Francis Marion National Forest

If you want to better understand the experiences of your ancestors in the Carolina lowcountry, go to the Francis Marion National Forest and either walk on trails which lead through pine forests and hardwood groves or kayak on one of the creeks which wind through cypress and tupelo swamps to the Santee River. You will be surrounded by sights and sounds familiar to the Huguenot refugees who settled there in 1687 – and you might find forgotten remnants of their history.  Echaw and Wambaw Creeks are both easily accessed and easily paddled and are in the heart of what was French Santee.