Take a Walk Thru Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens has been placed on the Natural Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. It was founded in 1676 by the Drayton family. It is the oldest public garden in America and the oldest public tourist site in the Low country.

What does the Plantation & Gardens Have?

The Magnolia Plantation & Gardens has a zoo & nature center. It also has a conservatory and a garden center. And it has a gift shop and Peacock Cafe. These are all included under the price of general admission. Adult admission prices are $20.00, kids 6-12, $10.00, and kids 5 and under free. There are additional tours that cost more. There is a plantation house tour, a nature tram tour, a nature boat tour, and a slavery to freedom tour. Due to Covid-19, we did not take part of these tours, but the one that would interest us more would be the nature boat tour. The boat tour is a 45-minute boat ride that explores the plantation’s 125 acres of rice fields and allows for close-up wildlife viewing.

Learn More About the Audubon Swamp

There is also the Audubon Swamp. We did buy a ticket for this activity. Here you can walk the 60 acres of boardwalks & bridges to view local birds, reptiles, and other mammals. This is a very humid experience especially when it’s hot outside. We got a chance to see Egrets, Anhinga, turtles, silk spiders, dragonflies, and alligators. We would not recommend the Audubon Swamp as you can see these animals in nature preserves throughout the Lowcountry for free and in less humid areas. But if you do go, consider going in the fall or winter otherwise bring plenty of water and sunscreen.

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We would definitely recommend going to the Magnolia Plantation & Gardens under general admission because the plantation and gardens are beautiful! The flowers are plentiful and diverse. There’s a lot of walking and exploring to do. They have beautiful bridges and waterways. The grounds are very clean and well-manicured.

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Our very favorites were the conservatory and zoo area. The conservatory is a nice place to get away from the sun and appreciate the plant life in this sheltered area. We would recommend going to the zoo area first as it gets pretty busy otherwise. They have beautiful peacocks, deer, and ducks roaming around. We have never been so close as you can reach out and pet the deer. You still want to social distance with the peacock but you would be surprised at how close you can get! There are also some unique animals like the Blue & Gold Macaw and Eastern Gray Squirrel.

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The general admission ticket which you can use for 7 days is a nice getaway! We found a good deal on Groupon.com, that is not always there. Magnolia Plantation & Gardens cares about people as they followed all the proper protocols for protecting people from Covid-19. We would highly recommend them!