Edisto & Beyond Tour

The Edisto & Beyond Tour is the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society’s once-a-year self-driving tour of plantation houses, ruins, cemeteries and historic churches that are seldom open to the public. It’s held on the fourth Saturday of October, starting from the Edisto Island Museum on Chisolm Plantation Road. The 2026 tour ran on Saturday, October 24, and sold out.

At a Glance

• When: Fourth Saturday of October, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The 2026 tour was October 24; the Chamber calendar lists October 23, 2027.
• Where: Tickets are picked up at the Edisto Island Museum, 8123 Chisolm Plantation Road; tour sites are spread across the island.
• Cost: $75, or $70 for EIHPS members (2026 prices)
• Organizer: Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society, 843-869-1954
• Good for: History lovers, architecture fans, return visitors who want to see the island beyond the beach. No children under 8 and no pets.

Why This Tour Matters

Most of Edisto’s historic houses are private homes behind long oak-lined drives, and you can’t simply knock on the door. For one day a year, ticket holders get to see some of them. The tour is run by the Preservation Society, which operates the museum and has long worked to protect island landmarks. EIHPS was founded in 1986 and opened the museum in 1991; it preserved the island’s last two slave cabins, one of which is now at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The 2026 Stops

The lineup changes each year. In 2026, ticket holders drove between:

• Brick House Ruins
• Cypress Trees Plantation, plus “Sacred Grounds”: two cemeteries on the property, including an unmarked cemetery of the enslaved, with a dowsing demonstration
• Prospect Hill Plantation (grounds only)
• Sunny Side Plantation
• Old First Baptist Church
• The Presbyterian Church on Edisto
• Trinity Church
• Zion Reformed Episcopal Church

Four churches on one route gives you a sense of how much of Edisto’s story runs through its congregations. Our Edisto Island churches guide covers several of them in more depth.

How Tickets Work

Members get the first chance. EIHPS typically opens sales to members in June, then releases anything left to the public in July, and in recent years the tour has sold out to members before that happened. In 2026, ticket holders picked up their tickets at the museum from October 13. The tour is rain or shine and tickets are non-refundable. Apart from the churches, the properties are not handicapped accessible.

If you’re serious about going in 2027, the realistic path is to join the Preservation Society before the June member sale.

Plan Your Visit

The museum sits about 7.7 miles up SC-174 from Edisto Beach; turn left onto Chisolm Plantation Road at the Middleton Plantation entrance. With stops spread around the island, you’ll do a fair amount of driving on SC-174 and side roads, so start with a full tank and pack water and snacks. Wear shoes that can handle grass, sand and uneven ground at cemeteries and ruins.

If you’re staying the weekend, spend another day on the island’s past: browse the museum’s exhibits on a regular open day (Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.), read up on Gullah culture on Edisto, or drive the oak-lined road to Botany Bay, which preserves the grounds of two former plantations. More background is in our Edisto history stories and the Edisto Island Museum guide.

Is it worth planning a trip around? For anyone interested in Lowcountry history, yes. It’s the only regular chance to see these places, but you’ll need a membership and an early start on tickets.

FAQ

When is the 2027 Edisto & Beyond Tour?

The tour is always the fourth Saturday of October. The Chamber calendar lists Saturday, October 23, 2027, but EIHPS hasn’t announced sites or ticket sales yet.

How much are tickets?

In 2026 they were $75, or $70 for members. Check the Edisto Island Museum website for 2027 pricing.

Can I bring my kids or my dog?

No children under 8 and no pets.

What if it rains?

The tour goes ahead rain or shine, and tickets aren’t refunded.

Details from the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society and the Edisto Chamber of Commerce as of October 2026; confirm 2027 plans with the museum at 843-869-1954.