slides back out and falls through the grating beneath the statue, that guarantees good luck and that you will return to Italy one day.


Madron Well in Cornwall, England is purported to have healing waters. Traditionally, visitors would take pieces of rag or ribbon, known as clouties, that were torn from a part of the body where they had an injury or illness. They would tie the clouties in a nearby tree, and as the piece disintegrated, their affliction would also disappear. Today, the tree is still filled with colorful pieces of cloth for blessings and luck.

The Wishing Trees (Banyan trees), Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, Hong Kong are famous for their wish granting abilities. Write your wish on a piece of paper, tie it to a mandarin orange and toss it as high as possible into the tree branches. If the orange gets caught n the branches, the wish will come true.

Nuremberg, Germany has a 14th century fountain, Schoner Brunnen, with tiers of stone religious figures. This is surrounded by a protective railing with two rings embedded in the grate. People believe if you turn the rings, it will bring good fortune to you.


The last one I am going to tell you about is the Laughing Buddha in the Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou, China. There are many replicas of this statue. He is said to the the origin of the tradition of rubbing the Buddha’s belly for good luck.

I don’t know about you, but everything I can do, silly or not, to have good luck or better health, I’m in.

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South East Historic Cities

The United States has many historically significant towns in every state. These cities, towns or villages serve as places with significant historical or cultural events. Travel Pulse, a travel magazine, only documented one town per state.

This article will discuss the Southeastern states.

Of course, Charleston, SC is one of our most historic towns. Charleston was 350 years old in 2020 so has had many firsts. Among them, hosting the first opera in the US, opening the first golf club in the US, introducing the first regularly scheduled rail passenger service and having our county’s first historic district.

Athens, Georgia is home to the University of Georgia, the first state-chartered public university in 1785. They have 31 sites on the National Registry of Historic Places and 21 historic districts.

St. Augustine, Florida is the nation’s oldest city with over 450 years of history. One of it’s attractions is the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental US.

Kill Devil Hills in the NC Outer Banks in North Carolina is where the Wright brothers made the first controlled airplane flight in 1903. (As a fun aside, NC is home to the development of the UPC code, Cheerwine, Pepsi Cola, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Texas Pete, BC Headache Powder, Goodys, and Vicks VapoRub.)

The Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia is made up of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in the Americas and was the colonial capital for more than 80 years prior to the start of the 18th century.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is one of the most scenic and historically significant town in the Shenandoah Valley. It is remembered as being the site of abolitionist John Brown’s pivotal raid in October, 1859.

Montgomery, Alabama, the first capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861, was the setting of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956 and the Selma to Montgomery protest marches in 1965.

Vicksburg, Mississippi has much Civil War history. Jefferson Davis gave his first address as the first President of the Confederate States of America in 1861 and the Siege of Vicksburg two years later would be the turning point in the war. Vicksburg is the final resting place for some 17,000 Union soldiers.

New Orleans, Louisiana was purchased by the US from Napoleon as part of the Louisiana Purchase. They celebrated their tricentennial two years ago. Lots of unique history in this city.

Louisville, Kentucky was founded almost 250 years ago. It was a major stronghold of the Union forces in the Civil War. The first Kentucky Derby was held in 1875. Also the first city in the US to introduce the secret ballot.

Jonesborough, Tennessee was founded in 1779, 17 years before Tennessee became a state. In 1820, The Emancipator published from Jonesborough became the first periodical dedicated exclusively to the issue of the abolition of slavery.

Washington, Arkansas served as the Confederate capital of Arkansas from 1863-1865. There’s also a strong case to be made for nearby Little Rock, which played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement.

There are many other historically significant towns in each state.

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Palate and Honanki Heritage Sites

 Red Rock Canyon. The park is only hiking so we drove to where we could see the red rocks forming mountains from the car. We were looking for something else to do and I stumbled upon the Palate Heritage Site and it’s sister site, Honanki Heritage Site.

Palate Heritage Site

Palate Heritage Site is located in the heart of Red Rock Country, just a few miles from the town of Sedona. The site is a well-preserved cliff dwelling that was once home to the Sinagua people, who lived in the area from about 500 AD to 1425 AD. The Sinagua were skilled farmers and traders, and they built their homes in the cliffs to protect themselves from the harsh desert climate and potential invaders.

