Charleston Harbor and the distinctive Charleston skyline as seen from Fort Moultrie.

Situated conveniently mid-way along the Intracoastal Waterway between Norfolk and Miami, Charleston Harbor has long been considered to be the ultimate rest stop for travelers up and down the ICW. Every spring and fall hundreds of floating snowbirds take a break from their seasonal migration to spend a day or a week enjoying all the sights, sounds, and tastes that this great nautical city offers the weary recreational boater. Of course, this unique boating experience need not be reserved solely for wealthy retirees with live-aboard vessels. The many charms of Charleston can be experienced fully and affordably by anyone with a cruise-capable trailer boat. In fact, the Charleston area as a whole offers so many inland attractions, in addition to its waterfront appeal, that it can only be experienced to its fullest by the trailer boater, who packs both a boat and a car into his vacation arsenal.

Charleston is a major seaport and a true boating town. The harbor is transited by watercraft ranging in size from kayaks to huge oceangoing container ships and everything in between. The harbor itself boasts several world-class marinas with many other facilities in the nearby waterways. The trailer boater may feel a bit insignificant pulling up for a slip alongside a 90-foot megayacht, but my experience has been that the marina staff will go out of their way to be friendly and helpful no matter what your LOA happens to be.

Of course, Charleston Harbor plays host to more than two-legged guests. Dolphins are everywhere, swimming singly and in groups and pelicans will frequently be seen splashing into the water nearby in search of a meal. In the many salt water marshes where water meets land, turtles, crabs, snakes, and even the occasional alligator are common sights along with a wide variety of birds. Whales can often be seen offshore and even inside the harbor itself on occasion.

The waters adjoining the harbor are a gunkholer's paradise with countless little shallow creeks and marshes lining the riverbanks. One could easily anchor out every night during their vacation here without spending two nights in the same place. A short passage out the harbor mouth to the southeast will put your boat in the wide, blue Atlantic Ocean. While not an excursion to be taken lightly in a small boat, if you choose your weather window carefully, an afternoon fishing expedition or day sail in the Atlantic can be the high point of a Charleston harbor vacation.

The city center of old Charleston lies at the tip of a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers (or, as the locals prefer to say, the Ashley and Cooper rivers combine here to create the Atlantic Ocean). The city is steeped in history as well as old world Southern charm. In fact it is probably safe to rank Charleston as one of the three most historically significant cities in America (alongside Philadelphia and Boston). There are dozens of well-preserved churches and historic sites to tour downtown in addition to several beautiful parks and waterfront promenades.

Military history buffs will also find a lot to see here. The nearby Fort Moultrie National Monument features authentic recreations of that bastion's harbor defenses ranging in time from the Revolutionary War to its contribution in World War II's little-heralded but hard-fought Battle of the Atlantic against German submarines just off the American coast. The World War II aircraft carrier Yorktown is docked on permanent display across the Cooper River at Patriot's Point, along with several smaller warships. And, of course, the Civil War first broke out right here in Charleston Harbor with the shelling of Fort Sumter by the Confederacy.

In short, there is just so much to see and do in Charleston that you'll have a hard time working it all into a single vacation. Places like this are truly one of the best reasons I know to own a trailerable boat.