The Place to Share
Canoeing & Kayaking

Ashley River, Old Dorchester SC USA
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This page Copyright 1999 Alfonso Vazquez-Cuervo - See Terms of Use

Our Route Summary

  • Submitted by: Al Vazquez
  • Date Submitted: 6/99
  • Email: kayak@easyposter.com
  • Location: Herbert Jessen public boat launch, Dorchester SC northwest of Charleston
  • Class: Typically flat water with some tidal current
  • Distance Paddled: 6 miles round trip
  • Water: fresh and brackish
  • Wildlife: fish, alligators, wild flowers

Entry and Exit

  • Directions: From Charleston, take South Carolina Route 642 north to Dorchester. Just after the intersection with Route 259, follow signs to Ashley River access at Ladson Road to the Herbert Jessen public boat launch on the west side of Route 642.
  • Telephone: 843-873-1740 for Old Dorchester Historic Site
  • GPS: N 32 deg 56.825' W 080 deg 09.890'
  • Fee: none
  • Description: paved boat ramp and separate floating dock
  • Parking: adjacent paved
  • Facilities: none there, but Old Dorchester State Historic Park just up river has rest rooms, picnic areas and the ruins of a settlement begun in 1697 including an old fort. The historic site staff also conduct guided canoe tours of the Ashley River's historic sites.

What We Saw

We paddled up the river (to the right) past Old Dorchester on the right bank, historic homes, natural areas, and finally, newer waterfront developments.

There are also feeder creeks like the one pictured at left to explore

Numerous wildflowers bloomed along the banks and even on logs in the middle of the river, like the one pictured above..
On the way back down the river, we pulled up to the Old Dorchester Historic site and walked around. Though there isn't a canoe landing, it was easy to spot the fort and tie the boats to the bank. The site is on the eastern bank of the river about a quarter of a mile northwest of the launch point.

The grounds of the settlement are very well maintained. A standing shell of the town church still stands (see the photo at right). In front of the old church is the town cemetery with very legible grave markers hundreds of years old.

We walked inside the walls of the old fort made from "tabby" a limestone mixture of sea shells.