Isle of Palms – Beach Review | Condé Nast Traveler
"Give us the wide-angle view: what kind of beach are we talking about? Isle of Palms, one of the area's most family-friendly beaches, stretches across seven miles of shoreline. Between the two ends is a tight seaside community that offers a vast range of activities (water sports, golfing, boat tours, and fishing charters), plus stunning white sands. How accessible is it? It’s just a 12-mile drive through Mount Pleasant to reach IOP County Park (as the locals call it). Parking is easiest in the Municipal Parking Lots. Parking tickets are available for purchase at the automated parking kiosks inside the parking lot. The daily rate is $12 Monday through Friday and $15 Saturday, Sunday and holidays. After 4 p.m., visitors may pay an hourly rate of $2.50. Once there, the shoreline is eminently walkable, though if you want to scope out the entire stretch, you might want to rent a bicycle. Decent services and facilities, would you say? The main County Park lot has a vending area and bathrooms, so you can both change and buy sunhats, boogie boards, and beach sundries as well as basic snacks. There’s also a rental station for chairs and umbrellas. How’s the actual beach stuff—sand and surf? The sands are family-friendly—they're nice and soft, and you'll see plenty of other kids splashing around. Beyond the opportunities for swimming and surfing, the Wild Dunes public golf courses are a big draw, along with the sports fishing charters and the ever-popular sunset dolphin-watching cruises. Can we go barefoot? It’s smooth, white sands as far as you can see, with plenty of space to lay out even during peak season. Anything special we should look for? If you can, arrange a way to get out on the water, whether it’s to fish, or take an eco tour of the barrier islands (IOP attracts turtles during egg laying season). If you're less about the sea turtles, and more about the adult beverages, take your party to the Windjammer beach club, where buzzy drink specials and live music are a tempting prospect once the sun goes down. If we’re thinking about going, what—and who—is this beach best for? The pull of IOP is its accommodating size: there's plenty of room for families and groups to stretch out, even on busier weekends. It's nice to hit the beach, and not have to worry about getting sand kicked into your cooler." - Paul Oswell
