Kiawah Island – Kiawah Beachwalker Park Kiawah Island Open Water Swimming

Kiawah Beachwalker Park is located on the west end of Kiawah Island, approximately 25 miles southwest of Charleston, South Carolina, offering the only public beach access on this 10-mile barrier island. The park features a wide sandy beach fronting the Atlantic Ocean with views across Captain Sam’s Inlet. Access is via Beachwalker Drive, with 150 parking spaces that typically fill by 10:30 a.m. during summer months. Year-round facilities include dressing areas, restrooms, boardwalk with handicap-accessible ramp, picnic areas with grills, and drink vending machines. Seasonal amenities from May through Labor Day include outdoor showers, beach chair and umbrella rentals, a snack bar, and beach-accessible wheelchairs available by advance reservation. A scenic boardwalk winds through maritime forest of live oaks, pines, palmettos, and yucca plants before reaching the beach. The park operates daily with varying hours seasonally, and parking fees range from $5 in winter months to $20 on summer weekends and holidays.

The site hosts the annual Charleston-Kiawah Open Water Swim, a Swim Across America charity event supporting cancer research.

Beach water quality monitoring is conducted by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services from May through October at 122 coastal locations, including Kiawah Island beaches. Weekly or biweekly samples test for enterococci bacteria, with results posted on the SC Beach Access Guide web app and SCDES website. Additional monitoring is provided by Charleston Waterkeeper’s Swim Alert program, which tests 20 popular recreation sites weekly. Lifeguards are on duty seasonally in the designated swimming area. Strong rip currents are common, and swimmers should exercise caution. The beach is known for bottlenose dolphin strand feeding, a unique behavior where dolphins herd fish onto the shore, best observed during specific tides. Swimming is not permitted in Captain Sam’s Inlet at the western end of the island. The park enforces protection measures for sea turtles during nesting season from May through October, including restrictions on beach holes and nighttime lighting visible from the shore.