The Sewee Shell Ring Interpretive Trail is the best hike near Charleston, SC for those who love history and a different type of hike than what you may normally take. Not many trails lead to the incredible and fascinating wonder that is the Sewee Shell Ring, which holds stories that will largely forever remain a mystery!

Located along a road called Gull Bay in Awendaw, a small town just northeast of Charleston with a population of just over 1,400 people, the Sewee Shell Ring Interpretive Trail is a one-mile loop that's an easy hike and takes an average of 18 minutes to complete. But that's if you're simply walking the trail, of course!
jlantern3 via TripAdvisor
This is the type of trail that you want to plan some time for exploration beyond a simple hike. Here's a neat aerial shot of the area.
Best Hike near Charleston, S.C.
Lon Schultz via Google Reviews
There are displays posted at different points along the trail that provide information about the trail and history of the area.
jlantern3 via TripAdvisor
As you progress along this South Carolina trail, you'll see a sign directing you to the Sewee Shell Ring. Keep an eye out for spider webs, and be sure to bring along a good insect repellent.
jlantern3 via TripAdvisor
Parts of the trail are dirt and other parts boardwalk, which leads you out over the marsh area and to the Sewee Shell Ring.
Glenn Hanna via Google Reviews

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Glenn Hanna via Google Reviews
The boardwalk was fully replaced in 2022 after it had been badly damaged by hurricanes.
John Taylor via Google Reviews
Glenn Hanna via Google Reviews
The shell ring along this Charleston area trail is an archaeological site with curved shell middens that either partially or completely surround a clear area.
jlantern3 via TripAdvisor
The most widely accepted theory seems to be that these were areas where Native Americans living here many years ago dumped their dinner scraps and broken pottery outside their village, but as more studies are done, that theory may be evolving. Research suggests this site could potentially even be older than the great Giza pyramids.
This is what they look like from high in the air. So you can see that they're either circular or crescent-shaped.
SCNaturalResources via YouTube


Watch this brief video by a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Archaeologist explaining some of what we've learned from studying these middens:

We will probably never know for certain exactly what these are or why they exist. In fact, one researcher stated that his 20 years of studying them showed that we know far less about these coastal people than once thought. Hopefully, continued studies will provide insight or clues for a better understanding of prehistoric life along the coast and what valuable lessons there could be for us!
Robert Mercorelli via Google Reviews
The Sewee Shell Ring is the northernmost of a long trail of about 60 rings in North America, and in this southeastern part of the country stretching along the coastal areas from Florida to South Carolina, the largest being the Turtle Mound shell midden at Canaveral National Seashore. Others are found along the northeastern coast and areas of Japan, Colombia, and Peru.

Is it possible these were used as ceremonial burial grounds as is believed to be the case with the Ohio Serpent Mound? Sadly, the coastal area middens have not been well-preserved due to the forces of natural erosion as well as degradation from human or animal interferences, so getting answers while studying them proves much more challenging and even impossible to ascertain enough facts to answer our questions about these sites.

Have you ever taken this best hike near Charleston, SC? Do you have any thoughts about shell middens?

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Sewee Shell Ring, 7915-7941 Gull Bay, Awendaw, SC 29429, USA