Tourism
Historic Districts
Chesterfield County offers great diversity in tourism opportunities. Spend a day in Historic Cheraw and Chesterfield. Enjoy the charm and excitement of small southern towns that blend the beautiful legacy of another era with the best of the present. Or take a short ride down to McBee and enjoy the McLeod Farms Market and Museum.
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Carolina Sandhill National Wildlife Refuge is located in Chesterfield County. Created in 1939, its original purpose was to provide habitat for migratory birds, to demonstrate sound management practices that enhance natural resource conservation, and to provide wildlife-oriented recreation opportunities. When Carolina Sandhills Refuge was purchased by the federal government under the provisions of the Resettlement Act, the land was badly eroded and very little wildlife was to be found.
Efforts began immediately to restore this damaged, barren land to a healthy, rich habitat for the plants and animals that once lived here.
Over time, the responsibilities have been added for restoration and enhancement of longleaf pine habitat for the benefit of the red-cockaded woodpecker, named as an endangered species in 1970. The Refuge operates under mandates to provide environmental education and interpretation of its work. Habitat improvement and restoration of native plant communities, monitoring the populations of the RCW and other species, and assessing the impacts of management actions on the wildlife and habitats are critical elements in the Refuge's operations.
Carolina Sandhills State Forest
Today, the Carolina Sandhills State Forest is comprised of 47,850 acres, including fee ownership of 45,348 acres, and nine conservation easements totaling 2,502 acres. The majority of the Refuge lies in Chesterfield County, South Carolina; there is one fee title tract totaling 210 acres in Marlboro County. Numerous small creeks and tributaries, along with thirty man-made lakes and ponds and 1,200 acres of fields, support a diversity of habitats for wildlife. Sugar Loaf Mountain, a traditional gathering place for over a century, is maintained on Sand Hills state Forest as a family recreational area.
Known locally as "The Mountain", Sugar Loaf is an unusual geological phenomenon towering a hundred feet above the surrounding terrain. Composed of sand, it was at one time capped with ferrous sandstone, much of which has now weathered away. Vegetation on the mountain is also quite unusual for this area. It includes mountain laurel and the diminutive pixie moss.
Quiet, shady seclusion, rustic stone and timber picnic shelters, a fishing lake and nature trail combine with this unique geological formation to make Sugar Loaf one of the most popular recreation areas in the sand hills region.
Opportunities abound for other forms of recreation such as bird watching, nature study, primitive camping, and horseback riding. You will need a permit for trail activity on Sand Hills State Forest for Horseback Riding. Permits are not required for hikers using the trails.
Sand Hills State Forest Trail Guide
H. Cooper Black Jr.
The H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area is the setting for national-level field trial and retriever competitions.
Covering 7,000 rolling acres of longleaf pine forest and fields, the park's facilities include stables, kennels, corrals, arenas, waterfowl ponds, campgrounds and a kitchen/meeting hall. There also are more than 20 miles of equestrian trails and sand roads for riders in the park, some that lead into Sand Hills State Forest.
H. Cooper Black is also adjacent to Cheraw State Park, which offers a championship golf course, cabins, camping, boating, fishing and more.
Cheraw State Park
Natural beauty just comes together at Cheraw State Park. The park in South Carolina��s northeast corner boasts Lake Juniper, a 300-acre impoundment built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression along with the park��s original cabins and picnic facilities.
A boardwalk along the lake helps visitors enjoy the scenic setting, and kayakers particularly enjoy silently scooting into the cypress wetlands at the lake's edge.
The Hudsonia Flats Heritage Trust Site protects populations of rare plants including golden heather, pixie moss as well as other species at the 7,361 acre park.
Golf
Chesterfield County is home to six golf courses including the famous 18-hole Cheraw State Park. This championship course winds its way through the long-leaf pinelands of the traditional state park, a course that's earned notice from the Aubudon Society for the way it's managed to preserve and protect the habitat. Contact information for all Chesterfield County golf courses: Cheraw State Park, Cheraw, SC
Green River County Club, Chesterfield, SC
Sandy Point Golf Club, McBee, SC
White Plains Country Club, Pageland, SC
Olde English Tourism District
Get off the Interstate and travel the back roads to discover the spirit and charm of the true
South in South Carolina's Olde English District. The name refers to the region's early settlement
by the English in the mid-1700's. Revolutionary War and Civil War battle sites, period homes
and historic monuments abound here.
Bisected by I-77, the Olde English District is located between Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. Wherever your final destination, you can discover the treasures of the Olde English District on your way. The district is dotted with picturesque areas like Winnsboro SC, which features the longest continuously running town clock in the United States, Old St. David's Church in Cheraw SC, and the spider lilies at Landsford Canal State Park.
Explore our waterways and woodlands; visit our campgrounds and state parks, steeped in history. Spend a day or two at one of our fabulous antebellum country inns and B&B's, or golf some of the most beautiful courses in the Southeast. So come on, get off the Interstate and enter the wonderful world of the Olde English District, where you will find deep rooted traditions and lots of smiling faces.
