GAINSWave® Treatment in Kiawah Island, SC

The ‘Best Islands in the U.S.’ list was released to the public Tuesday.

Luckily, southeastern residents have only a short journey to visit many of the top 15 Best Islands in the Continental U.S., according to Travel + Leisure.

Hilton Head Island was ranked in ninth place out of all 15 islands in the country for being the best overall and scored an 82.99, according to readers, beating out Florida favorites: Amelia Island, Captiva Island and Sanibel Island.

“This Southern oasis is a perennial reader favorite thanks to its beaches, world-class golf courses, 60 miles of walking trails, and cultural offerings that can be enjoyed in flip-flops. Rental houses abound, but there are also resorts that will cater to your every whim,” wrote Travel + Leisure about Hilton Head Island.

The islands were rated by readers according to activities and sights, natural attractions and beaches, food, friendliness, and overall value.

This year, the ‘Best Islands’ category was the most competitive it has ever been, with domestic island vacations being a first choice pick for the magazine’s readers throughout the pandemic.

Kiawah Island, near Charleston, ranked as the second best island in the country, according to readers.

“Located southwest of Charleston, Kiawah, which is also on this year’s list of the best islands in the world, is a popular destination for golfers, but you don’t need to pick up a club to fall in love. Bike to the pristine beaches for sightings of dolphins and nesting sea turtles, or just watch the waves from an oceanfront room at the five-star Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort — voted by readers as the No. 1 resort in South Carolina the past two years,” wrote Travel + Leisure.

Kiawah Island was also labeled as a ‘World’s Best Awards’ honoree, earning a score of 88.49.

Even more notably, Kiawah ranked 25th with a score of 88.49 in ‘The 25 Best Islands in the World’ category.

It’s no secret South Carolina is famous for many of its beautiful locations. On Tuesday, Charleston was ranked 23rd as one of the 25 Best Cities in the World, by Travel + Leisure. The ‘World’s Best Awards’ Hall of Fame honoree scored an 88.70 in the category.

Additionally on Tuesday, ‘The 15 Best Cities in the United States’ rankings were released with Charleston being ranked the number one best city in the country, according to Travel + Leisure.

“There’s a reason people keep going back to Charleston: the city expresses the perfect balance of Southern charm, knockout food and drinks, and walkability. Many readers also found the city’s history to be a draw. Others appreciated the simple pleasures of strolling the side streets of downtown.”, Travel + Leisure described Charleston.

Hilton Head Island neighbor, Savannah, ranked fourth place in the ‘Best Cities’ category.

The 15 Best Islands in the Continental U.S., according to Travel + Leisure

The 15 Best Cities in the United States, according to Travel + Leisure

This story was originally published July 14, 2022 10:00 AM.

Travel + Leisure reveals ‘world’s best’ awards for vacation

04:18

If you’re looking for a domestic destination for your next vacation, you can’t do better than Charleston, South Carolina — at least according to Travel + Leisure.

The travel magazine just published the results of its annual reader survey, and once again, the Southern destination topped the list of best cities in the United States.

As Travel + Leisure Editor-in-Chief Jacqui Gifford explained during a Tuesday visit to TODAY, this marks the 10th year in a row that the charming coastal city, affectionately known as Chucktown by locals, has topped all others.

“We’re so excited for (Charleston),” Gifford raved. “I think it really is the full picture."

The city has just about anything a tourist could want, with readers pointing to friendly locals, its accessibility on foot, and the historic architecture.

"You can see Rainbow Row, which is all those colorful old homes, and take pictures," Gifford said. "The food scene is amazing — you can go to Halls Chophouse — and there’s so much shopping to do.”

In short, she added, “It’s a great place.”

It's so great that it also ranked 23rd in a list of the best cities worldwide. But Charleston isn't the only great place in the state of South Carolina.

Over on Travel + Leisure’s list of top islands in the world, Kiawah Island, which is situated about 30 miles southwest of Charleston, earned a spot alongside global sensations like Greece’s Crete and Spain’s Ibiza.

But back on the list of the 15 best cities in the U.S., other states had a chance for their own towns to shine, too.

Here's the full rundown:

Get the most out of your vacation with these travel apps

May 13, 202205:32

See more reader picks for destination spots and lodging options in the full roundup of Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards 2022.

