Cypress Gardens

i have always liked this place. Great movies like the Notebook, the Patriot and my favorite Swamp Thing were filmed here. I’ve performed annually at the Halloween in the Swamp for about the last 10 years. Fun event and thousands show up the boat rides, the trails all worth it. the gardens are amazing. On a sad note because of the recent storm the gardens will be shut down till next year. Fun place for a wedding or picnic when it opens again go on by, it is worth the drive.

Yes. I am just another The Notebook movie fan that came to check out the site of famous boat scene but I came to appreciate Cypress Gardens for much more! Nature is so interesting. before 1989, Cypress Gardens didn’t have beautiful water lilies such as these. Hurricane Hugo brought so much damage and loss of life, but it also somehow blew water lily seeds to this swamp. And because of the lily pads, the swamp stays cool enough to be habitable to other forms of life!
After leaving this place, I still feel so happy that I got to experience this beauty especially with the surprise of having beautiful water lilies (and they only bloom between 10a-​4p). I would totally come back here again for another boat ride!

Ladies… your dreams of recreating the rowboat scene from The Notebook has come true! This place is absolutely gorgeous and magical and the best part is that the entrance fee is only $ 10! If you want to take a rowboat out and take a self-​guided tour, it is included in your price. If you want to take a guided tour, its just $ 5 more. Not bad at all. This place is just so chill and casual and you can tell the people that work there really love it. There are other exhibits including a butterfly house. There are also picnic tables where you can bring your own food and drinks and just enjoy the scenery. I also saw kids’ birthday parties being held there. Definitely a must-​see when in Charleston!

Beautiful swaps and wildlife.

Some people might think we were a little crazy for coming to a nature park in the height of winter, but this is actually a lovely location year-​round.
The $ 10 entrance fee makes you feel like you’re practically robbing the place! There’s so much to see and you could spend all day hiking the trails. My personal favorite was the butterfly garden!
All of the employees work here because they truly love it. Their passion and dedication to keeping it pristine is obvious. Plus, they are very knowledgeable about the biology of the gardens.
We decided to take the $ 5 guided tour (canoe) around the swamp and it was well worth it. Charlie, our trusted leader, was very funny and he had an excellent eye for some of the wildlife that we probably would not have spotted on our own. Although it seems counterintuitive, the swamp is amazingly beautiful.
I am not surprised that so many people get married here every year. There is something so peaceful and poetic about Cypress Gardens that makes it utterly magical. Sitting outside in the beauty of it all on a picnic with my parents made me feel like a little kid again. We had a blast.

With all Cypress Gardens has to offer, we were surprised that the entrance fee was only $ 10. The self-​guided swamp tour was 45 minutes of peaceful, beautiful, relaxation. A guide is available, but going alone made it more fun. Plenty time to see alligators, turtles, birds and gorgeous cypress trees. The exhibits were informative and the butterfly house was fun. We also took advantage of the trails, but next time, I’d bring bug spray with me. You can even have your wedding there. I bet that’s beautiful in the springtime. The plantation houses and gardens in the area are nice, but this is a much better value and we enjoyed it more.

This place is more than you’d expect. We took a guided tour in the swamp and saw baby alligators and a nest. Pretty cool. We also went in the butterfly garden and the other animal displays. There was a lot to do. It was a bit off the beaten path, but worth for being a day here. Totally beautiful. Oh, and our guide was super awesome and informative. Kids loved it.

The bridge is out, so go through the Navy base. It’s a great hike.(No hills or mountains.) There are alligators everywhere. Their Swamp Nights are great. But they need to fine-​tune them. The two hour wait was not really worth How Excited and Happy my eight year old was from the experience. All in all, a great nature experience. The self guided boat tours are a great work out, but the guides are very knowledgeable of local history if you opt for their tour.

Loved the row your own boat experience. Everyone should row a boat with your spouse or future spouse for that matter! Quick way to figure out communication styles — or lack there of!
It is supposed to be this romantic, quiet, calm, serene experience… then you add the squeaking hot baby, the two kids that want to row, and the heat… the humidity… the heat… then ROW! Then almost get stuck in the lily pads… husband what side are you rowing on?! back up back up… oh look alligator — don’t run in to him!!! back up — wait what side are you rowing on? How do we steer this? Ooooopppps back up — the directional arrow is over there! LOL — it was a great time! Seriously — comically fun! Oh don’t forget to duck under the bridge as you row under it!
Row row row your boat gently down the stream, alligator on your left life is but a dream…
NOTE! A major bridge is out until October 2014 so the typical route to get to this major tourist destination has a 18 mile detour!!! Thanks to Siri (iPhone directional aide) we found the place. The staff at the Garden were very «eh» about it. «Sorry about that…» yeah, my gas tank is «sorry about that too.» We were 3.8 miles from the Gardens and had to go around the other direction 18 miles — past the Naval Weapons Station. Use the back entrance — through the weapons station.

