Co-Working Space Near Cottageville, SC

For many, getting away for the day or a weekend often means staying within the boundaries of our own state and exploring perfectly awesome places right here in our own backyard. Fortunately, South Carolina is home to a world of mostly undiscovered places that are worthy of a road trip or two. The road trip we feature below is actually 10 hours of driving, but there are countless hours of exploration to add to the trip. You could spend a weekend exploring the Palmetto State and these 10 hidden gems in South Carolina.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Take This Gorgeous Fall Foliage Road Trip To See South Carolina Like Never Before

Advertisement

How many of these hidden gems in South Carolina have you already discovered? There are so many cool places to visit in South Carolina that we can’t cover them all in one road trip. So we need your help. Do you have more awesome places to suggest we write about? Let us know by filling out a nomination form.

For even more driving adventures gas up the car and head out to discover some of the most beautiful places in South Carolina on this 106-mile scenic road trip.

Want more South Carolina in your inbox?

Get the latest on things to see, do, and eat around South Carolina!

More to Explore

Chris Muras | November 22, 2022

There are some wonderful hidden gems and little-known areas of South Carolina worth visiting. From local farms, you can explore, botanical gardens, historic places, and beautiful natural parks. Here are a few you may not have heard about yet:

Reedy River Falls: Oconee Country, SC ACE River Basin Abingdon Manor, Latta, SC Ovis Hill Farm, Timmonsville, SC Moore Farms Botanical Gardens, Lake City, SC Thieves Market, Florence, SC Top Hat Special-Teas, Florence, SC Jim Harrison Art Gallery, Denmark, SC

From its misty Lowcountry marshes to its near-endless stretch of white sand beaches, it's hard to pick just one area as the prettiest part of South Carolina. South Carolina is full of breathtaking scenes and locations, but some stand out as particularly gorgeous. Here are a few of the prettiest parts of South Carolina:

Angel Oak: St. John's Island, SC Caesar's Head State Park: Northern Greenville County, SC Low Country marshes: Kiawah Island Magnolia Plantation: Charleston, SC Swan Lake: Sumter, SC Yellow Branch Falls: Oconee, SC

All along the coast, South Carolina offers stunning views of crashing ocean surf and tall palms swaying in the breeze. Inland, visitors can find plenty of rolling hills, mountain vistas, and country fields full of wildflowers. Perhaps one of the prettiest spots can be found in Oconee County: Lake Jocassee. Surrounded by soaring mountains, this glacial lake features aquamarine water and pockets of hidden coves - a playground for fishing, kayaking, and swimming that's truly like no other place on earth. Whether you're looking for seascapes or mountain vistas, South Carolina has a stunning beauty that beckons visitors from around the world. It truly is one of the loveliest places on Earth!

COTTAGEVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – A problem with a septic tank may force a small business in Colleton County to close its doors for good.

David Stanfield and his wife opened Red Brick Pizza in Cottageville a few years ago. But they may have to close their business after South Carolina’s lead health agency, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, said their septic system is not fit for the job.

“Almost two years ago we started, and almost immediately DHEC jumped on my back,” said Stanfield. “In March of last year, we started takeout only, but in March I contacted them about opening a 12-person dining room. They said yes, you can open it.”

A month later, Stanfield said he was told that could not have a dining room.

“I asked them about the tables out front – I had four picnic tables out front – they said you can have all the picnic tables you want, so we built a patio which has a bunch of outside tables. And then five months later, during another inspection, and we’ve gone through eight in one year, during another inspection they said you can’t have these outside tables. I said, well, you told us we could.”

DHEC told Stanfield that his septic tank was too small, and he was given a ‘shut door’ order.

“Two months ago, I went before the council- I begged them, I said my septic system has never overflowed, it’s never had a problem, and they said you have 60 days to put this monstrosity in back here.”

His customers were outside protesting on Tuesday while raising money to help keep them in business.

Stanfield began installing the large septic system. He says he has now spent $51,000 on the project. But his business only makes about $800-$1,000 on a good week. So, he believes he will now have to just shut down.

Stanfield eventually put a water meter on his property after a suggestion from a neighbor to see how much water was being used each day.

“Our water meter shows that we use 350 gallons per night, my existing system will do 450 gallons and they’ve got me putting in the system it will do 1,500 gallons per night which is just crazy. They’ve bankrupted me. They’ve taken every dime that we have, and we don’t even have money to open for food this week.”

DHEC sent News 2 a statement saying Stanfield was not in compliance with his DHEC permit when he moved from take-out only to restaurant seating.

“Mr. Stanfield did not dispute the grounds for suspension but requested the suspension be rescinded because he was diligently working on gaining compliance with DHEC regulations,” the statement said. “Failure to install the upgraded system would not lead to closure of the facility but would result in the return to the original food service operation as approved and permitted by DHEC.”

“I don’t understand this because, you know, America is known for if you put everything into – whatever your dream is – you can get it accomplished and they are burying us alive,” said Heike Stanfield, Co-Owner, Red Brick Pizza.

Stanfield said they were last open on Saturday. But unless a miracle happens, he believes they may not be able to re-open again.

The matter was discussed during a DHEC board meeting on May 5, 2022 with the restaurant’s owner in attendance – a motion was made about two hours and thirty-three minutes into the meeting, following an executive session. You can watch that hearing by clicking here.

