Driving into Botany Bay Plantation Wildlife Management Area (WMA) on Edisto Island, it’s easy to feel like you’re entering the private estate of a blue-blooded, multi-generation Charlestonian. That’s because you are—it’s only been publicly accessible since 2008, when the Meyer family left the 4,630-acre property (including 2,500 acres of wildlife-rich marsh) to the state. It’s a magical place, where the work of humans—like a canopy tunnel of live oaks—intermingles with the wildness of nature.

Most visitors drive the 6.5-mile scenic loop, parking only to walk out to the boneyard beach, where the ocean has created an eerie spectacle of preserved trees emerging from the sand. But to best experience the heritage preserve, leave your car at the entrance sign and pedal the dirt road, stopping to take in the 4,000-year-old Fig Island shell rings and the Gothic Revival and oyster tabby buildings that remain of the 19th-century Bleak Hall Plantation. Picnic on the beach and take advantage of your bicycles to explore the WMA’s entire 2.8-mile stretch of sand.

Riding Guide: 6.5-mile scenic dirt road loop, 2.8-mile beachfront; free access; no restrooms, trash receptacles, or water fountains. Open during daylight hours, except Tuesdays and on public hunt days during the fall—check SCDNR’s calendar of events before making the drive. 1006 Botany Bay Rd., Edisto Island; www2.dnr.sc.gov/ManagedLands/