Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's Island

An amazing experience and history lesson. While I wanted to visit Fort Sumter, there is a 3-4 hour time commitment due to ferry and thorough tour. We decided to go to Fort Moultrie. From the park rangers to the very knowledgeable guides, it was the right choice today. The next time you visit one of our national monuments and a guide wants to share a quick lay of the land, do it. It was an amazing history lesson. I would never have known most of it by simply exploring on my own.

This place is so cool! An artifact and peice of American history for starters. It cost 10$ to enter Fort Moultrie but totally worth it! I would give yourself at least 2-3 hours to be able to see everything here. You can walk down to the beach which is only a few hundred yards away. So glad I went for a day! Will definitely be going back!

As always, a wonderful time at our nation's parks, forts, and historical sites! We visited Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie the same day on a recent trip through Charleston. The park rangers are always helpful, kind, considerate, and funny. I cannot praise them enough. When our trips were under tight time restraints, the rangers made sure our kids got their Junior Ranger badges there in person, and Hubby and I promised the kids would complete the requisite pages in their books, which they did with a bit more time. Riding the ferry out to Fort Sumter was fun! Our kids hadn't really ever ridden a ferry before, and 35 minutes each way gave them a good taste of what it was like. There was plenty of seating and standing room on the upper and lower decks. The only issue I had, was the cost to get to the Fort. I understand that it costs money to operate the ferry, but over $100 for a family of four to visit a National Monument seems a little like price gouging. I thought National Parks were supposed to be accessible to average Americans. We were able to afford this today, in a more financially stable point in our lives, but only a few years ago, this ferry ride would have been out of our price range. A shame to miss this piece of American history. That being said, our time on the island was wonderful. The kids took pictures and filled out their Junior Ranger books. However, they felt rushed and stressed trying to complete so many page in the short 1 hour we had on the island before the ferry left. Again, I cannot praise the rangers enough, they presented our kids with their badges before we left the island, and the kids finished their book pages on the ferry ride back. It was just too much to accomplish in an hour. We were searching for information and getting their books completed, as a result we missed most of the museum on the Fort because we simply didn't have time. I think 90 minutes at least would have been better, maybe 2 full hours. For as much money as it costs to get there, an hour hardly seems like enough time to explore the fort. I wish the gift shop on the shore had had more about Fort Sumter, but most all of what they had was about the USS Yorktown. All in all, a good experience, and wonderful rangers all around. When we got to Fort Moultrie, there was only an hour left before they closed for the day, so, again, we were on a time restraint. The rangers were so kind in helping remind us of closing time and making sure our car didn't get locked in the lot at the end of the day. The booklets were much more manageable at Fort Moultrie than they were at Fort Sumter. Even in a short hour, the kids felt like they could complete the activities and still have a chance to explore, see, and learn about the Fort, just just frantically filling in answers. It was really fun to explore more of the Fort. There wasn't nearly as much to explore at Fort Sumter as there was at Fort Moultrie. The underground exhibit was a fun treat to discover. After the hour was nearly up, we hadn't quite finished the pages in the Junior Ranger books, we were going to mail the books in after we got home, because we've had to do that before when we didn't have enough time at a park. Again, can't praise the rangers enough, they deputized the kids with their badges and made them promise to complete their pages. Fortunately, we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us after leaving the Fort, so they had ample time after we left to finish them. Overall, we enjoyed both Forts, but agreed that Fort Moultrie was our favorite of these two forts. I recommend National Parks, Monument, Forests, Preserves, Rivers, etc. to anyone and everyone! The Junior Ranger Program is also a wonderful way to learn about those locations you visit! Check out these Forts if you get a chance! And if the price is too much, Fort Moultrie is better, and cheaper, anyway! 😉

I have been lucky enough to see a few different forts over the years and this one was special. Not because of the military aspect, which it has a good history of, but because it has a connection to Edgar Allen Poe. As this was where we it is said he was stationed at when in the military. So for that fact alone it was a pretty cool place to go. The parking was easy to find and there was plenty of it. The staff were all super nice and gave a lot of information. The only thing that I didn’t like was the film that they showed in the visitors center, it was old, like over 40 years old, its time for update on it. If you like military type places then this is a must visit and then after your done go walk the beaches of the island.

Incredible! Must visit when you are in Charleston for the American civil war history and for raising of the flag on the first ferry of the day. It’s 30 min on the water one way. The guides are excellent. Too bad you barely get 1 hr on the island and I would opt to spend more time inside the museum for the educational displays and the air conditioning.