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Beautiful shorelines and dreamy marshes dot South Carolina’s idyllic Atlantic coast. But there’s much more to experience in the Palmetto State, named for the trees that became a symbol of liberty because of their ability to absorb the force of British cannonballs during the 1776 battle at Fort Moultrie.

Look beyond showstopping destinations such as Charleston and Myrtle Beach and you can enjoy dozens of hidden gems and nature escapes in the state. From iconic gardens to jaw-dropping sunsets and action-packed thrill rides, here are the best activities to add to your itinerary the next time you visit South Carolina.

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Snap a photo in front of the giant peach

More than 30 types of peaches are grown across South Carolina, and the peach is the state's official fruit. Peaches became such a staple that in 1981, a massive 135ft water tower beside I-85 South in the town of Gaffney – just 45-minutes south of Charlotte, NC – was transformed to look like a giant peach.

It's become a tradition to snap a photo of the iconic Peachoid; you can get closest to the peach via exits 90 to 92, along the Cherokee Hills Scenic Highway.

Take the entire family fruit picking

People from near and far travel to York County, South Carolina – just across the border from the southern end of Charlotte – to spend an entire day picking fresh fruit on some of the county’s long-established family-owned farms.

Bush-N-Vine has been growing a fine assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables since 1979, and members of the public are invited to pick their own produce.

The most popular picking crops are strawberries (from fall until early July) and blueberries (starting in mid-May). While you're there, pop into the farm's country store for a freshly made strawberry soft serve ice cream or a raspberry blendie (a mix of ice cream and raspberry-flavored iced slushy).

Also look out for stalls and stores selling freshly picked peaches across the state from June to September.

See every species of swan at the state’s longest-running festival

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the state's Iris Festival in the town of Sumter, located 45 miles from Columbia, SC. This three-day event, typically held over the Memorial Day weekend, features over 120 species of Japanese iris growing along the banks of the Swan Lake Iris Gardens.

The park is also the only place in the United States where you can see all eight of the known species of swans. Local vendors and artisans set up throughout the garden, but since the park is considered a bird sanctuary, pets are not allowed on the grounds.

Enjoy unique views of South Carolina from above at the Aiken Hot Air Balloon Fest

Just under 20 miles from the city of Augusta, Georgia, Aiken is the fourth-largest county in the state, and every year in late April, locals head out to the Western Carolina Fairgrounds to participate in the area’s two-day hot air balloon festival.

This family-friendly day of fun features live music, a kid’s zone with rides and games, local food vendors, and the opportunity to tick off a bucket-list-worthy experience – riding in a tethered hot air balloon. The showstopper is the night show, where dozens of larger-than-life balloons take to the skies for a spectacle unlike any other.

Enjoy a romantic couples' boat ride at Cypress Gardens

Head about an hour north of Charleston to check out backdrops from one of the most romantic movies of recent years – The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.

The cult movie, based on the novel by Nicholas Parks, was filmed at several locations in the state’s Low Country, including Cypress Gardens. Grab your significant other and row across the same lake where Noah took Allie during their emotional reunion.

Located in the town of Moncks Corner, the gardens are home to cypress and Tupelo trees that line a dark but beautiful swamp. There are guided and self-guided boat tours across the swamplands; keep an eye out for the birds, turtles and alligators that live in the waters.

Live like a star for a day on Kiawah Island – South Carolina's best-kept secret

One of South Carolina’s wealthiest and most exclusive zip codes, Kiawah Island is a paradisaical escape, just 40-minutes southwest of Charleston's busy neighborhoods.

While outsiders can't freely drive around the island – there's a guard station at the main entrance checking renters' and residents' passes – the public are welcome to visit the sandy shore at Beachwalker Park. Bring your beach chairs or blanket, and pack a picnic-style lunch for a day-long island getaway. There’s a lifeguard on duty daily and pets are welcome.

Get your adrenaline pumping at South Carolina's largest theme park

While it technically straddles the border between North Carolina and South Carolina, Carowinds is a must for the entire family. Located off exit 90 on I-77, this 407-acre theme park provides hours of thrills for all ages, from coasters to water slides.