The Palate site features several rooms and structures that were built into the cliff face, including living quarters, storage rooms, and a communal plaza. The buildings are made of local sandstone and are remarkably well-preserved, with some of the original plaster still visible on the walls.

One of the most striking features of Palate is the rock art that adorns many of the walls. The Sinagua used a variety of pigments to create intricate designs and symbols, many of which have been interpreted as representing astronomical events or religious beliefs. The rock art at Palate is considered some of the best-preserved in the region and offers a unique window into the culture and beliefs of the ancient Pueblo people.

Honanki Heritage Site

Honanki Heritage Site is another impressive cliff dwelling located just a few miles from Palate. Like Palate, Honanki was once home to the Sinagua people and features a series of structures built into the cliff face. However, Honanki is much larger than Palate and features more complex architecture and a wider variety of rock art.

The Honanki site is thought to have been occupied from about 1100 AD to 1300 AD and is believed to have been a center of trade and religious activity. The site features several rooms and structures that are thought to have been used for ceremonial purposes, as well as living quarters and storage rooms.

One of the most impressive features of Honanki is the rock art, which covers many of the walls and ceilings of the buildings. The rock art at Honanki is particularly diverse, featuring a wide range of designs and symbols that are thought to represent everything from astronomical events to religious beliefs to daily life. Some of the most famous rock art at Honanki depicts a figure known as the “Sinagua Shaman,” who is thought to have played an important role in the religious beliefs of the ancient Pueblo people.

Exploring the Heritage Sites

Both Palate and Honanki are open to the public and offer visitors a chance to explore the rich history of the ancient Pueblo people. Guided tours are available at both sites and offer a wealth of information about the architecture, rock art, and daily life of the Sinagua people.

Visiting Palate and Honanki is a great way to connect with the past and gain a deeper understanding of the people who once called this area home. The sites are a testament to the ingenuity and resilience of the ancient Pueblo people and offer a glimpse into a culture that has long since passed into history.

These sites are currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Reservations are required for the Palatki Site. We didn’t get to go see either site. They close at 3:00 which was about 15 minutes after we would have gotten to the Honanki Site. We were almost to it and the road (which hadn’t been great the whole time – dirt and gravel and potholes) took a downward slope with large rocks, not gravel and we didn’t want to take the car down it. So, we just looked at them from a distance. They were beautiful! We were disappointed not to see them up close but seeing them, even from a distance, are pretty awesome!

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National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

Then off to Albuquerque. This was one of our family stops but we made good use of our time there. We visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. It is a great museum with lots of history and information about people from the atomic age, nuclear medicine, the history leading up to the creation and use of the atomic bomb in WWII. They have bomb casing of the Fat Man and Little Boy bombs, airplanes used, information about the Cold War, nuclear waste transportation and all things nuclear. It was very well done and had lots of great information.

There is a Critical Assembly room which is an exhibit based on the laboratory environment for the assembly of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project. A room exploring the Cold War and the political conflict existing after WWII along with lots of military weapons. Exhibits about sources of radiation that are around, there uranium comes from and how it affects us and the process of changing uranium into a usable form for nuclear power or weapons and how to dispose or recycle it.

There are displays of the Manhattan Project and the people involved, especially at Los Alamos and the journey that led them to the first explosion in 1945. The devastation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the after effects are covered. There are even displays about the history of nuclear medicine and how it contributed to the advancement of medical technology as well as green energy options. There are classrooms where children were learning science and a lab where you could play and learn the concepts of physics.

Painted Desert and Petrified Forest
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Roswell, New Mexico

The next thing we did was go to Roswell, New Mexico. 

After visiting Carlsbad Caverns, we drove on and went to Roswell, New Mexico. We are both science fiction fans and wanted to see Roswell and all the information about that reported UFO landing. The town was so much bigger than I expected! I thought we would be able to walk to see whatever we wanted. Nope, it is so large, there were two Tractor Supply stores, a Penny’s, Hobby Lobby, Target, etc. I never expected it to be a city. 

Lots of businesses capitalize on the UFO landing that they are famous for, especially downtown. A doughnut place had a huge green alien holding the sign up, (most of the alien depictions looked the same, green alien that is common to UFOs) as did a gas station, lots of businesses had alien theme signs on the windows and store fronts. It was kind of fun. Like seasonal decorations but there all year. Of course, there were several UFO shops. We also went in the International UFO Museum. Very well done, informative and worth the visit. Very factual with international UFO information as well as a neat map which showed every reported sighting site. If you touched the site, it would tell you where it was, when it was and what was reported. The also had displays on some of the better UFO movies.

