Today we’d like to share with you about Cypress Gardens in Berkeley County, SC.
Thanks for joining us today, Cypress Gardens in Berkeley County, SC. To start, we’d love to hear a brief introduction about the park.
Cypress Gardens is owned and maintained by Berkeley County Government, who acquired the property from the City of Charleston in 1996. From there, the County worked to transform the site into its current state as a place of beautiful blooms, animals, and recreational amenities for the public. The park’s horticulturalist and grounds maintenance team help maintain the picturesque property from season to season, keeping it in pristine and exquisite shape. The year-round labor and upkeep throughout the park is part of what continually attracts newcomers and seasoned visitors alike.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Our park has faced multiple challenges over the last decade.
In fall 2015 when a historic flood—notoriously described as South Carolina’s 1,000-year flood—destroyed our park, closing it for three years. During this storm, the National Weather Service reported our area say over 25 inches of rainfall. The damage was unprecedented and so substantial, for months, it was not safe for anyone to access it. We suffered severe damage to our trails and buildings. Every building had water in it when you came in the gate it was all underwater. The initial assessments of damages total in the millions of dollars.
Berkeley County leaders and park staff worked to not only rebuild the park but also revamp it. After three and a half years, in April 2019, Cypress Gardens reopened with more features, amenities, and glory than ever before.
The park wasn’t open long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to again close for a couple months the following spring. In May 2020, Cypress Gardens celebrated its second reopening. Since then, the park has witnessed a significant rise in visitors, increasing from 50,000 people annually prior to the pandemic to 150,000+ post-pandemic.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Cypress Gardens is a 170-acre property in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. At least 80 of those acres span the popular blackwater swamp. People flock to the park to cruise the swamp through guided or self-guided tours, walk the trails, and enjoy the many other attractions: beautiful blossoms, tropical birds, peacocks, and more. In the swamp, you might see and hear a number of natural species from the Spring Peeper and Southern Chorus frogs to the Brown Creeper and Orange-crowned Warbler. Visitors might peep a Cloudless Sulfur Butterfly on a sunny day; while there’s always opportunity to spy a friendly river otter or gator trapesing across the pathway.
Speaking of gators—No visit is complete without stopping to marvel at our most famous residents: Our gator couple, “Ally” and “Boss.” At 13 feet, two inches long, Boss serves as South Carolina’s largest gator in captivity.
Explore a magical world of fluttering friends inside our Butterfly House—a large greenhouse filled with a kaleidoscope of colorful, flowering plants, live butterflies, and a peacefully-trickling pond. We have the Swamparium, where visitors can get an up-close look through large tanks and terrariums at animals native to the blackwater swamp and nearby waterways. We also have animals native to swamps around the world, including the South American anaconda and an African crocodile.
Cypress Gardens has a unique history dating back several centuries to when it served as a former rice plantation. In the early 20th century, Benjamin Kittredge purchased the property and began beautifying it with thousands of flowering plants for his wife’s enjoyment. At that time, Cypress trees were also added to the swamp. In 1932, Cypress Gardens first opened to the public as a tourist attraction. City of Charleston later acquired the property from the Kittredge family until Hurricane Hugo devastated the site in 1989. The property was later transferred from the City of Charleston to Berkeley County in 1996; and from there, as its then-County leaders worked hard to beautify the site even more, it became a popular backdrop for many Hollywood movies, TV shows, and documentaries.
Love is in the air as soon as you enter Cypress Gardens. Imagine recreating the iconic boat scene between Noah and Allie in The Notebook. That is exactly what you can do here and that is what couples look for when they come to our book. We cannot count how many times we have seen proposals on our boats as couples glide through the cypress trees, lily pads, and underneath the bridge; or how many times we have seen couples taking pictures together to celebrate their love.
The natural, scenic beauty of Cypress Gardens, its beautiful florals, and peaceful setting make it a perfect place for tying the knot. There are multiple locations around the gardens for people to say “I do”, including the Front Lawn for a larger crowd, the Wedding Gazebo for a more private setting, and the intimate Heirloom Garden complete with the vibrant beauty and rich fragrance of camellias, azaleas, crepe myrtles, roses, and other florals. A lot of work goes into keeping our grounds beautiful, historic, and iconic. We take pride in seeing people appreciate their surroundings.
Our gardens offer an educational component, as well. Throughout the school year, visitors can see groups of students eager to learn about the plants, the animals, and what history lies behind their surroundings. We offer guided field trips, cultural history programs, and natural history programs for curious little minds – programs where students of all ages are introduced to reptiles, amphibians, and learn why plants have flower and fruits.
Throughout the year, we offer opportunities for visitors to enjoy the park in exciting new ways. The Easter bunny and Santa visit each year for families to take pictures and enjoy the perfect kids crafts. Music fills the gardens during our Blackwater Ukulele Festival. History lovers gather each year for Fossil Fest, where people can explore displays of local and exotic materials, and have their own unique finds analyzed by experts.
One of our most popular annual events occurs in the fall with Halloween in the Swamp. This one-of-a-kind experience has activities for all ages including kids’ games, vendors, costumes, music and more. For the older ones, we offer a Haunted Boat Experience, where guest can embark on a haunted boat ride through the swamp that drops them off on a haunted walking trail through the woods. The unknown lurking in the swamp is an experience no one is sure to forget.
Thanks for sharing that. Maybe next you can tell us a bit more about Cypress Gardens
We believe our park will continue to attract thousands annually in future years. We’ve only seen positive increases with the last couple of years. In fact, attendants increased 300% between 2019 and 2023. More than 150,000 people visited that year. As we continue to welcome visitors, both locally and widespread, we are adding unique elements to our park, including a kid-friendly Splash Pad which is set to open before summer 2025.
The park routinely draws bloggers, photographers, and other creative entrepreneurs—each eager to capture its splendor and character in photos and writing.
Perhaps the biggest draw to the park is its famous ties to Hollywood. The Notebook (2004), The Patriot (2000), and Netflix series, Outer Banks are just a few examples. Country music star Kelsea Ballerini has even named it one of her favorite destinations in the Charleston area, according to Apple maps. Fans and news outlets from all over the globe visit Cypress Gardens to see in person the same place where iconic “big screen” moments were filmed.
Pricing:
- Tickets are FREE (ages 5 and under); $5 (ages 6-17); $10 (over 17); $6.50 (65+ 911 and military- ID required).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cypressgardens.info
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cypress_gardenssc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cypressgardenssc
Image Credits
Under Personal Photos (boat in swamp photo): Photo by Chris & Cami Photography (https://chrisandcami.com/)
Under Additional Photos, the following are by Chris & Cami Photography:
1) butterfly photo
3) flower photo
4) butterfly stained glass art in Butterfly House
5) lone close-up of gator (“Boss”)
6) Tryton the tropical bird. He’s a Triton Cockatoo.
Other pics can be credited to Cypress Gardens.
The two gators shown together are “Boss” and “Ally”