My husband and I got married at Cypress Gardens in 1998, and we visited again this past Easter weekend to show our kids. It’s a really beautiful and distinctive place! Being able to take a boat out on your own through the swamp is fun. My crew laughed a lot as the kids worked to figure out how to steer us straight. I definitely recommend it for either a one-​time visit or as an event location.
If you do go to the boat dock area and especially if you’d like a Cypress Gardens employee to ride with you as a guide, be sure to ask for Charlie! He was very nice, knowledgeable, and helpful. My youngest son was scared to get in the boat due to the alligators, but Charlie calmly talked with us and shared stories of his own experiences until my son felt comfortable going ahead.

This was one of my favorite places to visit when I lived here and now I return whenever in the area.
For a mere $ 10 you can tour the grounds, visit a few special areas like the butterfly house and the huuuuge gator, walk around the swamp, and best of all you can take your own boat and paddle the swamp at your own pace. In Feb we were lucky enough to see about 4 dozen turtles and a few chompies but return in spring and you will be able to add the wood ducks and osprey to the list. When the water is still, you can take some of the most beautiful pictures with the reflections.
Used to be that Berkeley county residents got free admission the (I think) second Saturday of every month so check out if it’s still available.
Blooms happen all season as well.
Great bang for your buck.

I had my wedding here back in 2009 and loved this as a venue. It was perfect seeing as how we didn’t want to have an indoor wedding and they offered a few different options around the gardens for the wedding to take place and then also had a place for the reception to take place indoors. The price was so reasonable compared to many venues in the Charleston area, and they were more than willing to help with any arrangements or plans. I was lucky enough that the day before my wedding they didn’t have anything planned so I was able to come in and decorate the day before but they do allow you in early in the morning the day of it the day before it isn’t available. The only downside to this location was the fact that the gardens do not close to the public during the wedding, which we had our wedding around 5:30/6 so the park was about to close at the time and we never had any problems with people staring or interfering with the wedding. In fact the only time I saw anyone there was early in the day when we were taking pictures with my bridesmaids before the wedding but this was very early in the day. The inside event space for the reception was clean and very large. The only other problem was we did have to bring in our own ice, which isn’t a huge deal just more of a pain for the caterers than anything else. Overall we were completely happy and loved the space for our wedding and wouldn’t have changed a thing.

There are swamps aplenty in southeastern South Carolina, but Cypress Gardens stood out because you can take a self-​guided canoe ride through the swamp with your paid entrance. I had a slight fear I’d paddle an alligator on the head, but thankfully we went in 50-​degree weather when the reptiles all go to Florida or something which is why our family visit didn’t make headline news in your local paper.
The canoe ride takes you through a portioned-​off area of the swamp that’s maybe a mile or so around. They ask that you return within 40 minutes, but we were back before then. You are supposed to follow white arrows, but near what turned out to be the farthest reaches the arrows point to land and super-​literal me got very confused on what to do. We ended up improvising our way back, not that there’s a whole lot to «improvise» with. They also assume you’ve rowed a boat before, which we hadn’t, and they didn’t offer instructions (although I heard another employee give a family some info after we returned). As a result we couldn’t really grasp the dynamics on how to control our boat until we’d been in it for some time. Maybe we’re slow in that regard, or maybe everyone else was just really adept, I don’t know, but it put a little bit of frustration into what was otherwise a scenic ride.
Outside of the boat, you can walk around the swamp area via some loops that are about 2 miles in the shortest and around 3.5 in the longest. The main path is paved but the side tracks aren’t. We stayed on the main though — in November there’s not a lot of wildlife, but we saw a couple of turtles and what I thought was an anhinga by the water. Of course the flora has its share of bald cypress trees with their knees (those little pointy spires sticking out of the ground) and tupelos (with the big triangular trunks).
There’s also a classic «tourist trap» appeal by the entrance too, with an aquarium, butterfly house, alligator pit, natural history building, etc. We have kids and the kids were into seeing that, so it was convenient especially if you want to guarantee that you’ll see snakes or alligators or such. And the archaeology video they show in the natural history room was pretty interesting, uncovering the undocumented past of the enslaved people who worked here when it was a rice plantation in centuries past.
It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours, and it pairs nicely with a visit to Mepkin Abbey, also in Monck’s Corner. Couple both so you can get a good sampling of the ethereal and the primordial in one day.

Wow, this place is awesome. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Basically you get a boat, two oars, and you’re on your way. Breathtaking scenery. Just be aware this is really hard, quite a workout, so know what you’re getting into and be ready to push yourself physically!