Most of the roads we were on (and we didn’t do interstates, all back roads so we could see the country) were in excellent shape, nice and wide divided 4 lane roads – even the back roads we were on. SC could use some tips from them! We kept seeing signs that said, “Rough Road”. We seldom knew where the rough road was. If they wanted to see rough roads, they should come to SC. And very little traffic on any of those roads. It was very pleasant to drive them.

Next Post – National Nuclear Science and History Museum
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Carlsbad Caverns

The first touristy thing we did was to visit Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Mike had applied ahead of time for an entry time (based on where we stayed the night before and how long to get to the caverns). Reservations are required at this time. It didn’t take us very long to get our instructions and information to start our tour.

Carlsbad has self-guided tours as well as Ranger lead tours. The Ranger lead tours went deeper into the cavern but we opted not to do that. We decided to do the self-guided tours. There is also the option to walk down into the cavern or ride the elevation. We decided to walk down (but NOT back up). It is a 1.25 walk into the cavern.

It is 750 feet down (equivalent to walking up or down a 75-story building) and pretty steep. We walked down, some steps, some slopes. Most of the time there were handrails but occasionally you could venture off the path and get up close and personal with the sides of the cavern as well as the deep look into the lower areas. We didn’t do any of that. They actually ask you not to so as not to harm any of the structures as well as for safety.

We went all around the “Big Room” – 8.2 acres. The walk around this area is 1.25 mies. The Caverns are beautiful and well worth the visit! It was so much more than we expected! It wasn’t just a little walk around, it was massive in size and had a huge number of different formations. Most of the structures and rooms are named and you can usually tell why they had that name such as the Totem Pole, Temple of the Sun, Hall of Giants, The Whale’s Mouth, Iceberg Rock, etc.

Carlsbad Cavern is one of over 300 limestone caves in a fossil reef laid down by an inland sea 250 to 280 million years ago. The Cavern stays about 56 degrees F. It has been called one of the seven wonders of the world.

The “Big Room” measures 2,000 feet long and 1,100 feet wide at its greatest extent with amazing formations everywhere and you can walk around all of it! The ceiling arches 255 feet above the floor. It is the largest chamber in North America. The calcium deposits have built stalactites and stalagmites, some eventually joining as columns. Nature has decorated the caves with mineral features of draperies, thin straws, popcorn-shaped nodules and oddly curved helictites.

We didn’t, but you can watch 400,000 Brazilian free-tail bat bats leave the cavern on summer evenings. Reservations are required. The bat area can be seen as you walk down into the cavern. We heard from some people who had seen it that it was amazing!

The elevator ride back up is 62 seconds (at 9 mph). Much quicker than walking back up. We did see some dedicated people walking up as we were walking down.

Next Post – Roswell, New Mexico
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Conde Nast Traveler Awards

Best of the Best type lists have always interested me. I compare my opinion to what’s on the list or see if there are new places I want to try. Condé Nast Traveler recently put out their list of “2020 Readers Choice Awards”. Condé Nast Traveler is recognized as a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine with a motto of “Truth in Travel”. They have articles on a wide range of the travel topics, world wide,  including destinations, hotels, food and beverage, airlines, trains, etc. 

One list on the Readers Choice Awards was the top ten islands in the United States. Of course, Hawaii had three listed – Maui was  #2, Oahu was #6 and Lanai was #10. Florida had three – Marco Island #3 (near Naples on the Paradise Coast), Longboat Key #8 (on the west coast) and Amelia Island #9 (on the northeast coast). St Simons and Little St Simons in Georgia was #4. South Carolina also had three – Isle of Palms #7, Kiawah Island #5 and the NUMBER 1 island in the US was Hilton Head Island! 

I know most of you would have some questions about their top beaches list. Although Coligny Beach at Hilton Head is on the list as well as the beach at Kiawah, there was no mention of Edisto or Folly, a serious omission. But I guess no list is perfect.

Other topics on their list include best  hotels, best cities, best  resorts, best spa resorts, best countries, best islands, best trains, top hotels in many cities all over the world, and travel choices for Europe, US, Asia, Mexico, Canada, Caribbean and Atlantic, Central and South America, Australia and the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. They also list readers choices for cruise lines and islands, airlines, airports and trains. They publish a magazine and have an internet presence for interesting and pertinent information about lots of travel options.