Come for over-the-top, funfair-inspired bites like funnel cakes loaded with whipped cream, strawberries and ice cream, and more than 55 adrenaline-pumping rides, including the Fury 325 coaster and an entire set of rides and experiences specifically geared toward younger children.

The park is also home to Carolina Harbor, the largest water park in North and South Carolina. When you've had enough of adrenaline-pumping thrills, sit down for a themed show or come back for Halloween when the park transforms into "Scarowinds" with a selection of harvest-themed and haunted attractions.

Tour one of Martin Luther King Jr’s favorite stops

The historical Penn Center on St Helena Island is one of many places that inspired Dr Martin Luther King Jr to write his famous I Have a Dream speech. The civil rights leader is said to have visited the Penn Center at least five times.

Dotted with more than 25 buildings and structures, this 50-acre property offers an in-depth look at the triumphs and struggles faced by the area's Gullah people on the journey from enslavement to freedom. It's the site of Penn School – one of the first educational centers in the American South to provide formal schooling to formerly enslaved people.

Located an hour and a half southwest of Charleston in Beaufort, the center offers guided tours and an on-site museum and visitor center.

The PGA Tour called on Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina to fill a hole in its 2021 schedule and will do the same this fall.

The Tour needed a replacement tournament for The CJ Cup — usually played in Korea — and will turn to Congaree Golf Club, the private club located in northern Jasper County a few miles off Interstate 95 near Ridgeland. The news was announced Wednesday morning.

The Congaree tournament in 2022 will be called The CJ Cup in South Carolina. Dates are Oct. 16-23, with tournament play Oct. 20-23. Information regarding tickets and volunteer opportunities will be released soon, according to organizers.

“The PGA Tour is thrilled to bring The CJ Cup in South Carolina to the United States this October,” Christian Hardy, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president for international, said in a statement. “This event has provided a great platform on which to showcase golf’s top Korean players, and we are confident that Congaree will once again serve as a fantastic venue for hosting one of the Tour’s premier tournaments.”

The CJ Cup in South Carolina will have a 78-man field that includes five Korea Professional Golfers’ Association players plus the top three Korean players in the Official World Golf Ranking. The rest of the field will be built from the 2021-22 FedExCup points list and sponsor exemptions. The event will not have a 36-hole cut.

Due to the pandemic, the CJ Cup moved out of South Korea to Las Vegas the past two years. Rory McIlroy is defending champion. He outdueled Collin Morikawa to prevail at the Summit Club in Las Vegas.

Congaree staged the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June 2021 when the Tour needed a stop-gap event to replace the RBC Canadian Open, which was canceled by travel restrictions from the coronavirus outbreak.

The CJ Cup will be the state’s second event on the PGA Tour schedule. The annual RBC Heritage tournament will take place in Hilton Head in April of 2023.

The state of South Carolina stepped in and provided $6 million in sponsorship funds and created what CBS announcer Jim Nantz dubbed the South Carolina swing — the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island and the Palmetto Championship.

Duane Parrish, who heads the state of South Carolina’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, spearheaded the effort to bring the 2021 tournament to the state. He took the idea to Gov. Henry McMaster, who approved the expenditure, and similar arrangements — the state providing sponsorship money — are expected on the 2022 tournament.

“For media exposure, we will have 16 (advertising spots) on the Golf Channel on Thursday and Friday and 16 on CBS on Saturday and Sunday,” Parrish said in discussing the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree. “The media exposure includes the social media prior to the tournament. . . . Every time they say ‘South Carolina’ is an advertising spot. We’re not talking about just one area; we’re talking about the entire state.

“Golfers can’t just walk up and play Congaree; it’s a private club,” Parris said. “But the media coverage will illustrate just how much South Carolina has to offer in golf and in tourism. What we get out of the Heritage every year would cost a lot more than $6 million. You just can’t buy that kind of coverage, and we’re targeting a golf audience.”

The Golf Channel has been the primary television outlet in the United States for the PGA Tour’s fall events.

The founders of Congaree, Dan Friedkin and the late Bob McNair, sough to create a new philanthropic model with the course that unites “ambassadors” with a shared purpose to impact positively the lives of young people, locally and around the world, by providing education and vocational opportunities through golf.