$ 10! Seriously. I can’t get over the fact that it only costs $ 10 to be able to enjoy everything this place has to offer.
This past Saturday was my birthday and I wanted to do something different yet low-​key during the day before going out for the night. I had heard how Cypress Gardens is really beautiful and of course, we all know about the scene in The Notebook. My friend and I got there around 2pm figuring three hours should be enough time (I think it was). I was half expecting it to be packed since it was a Saturday during tourist season but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that there were barely any other visitors that day (maybe because it’s way out in Moncks Corner?).
We first stopped by to see the alligators. We were told they were about to feed them and we should hurry along to get to see it, but we either got there too early or too late for the feeding. Then we went to the Swamparium, which was really cool. They had turtles, snakes, lizards and fish. Basically the usual thing you’d expect, but they also had some really cool creatures I’d never seen or heard of before. A snake turtle?! Yes! I don’t remember what it’s called but there was a turtle that had a head shaped like a leaf. Mind blown.
Then we strolled through the Butterfly house, which is nice but pretty much what you’d expect, before deciding to hurry and take the canoe out since there was a chance of rain (obviously, they won’t let you go out in the rain). Luckily, it didn’t rain. Instead it was super sunny and got quite hot out there. Despite the humidity, the canoe ride was lovely and definitely my favorite part. We opted to take the canoe out ourselves (for free, y’all) instead of the $ 5 guided tour. They told us to just follow the white arrows nailed to the trees and stay out of the lily pads, which we sort of kind of managed to do. It was a lovely calm boat ride the whole way through until… there it was it. An alligator. Far enough from me for me not to completely freak out but definitely make me weary. And then it was gone. We talked to the guy manning the canoes when we came in and apparently they are definitely out there but in the summertime they don’t come up to the surface that much since it’s so hot. Springtime and fall are the times to go if you’d like to boat with the gators. Although the idea has me excited yet a bit petrified, I think I’ll come back in the fall to see if I can catch some more gators but also walk the trails which is something I didn’t get to do this time.

Being early March, it was a little chilly for the trails and boating but I still thoroughly enjoyed my trip here.
I went to one of their flower shows, which was lovely, and was given a waxed flower at the end which was a nice touch. Then we stopped by the «Swamparium», which not only showcased local swamp wildlife, but had «Swamps of the World» too. Right outside the Swamparium they have three huge alligators which were very entertaining somehow. Yeah, they just laid there but come on, huge alligators are super cool.
After that we visited their little museum. The museum was just one room with an educational video on Cypress Gardens and some artifacts from when the place was part of Dean Hall Plantation. After that we stopped by their butterfly house. The butterfly house was filled with many lovely butterflies but also had adorable Button Quails, which I could probably watch for hours.
On our way out we checked out a little art show they had going on and the gift shop. All in all, definitely worth the $ 10 fee and I’ll certainly be coming back once the weather warms up.

I attended a beautiful wedding here, but August in South Carolina is just way too hot… way too hot! Especially when the ceremony set up is directly in the noon sunlight. Other than the heat, the ceremony flowed quickly and was over in no time. The grounds were beautiful and the perfect time killer while waiting for the reception to start. I imagine this to be a perfect location for fall weddings.

This park is beautiful ~ I didn’t get to see it all because I went on a cold rainy day and our fee was switched to 7 $ because of that. The butterfly garden sheilded me from the rain storm ~ it’s warm and beautiful in there! There are the cutest puffy birds in there (quails?) and there was a cute colorful little duck following me around the butterfly house quacking, wagging his tail (like a dog!) and trying to eat my floor length skirt hahaha. He was so entertaining. I have gotten great pictures with him in them (if you sit next to him he will peck you but it only feels like a tap.) This is a great date spot or family trip ~ there are boat rides included in your entrance fee (more for guided) and I will certainly come back to try it!

Not only is this site very affordable, it is a VALUE! For your $ 10 adult admission you have access to beautifully groomed trails (where we were «jumped» by an alligator … VERY exciting!), an aquarium, a butterfly house (which also houses «Button Quail» and their 1″ babies!) and a most excellent swamp boating adventure.
For people on a time restriction or not interested in low-​level physical exertion, you can pay $ 5 per person for a guided tour of the cypress swamp. This will surely be the most educational way to go. HOWEVER, for group fun you can’t beat the self-​guided tour. You won’t learn anything, but you will have a great time navigating your 4 — 5 person flatboat along an arrowed route through the swamps. You have the freedom to move at your own pace, veer off for photo opportunities, and test your skills at spotting wildlife. (I would give our group a B+, C– if you take into consideration the above mentioned «alligator jumping.»)
Our group visited in late March, when thousands of azaleas were in bloom. We all agreed that it would be great to visit again in a few weeks, when the water lilies were open.

Can’t believe I’ve never reviewed this place! Pretty cool park in the middle of the swamp and woods. It’s a little drive from the city, but worth it. They have a butterfly house, swamparium, lots of trails, and boats to go out in the swamp with. It’s very well kept and the people are helpful. They also host flower shows, which I entered my pineapple and won in! Anyway, if you are looking for a place with a lot to offer, as far as pretty flowers, plants, and animals, this is a place worth visiting.