COLLETON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - Investigators have made a number of arrests after a body was found in the woods in Cottageville in the same area where a hunter went missing.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year-old Schuyler Rene Andrulat of Cottageville and 33-year-old Nathan Baughman of Summerville have been charged with obstruction of justice. According to court records, the charges against Andrulat were dismissed and expunged.

A third man, Brad Skipper, has also been charged with an outstanding warrant from Colleton County.

The body was found around 8 p.m. on Thursday in a wooded area off Red Oak Road, the same area where a hunter went missing last Friday

The sheriff's office says the missing hunter was staying with friends who waited until Sunday to report him missing.

The coroner is doing an autopsy to determine the cause of death and identify the body.

The arrests stems from an incident that began on Aug. 21 when a Colleton County deputy responded to a home on Peirce Road in reference to a missing person.

The deputy spoke to Andrulat who said a friend of hers, Orin Patrick, had come to her home to go hunting Friday evening.

According to a report, Andrulat said she dropped Patrick off along the woodline on Peirce Road with a shotgun.

"Andrulat stated that several hours later, she received a call from Patrick stating that he was lost in the woods and he wanted her to drive along the road and beep the horn so that he could find his way back to the road again," the report states.

Andrulat told investigators that she did this around 9 p.m. on Friday but could not find him.

According to authorities, Andrulat said she received another call from Patrick that only last a few seconds and had since been unable to reach him through his phone again. Andrulat told deputies that she did not know any more information about Patrick.

In the incident report, the responding deputy reported that when he first met with Andrulat, she was unable to give any information about Patrick. The deputy then told Andrulat to get in contact with some of Patrick's friends or family so that he could get enough information to do a report.

Authorities also spoke with Patrick's friend, Baughman, who told investigators over the phone that he and Patrick had been staying at a home on Lakeview Drive in Summerville.

Baughman said the last time he saw Patrick was on Aug. 19, but was unsure of the time "because they had both been drinking so he did not remember much about that day."

The incident report states Baughman told investigators that this was not the first time Patrick had just "gone away, but it has never been for this long and never without making contact with him."

Detectives reported that they had Patrick's cell phone pinged to find the last location for it which was in Summerville.

Copyright 2016 WCSC. All rights reserved.

A South Carolina highway trooper was arrested and charged with cruelty to children after he allegedly bit a 2-year-old’s cheek hard enough to leave a mark, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

SLED announced the arrest in a statement Tuesday. While the warrant provides few details, it states that Jesse Brassell, 23, admitted on Sept. 20 that he intentionally bit the child’s cheek in Cottageville, South Carolina.

In a statement, SLED said the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office asked it to investigate the incident. The child, whose name and gender are not included in the warrant, suffered a bite mark on the right cheek, according to the warrant.

Brassell was employed by the Highway Patrol for approximately 27 months, according to a statement from the Department of Public Safety, which oversees highway patrol.

Advertisement

“He had been under suspension without pay since September 22, 2023, the date the allegation was brought to our attention,” according to a statement from the department. Brassell, who held the rank of trooper first class, officially resigned from the agency on Dec. 15, 2023.

During his time as a highway patrolman, Brassell was assigned to Post B of Troop 6, which covers Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper counties. A roster for a basic training graduating class released by the Highway Patrol listed his hometown as Summerville, South Carolina.

Brassell was charged under South Carolina’s cruelty to children statute. Under the law, it is a misdemeanor for a parent, guardian or anyone who has “charge or custody” of a child to inflict “unnecessary pain or suffering” or to deprive the child of “necessary sustenance or shelter.”

Brassell was booked at the Colleton County Detention Center. Records from the jail state that he received a $200 bond by Associate Chief Magistrate Sophia T. Henderson.

The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office Public Integrity Unit, according to SLED. The unit, which is a collaboration between the 14th and 1st Circuit Solicitor’s Offices, investigates officer involved shootings, public corruption and other use of force cases across both circuits.

COTTAGEVILLE, SC (WCSC) – A day after resigning as the mayor of Cottageville, George White explained his decision Thursday.

"When I got in there I knew I had a fight on my hands," White said.

And after almost four years in office, White has called it quits.

"It's time for someone else to come up with some solutions," White said. "I presented everything I could."

White said when he first took office, traffic tickets were missing, seized money and drugs were gone and the town was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

He worked out a payment plan with the state treasurer's office and tried to find new ways to make money.

"I've tried to get a development agreement through,l a zoning ordinance through, and I've just been met with resistance," White said.

White cut his salary from $400 dollars a month to $20 dollars a month and cut council members to $10 dollars a month. Meanwhile, White said his family had to deal with dirty political smears.

"Personal attacks, articles in the newspaper just berating me," White explained. "They came out with a supposed affair between a former clerk and myself and mismanagement of funds for trips."

This January, when the new council was seated, White said bad turned worse.

"I've been dealing with this council for nine months and we've done nothing but fire our town clerk in nine months," White said.

He said the council's response to his ideas was usually "no comment," and the last straw was when a proposal for a new grocery store and two green industries was denied.

"They just do not want to accept new growth in Cottageville," White said.

Without growth and revenue the town could die and White said that is the council's plan.

"In fact, the mayor that's seated now signed a petition to do away with Cottageville," White said. "If you're on the inside it's a whole lot easier to get your agenda met."

While White was mayor he says his business suffered and so did his family. So now he is done.

"I pretty much threw up my hands," White said. "I knew we were not going forward."

Copyright 2010 WCSC. All rights reserved.