I’ve been talking about checking out all of the hidden gems of South Carolina all summer, and one of my coworkers recently mentioned Cypress Gardens to me. I had never heard of it, and when I did a quick Google search, I became immediately fascinated with it when I found out that the swan scene from The Notebook and various scenes from The Patriot were filmed on the grounds. I had the opportunity to visit the gardens with one of my friends earlier this summer on a Sunday morning, and we had a great time!
We left Columbia around 7am, and we made it to the gardens a little after 9:00. Sunday seemed to be a great time to go (hated to miss church, but not many people were there!). While we were purchasing our tickets, the lady at the desk told us that we should definitely sign up for a boat ride. Boat rides were only $5/person, so we signed up to drift off into the 10:00 tour!
I am so glad that we were encouraged to take the boat ride – it was so much fun! You can sign up for a guided tour, or you can rent a private boat (both are very reasonable at $5/person). There are lots of alligators and other wildlife, so we opted for the guided tour to be on the safe side! Immediately upon leaving the dock, you are transported into a fantasy world of black water swamps and bald cypress trees!
Our guide was very knowledgeable, and he told us stories about all of the movies being filmed there. The swans from The Notebook scene were brought into the swamp during the winter, and other swans were digitally edited into the scene.
Waterlilies grow all over the swamp, and at one point, the guide picked a waterlily and passed it around for all of us to hold. We were looking for alligators during the tour, and we finally found one on the way back to the dock. It swam away before we could get too close, so I didn't get a great photo of it.
The boat ride was about an hour and was such a magical experience. After the ride, we toured the grounds, starting at the butterfly house. There were many butterflies and other flying insects and birds. Adjacent to the butterfly house is a swamparium that contains a wide variety of amphibians, reptiles, and fish. We explored that a bit, but we were really excited to go explore the gardens.
We headed down the trail that lined the swamp. The views from the path were just as gorgeous as the views we had seen from the boat. We even spotted a baby alligator right by the path!
Cypress Gardens was such a hidden gem. I am glad I found out about it when I did, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new adventure outside of Charleston. For more information, visit: http://www.cypressgardens.info/.
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