History Trail around Snee plantation

Length: .6-mile loop
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆

There are only 28 acres remaining of the original Snee Farm plantation, and visitors to Charles Pinckney National Historic Site can see much of it by hiking a short, half-mile trail that begins at the Visitor Center (a farmhouse built by subsequent owners of the property). The trail offers some wonderful photo opportunities as it encircles a field and passes through a wooded area. Wayside exhibits are placed along the route to tell the history of the plantation.

The hike begins on a paved path on the west side of the Visitor Center. You should be able to see it from the building, but if not, it is on the opposite side from the parking lot. This is the original road that ran from the plantation to the main road that led to Charleston. President George Washington walked along it in 1791. Today it only runs the length of the park property, for it has been cut short by the surrounding subdivisions.

Paved portion of the History Trail outside of the farmhouse at Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

Original path that connected the Pinckney estate to the main road to Charleston, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

The road is flanked by a large field on either side. Walk for about a tenth of a mile (five minutes) and be on the lookout for a wayside exhibit to your right at the far end of the field near the forest. I have hiked the History Trail when there was a mowed path through the field to the exhibit, and I have hiked it when the entire field was mowed the same height. If that is the case when you visit, simply locate the wayside exhibit and head across the field towards it.

Grass path leads to the forested section of Charles Pinckney’s Snee Farm plantation, Charles Picnkney National Historic Site

The wayside exhibit marks the area thought to be where the Pinckney slave quarters were located. The foundation posts of three buildings were discovered, and the assumed footprint of the buildings are now outlined with bricks set into the ground.

Slave Community wayside exhibit and building foundation outline at Charles Picnkney National Historic Site

Brick outlines mark where slave cabins once stood on Charles Pinckney’s Snee Farm, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

At the slave quarters, the History Trail heads into the forest and borders a tidal wetland. The trail is basically a square, and at this point you will be heading back in the direction of the Visitor Center but on the opposite side of the field. The hike through the forest is pleasant during the cooler months, but I suspect that during the summer the vegetation is a haven for mosquitos. I had no problems with the pests when I did the hike in both early April and late September.

History Trail heads into the forest near a tidal marsh, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

History Trail passes through the forest near a tidal marsh at Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

The forested portion of the trail soon comes to a boardwalk that leads to an overlook of Wampacheone Creek. During my September hike, I saw dozens of crabs in the marsh below the observation deck.

Boardwalk on the History Trail leads to an overlook of Wampacheone Creek, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

Crabs in Wompacheone Creek, Charles Picnkney National Historic Site

When done at the overlook, return to the trail and take a right. This leads out of the forest and back towards the Visitor Center. On the way is a model of a rice trunk. Rice was the main crop grown at the plantation during Pinckney’s time, supplanted by cotton in later years. The rice trunk controlled the flow of water between rice paddies.

Model of a rice trunk at Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

If you came all the way out to Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, you might as well walk the History Trail. You can leisurely stroll through the grounds in no more than 20 minutes. There are many beautiful live oaks and magnolias on the property. You don’t have to stick to the trail. Feel free to walk anywhere you want in order to get a photo.

Beautiful grounds of the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

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