In the future I will focus on some of the other lists and make comments about the places we have been.

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The Hotel del Coronado

The Hotel del Coronado or The Del or Hotel Del is a historic beachfront hotel in the city of Coronado just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of a wooden Victorian beach resort. It is the second largest wooden structure in the US and is a California Historic Landmark as well as a National Historic Landmark. We have  been to this hotel. It is worth a visit even if you don’t stay there.

In 1885 it was dreamed of and 4,000 acres were purchased. The 399 room hotel opened for business in February, 1888 as the single largest resort in the world. The original grounds had many amenities, including an Olympic-sized salt water pool, tennis courts, and a yacht club with architecture resembling the hotel’s grand tower. A Japanese tea garden, an ostrich farm, billiards, bowling alleys, hunting expeditions, and deep sea fishing were some of the many features offered to its guests. Today there are 679 guest rooms as well as 78 ocean-view cottages and villas, a wellness spa, beauty salon, fitness center, multiple pools, shops, beautiful grounds and lots of recreational activities and water sports such as deep sea fishing available.

This hotel has always been popular with almost all the US presidents as well as many celebrities staying there. Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Kevin Costner, Jimmy Steward, Whoopi Goldberg, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey are among the stars who have stayed at the hotel.

The hotel has been featured in at least 12 films including “Some Like It Hot” with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, in “Wicked, Wicked”. “The Stunt Man” with Peter O’Toole, “My Blue Heaven” with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, and “The Neuron Suite”

Frank Baum did much of his writing of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” while staying here. Other authors have used the setting in their works. Some of the storylines of “Baywatch” season 4 evolve in and around the hotel. And there is even a US Postage Stamp honoring director Billy Wilder with images of Marilyn Monroe and the hotel from “Some Like It Hot”. The Hotel Del is famous for having the worlds’s first outdoor electrically lit Christmas tree in 1904.

There are reportedly several ghosts in residence at the hotel. Kate Morgan was staying there in 1892.  She told the staff she was waiting for her brother. She was found dead on the steps leading to the beach three days later. She had shot herself. There is also the ghost of an actress who drowned in 1904.

To get to the hotel, you can drive across the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, which is a dramatic two-mile long bridge with a 90-degree turn at its midpoint. Another option is to take the ferry which departs from the foot of Broadway in San Diego.

This is as eclectic as you can get, and is a highlight of any visit to San Diego. (A great town in its own right.)

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SC Walking Trails

How about a nice walk outside? South Carolina has many walking trails from easy to difficult. Some have waterfalls, some are on the beach, in the mountains, level ground, hilly, just about anything you want!

There are lots of river walks all over the state. River Park in Rock Hill is 3.5 miles of walking trails mostly along the Catawba River. Landsford Canal State Park in Chester County is also along the Catawba River. The Columbia Canal and Riverfront Park is 2.5 miles and part of the Palmetto Trail. While you are there, visit the West Columbia Riverwalk which is 8 miles of pavement and boardwalk along the Congaree River. The Waterfront Park in Beaufort or the Conway Riverwalk are both close enough to shops to walk for a bite to eat after your walk.

I could walk all day on the beach but if you want a little variety on your beach walk, try the state parks at Huntington Beach, Edisto, Hunting Island or Myrtle Beach. We also have beautiful marsh walks at Shem Creek Park in Mt Pleasant or Murrells Inlet.

The Palmetto Trail is a system of hiking and biking trails being developed in SC. The trails run beside lakes, in mountains, through forests, large and small towns and swamps. Begun in 1994, it will be 500 continuous miles from Walhalla in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Awendaw on the Intercoastal Waterway when finished. It is currently 350 miles with 26 passages raging from 1.3 to 47 miles. Parts are rated easy, moderate, or strenuous. It is one of 16 cross-state trails in the United States. We even have a trail head in Santee, behind the Town Hall Complex. This portion is 13.2 miles and goes through agricultural land, offering a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. The Southern part of the trailhead is at the Eutawville Community Center near Hwy 45 and 6. Each section is called a passage and include the Swamp Fox Passage, Santee, Fort Jackson, Lake Moultrie, Lake Marion and Capital City Passages. 

So, put on your walking or running shoes and explore our state!