Things to do / Travel Guide
The region's long history and beautiful lush scenery make it a perfect place to go for a drive. Antebellum mansions and plantations dot the Georgia and the South Carolina coast, Revolutionary and Civil War forts abound, and there are more live oaks covered with Spanish moss than you can shake a stick at.
Scenic Drives in Georgia
In Georgia you'll have the chance to drive through pastures and rolling grasslands, woodlands and fruit groves. What fruit might you see growing along the side of the road? For starters, there are pecan trees aplenty, the Georgia peach, and melons and blueberries galore. The live oaks and ubiquitous Spanish moss color the inland drives, and palmettos and marsh grass line the coast.
- The Fulton County Scenic Byway is an approximately 30-mile loop and runs through southern Atlanta highlighting some of the area's history and natural rural charm. The route follows Cochran Mill Road, Hutcheson Ferry Road, and State Highway 70 to showcase many rustic farmhouses and the historic communities along the way. State Road 70, also known as Campbellton Redwine Road, runs parallel to the Chattahoochee River, and while on Cochran Mill Road you'll pass through the beautiful Cochran Mill Park and Cochran Mill Nature Preserve.
- The 29-mile Monticello Crossroads Scenic Byway runs along State Roads 11 and 83, passing by the small town of Monticello, Georgia, filled with several historical homes that are officially recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Monticello's town square is a highlight, and the county hall is a pleasant red-brick building in the Federal style. The byway runs about 15 miles north of Monticello on State Road 11 and another 15 south of the town on State Road 83.
- The Antebellum Trail runs roughly 100 miles from Athens to Macon. Along U.S. Highway 129 the route passes through the historic towns of Watkinsville, Madison, and Eatonton. At Eatonton the route detours along U.S.
Highway 441 to Milledgeville, over Lake Sinclair, and makes its way via State Road 49 to Macon. These four communities between Athens and Macon escaped General Sherman's wrath and destruction during the Civil War, and almost all of their historic buildings are intact. Milledgeville is especially historic for the reason that it was Georgia's capital city from the early days of the 19th century until the Civil War.
The Altamaha Historic Scenic Byway begins in Valona just off of U.S. Highway 17 on State Road 99. This scenic drive is about 10 miles long, and it follows the coast from Valona down to the sleepy shrimping village of Darien. The unsuspecting little road passes by hundreds of years of history: Guale Indians, Spanish missionaries, and Scottish Highlanders have all called the area home; Georgia's oldest fort, Fort King George, is also located here. Geographically, the route passes a few marshy barrier islands.
I-95 happens to be pretty scenic as it winds through the region, and State Road 25 can take you on many an adventure through sleepy fishing towns, live oak forests, marshes, and plenty more. It parallels I-95 from top to bottom, and there are exits from one to the other every few miles. Sometimes it's closer to the shore than I-95, sometimes I-95 is closer. For much of the way it's called the Coastal Highway or Ocean Highway, while south of Brunswick it continues parallel to the train tracks.
Scenic Drives on the South Carolina Coast
Roads along the South Carolina coast are picturesque throughout; the sea on one side, and everything from marshes and resorts, live oaks, palmettos, and pines on the other. You just pick a road that skirts the beach, or that runs on and off the barrier islands, and drive north or south, depending on your route.
U.S. Highway 17 travels down practically the entire coastline, from the North Carolina border to Yemassee, where it turns onto I-95 around 35 miles away from Georgia. Starting from the north, you can reach the 17 from I-95, and it first passes through the Grand Strand and Myrtle Beach. You see marshy Sandy Island and Bull Island on your right, and the many golf courses of the Grand Strand; as you pass off the barrier island you travel through historic Georgetown. After Georgetown there's fleshy-green farmland on the right, marshes on the left. Then there's swampland, the Francis Marion National Forest, with bald cypress and water tupelo trees. At this point U.S. Highway 17 passes by the Intracoastal Waterway.
The route continues through Mount Pleasant and Charleston, and for a while travels along the Charleston Historic District. You can pick a small stretch to drive along and then return to the highway at plenty of junctures. U.S. Highway 17 crosses the bay on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge - this happens to be the longest cable-stayed bridge that carries vessels other than public transportation in the Western Hemisphere.
From Charleston to Yemassee, where U.S. Highway 17 links back with I-95, it's all lush farmland. If you want to head back to I-95 from Charleston, take I-26, the Arnold S. Goodstein Expressway.
If you're in Charleston and you're looking for a short scenic drive towards I-95, you can take Ashley River Road, or State Road 61. This 11-mile road parallels I-26, and it is a beautiful Low Country drive through the history, culture, and beauty along the Ashley River. The road passes by Drayton Hall, a plantation dating to pre-American Revolution days. Its fine Georgian Palladian architecture earned it a designation as a National Historic Landmark. The two other Landmarks the route passes by are Old Saint Andrew's Church, and Middleton Place. Fort Bull, which saw action during the Civil War in 1863, is also located close by.
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