Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

It’s not just garden lovers who will be enchanted by the year-round beauty of Magnolia Plantation’s extensive gardens. These are America’s oldest publicly accessed gardens, first opened to visitors in 1870, although portions of them date to two centuries earlier. They are also the nation’s last large-scale Romantic-style garden, in contrast to most show gardens where nature is controlled and shaped by formal beds, paths, and landscaping.

Nurtured by generation after generation of the same family, the gardens have grown as each subsequent owner added new features. You can take a guided tour of the house, visit an Antebellum cabin, take a boat tour, see exhibits, and take younger visitors to a nature center and petting zoo.

Address: 3550 Ashley River Road, Charleston, South Carolina