Famed architect Tom Fazio designed the course that received rave reviews, and the owners made no secret of big-time ambitions. Their first dealings with the PGA Tour involved bidding to host the 2025 Presidents Cup, which moved to 2026 by the pandemic. Insiders say Congaree made an impressive presentation, but the PGA Tour ultimately chose Medinah No. 3 near Chicago.

The next available Presidents Cup date in the U.S. will be in 2030. Ryder Cup sites in this country have been selected through 2033.

Garrick Higgo, a native of South Africa making his second PGA Tour start, won the Palmetto Championship at Congaree after leader Chesson Hadley lost a two-shot lead with bogeys on his final three holes.

From the beginning, the Palmetto Championship would be a one-time deal, cobbled together at the 11th hour to replace the RBC Canadian Open that returned in 2022.

The Palmetto “is a first step,” Ty Votaw, then the PGA Tour’s executive vice president, said in previewing the 2021 tourney at Congaree. “Whether we have another opportunity, we’ll have to see. We’re fortunate to have a full schedule. But if something comes up and Congaree has a willingness.

“Whether it’s an annual thing or it’s once every four, five, six, seven years, whatever it is, we’re open to it because, again, their commitment to excellence makes it an easy call.”

▪ The RBC Heritage tournament in Hilton Head will be played April 13-16, 2023

▪ The CJ Cup will be played at Congaree Golf Club on Oct. 20-23, 2022

This story was originally published June 29, 2022 10:00 AM.

A special S.C. House committee voted 9-3 Tuesday to ban almost all abortions except when the life of the mother is at risk. The new proposal does not include incest or rape as exceptions, according to the Associated Press.

While South Carolina currently has a law banning abortions after six weeks with some exceptions, the new measure would eliminate most abortions in the state. According to one published report, “Under the proposal, anyone who provides or pays for an abortion that’s not a medical emergency — whether surgically or through medication — can be fined $10,000 and sent to prison for up to two years. Doctors could also lose their medical license.”

Meanwhile, a Greenville county council member has suggested banning protests outside of residences as a response to protests outside of a U.S. Supreme Court justice’s home after overturning last month of the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision.

Today in the new issue of the Charleston City Paper:

Vasectomies may have rosier future. With abortions mostly off the table now in South Carolina, there’s been more interest among males in a birth control option, according to Charleston-area doctors and media reports.

A look at Charleston’s colorful world of tattoos. This story takes a look at the art of tattooing by three Charleston-area artists. Interesting story.

In other recent news:

Senate confirms Childs for federal appellate court. U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs of South Carolina, who was on President Biden’s short list to be appointed to the Supreme Court, was confirmed to sit on a powerful federal appellate court by the U.S. Senate Tuesday. The vote was 64-34.

Bond hearing to be held today in Walterboro in Murdaugh case. Disbarred, prominent former lawyer Alex Murdaugh, in jail since October over financial crimes, faces a bond hearing today in Colleton County charges he murdered his wife and son.

More Covid cases, deaths reported in S.C. State health officials reported 13 deaths and 13,722 new cases of Covid over the last week, an increase of more than 500 new cases from the previous week. Meanwhile, The State newspaper reports Covid cases are rising among young S.C. children.

HOT: Dangerous heat levels projected over next week. Dangerous heat levels are projected in parts of the U.S. over the next week, including along the South Carolina coast as temperatures could soar over 100 degrees today through Friday.

2024: Haley teases about presidential bid in N.C. event. Former Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday said “sometimes it takes a woman” in a question related to whether she would shred a deal with Iran if she were president.

Graham’s grand jury appearance heads back in Georgia. While lawyers were set yesterday to hear the case of whether U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina should appear in front of a grand jury investigating 2020 election shenanigans, the case moved back to Georgia. The agreement reportedly includes wording for Graham to appear in Atlanta, but preserve his legal challenge to a subpoena.

Historic inn sells for nearly $7.7 million. Two Meeting Street Inn, a romantic getaway for visitors to Charleston, has been sold to a real estate investment firm that owns the developer of Kiawah Island.

Charleston OKs King Street business district. The new King Street Business Improvement District will impose a fee on King Street businesses between Broad and Line streets.

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