The Day Boone Hall Plantation Stole the Whole Charleston Girls' Trip

Some days you have to work for. This one just showed up perfect.

Blue sky. Not a drop of humidity worth complaining about — which, if you've ever been to the Lowcountry, you know is basically a miracle. It was May in the Lowcountry, and my travel best friend Heather and I hopped in the car for our Boone Hall Plantation tour, windows down, coffee in hand, zero agenda beyond "let's go see the trees."

Then we turned onto the drive.

Live oaks. On both sides. Perfectly spaced, branches reaching across the road like they'd been rehearsing for us, Spanish moss swaying just enough to look staged. And at the very end, the house — big, white-columned, massive — sitting there like it knew exactly how good it looked.

Three-quarters of a mile of live oaks. Two grown women, phones up, in total awe.

The Before: Me, Heather, and a Wide-Open Day

Every woman needs a travel best friend. Mine is Heather. In May, the two of us took a long weekend away in Charleston, and Boone Hall became the day we still talk about.

Here's the thing about a Charleston girls' trip: everybody tells you about King Street and the rooftop bars. Nobody tells you that one of the best days might be fifteen minutes over the bridge in Mount Pleasant, in sneakers, looking up.

This one was all Heather. She wanted a history lesson and a day out of the city, and she was right on both counts. We were staying in Charleston, so we pointed the car toward Mount Pleasant and went.

Down the Avenue of Oaks (Yes, Drive Slow)

The Avenue of Oaks is the moment. You'll see it on every postcard and it still doesn't prepare you.

The oaks were first planted in 1743, which means some of these trees were already old when the Declaration of Independence was signed. They've been watching cars like ours crawl up this drive for longer than the country has existed.

We filmed the whole way up like we'd never seen a tree before. (We have. Not like these.)

Inside the Big House (Plot Twist: It's Younger Than You Think)

We took the guided tour of the main house, and this is where I learned my favorite fact of the whole trip.

That grand, sweeping, Gone With the Wind-looking mansion? Built in 1936. A Canadian couple, Thomas and Alexandra Stone, bought the property, tore down the old wooden house, and built the Colonial Revival showpiece you see today. Basically a 1930s glow-up.

And it gets better. In 1940, it was bought by an actual prince — Prince Dimitri Djordjadze of Georgia (the country, not the state). Then in 1955, Harris and Nancy McRae bought it and opened it to the public the very next year. Their family still owns it.

So: Canadians, a prince, and a family who decided strangers should get to see it. That house has had a more interesting love life than most of us.

My favorite room? The one with books stacked all the way up to the ceiling. Book lovers, you'll understand. That room alone was worth the ticket.

Wandering Under the Magnolias

After the house we just… wandered. The grounds are full of giant magnolias and sprawling oaks, the kind that make you want to sit down underneath and not check your phone for an hour. The formal gardens, the marsh views — it's a slow, pretty walk, and we took our time.

The Tractor Tour… and the Alligator

Then came the plantation's tractor-pulled wagon tour, and honestly? This was the surprise hit.

We rolled out past the fields and the crops currently growing — because Boone Hall isn't a museum frozen in time. This land has been farmed continuously for more than 320 years, which makes it one of the oldest working farms in America. The strawberries, pumpkins, and produce at their roadside produce stand? Grown right here.

And then Heather spotted him.

"ALLIGATOR."

Just stretched out on the shore, catching some rays, completely unbothered — like he'd paid for the tour too.

Heather was thrilled. You'd have thought she spotted a celebrity. In fairness, on a plantation tractor tour, she kind of did.

The Quiet Moment: Walking the Slave Cabins

Boone Hall isn't only pretty, and it shouldn't be.

Nine of the original brick slave cabins — built around 1790 to 1810 — still stand on the property. Today they house the Black History in America exhibit. By 1850, enslaved people here were making around four million bricks a year by hand.

Walking through those cabins was the quiet part of our day. No filming. No jokes. Just taking it in and appreciating the history — the real history — of the place we'd spent all morning calling beautiful.

Heather wanted a history lesson. This was it. Don't skip it.

Steal My Trip: Boone Hall Plantation Girls' Day Itinerary

Where to Stay

• Where we stayed: An Airbnb in Charleston — our home base for the long weekend. We drove out to Mount Pleasant for the day.
  👉 Browse Charleston stays → (affiliate link)
• Tip: Stay in Mount Pleasant to be 15 minutes from Boone Hall and close to Shem Creek, or downtown Charleston (about 8 miles away) to walk to dinner.

Where to Eat & Drink

• Poogan's Porch — our dinner after Boone Hall. Southern comfort food in an 1888 Victorian house on Queen Street. I had the she-crab soup and a salad. Order the soup. Trust me.
• Stars Rooftop — Satellite Rooftop Bar — a cocktail up top on King Street before calling it a night.
• Grab a snack at the Butterfly Café — on-site snacks for a break between tours.

What to Do

• Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens — house tour, wagon/tractor tour, gardens, Black History in America exhibit, and Gullah presentation all come with general admission.
  👉 Book Boone Hall Plantation tickets → (affiliate link)
• Pair it with a Charleston city tour — some operators combine downtown sightseeing with Boone Hall.
  👉 See Charleston + Boone Hall combo tours → (affiliate link)

Getting There

• Fly into Charleston International (CHS), about 25 minutes away.
  👉 Find flights to Charleston → (affiliate link)
• Address: 1235 Long Point Rd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464. You'll want a car or a tour pickup.

What I Packed

• Comfortable walking sneakers (gravel paths + lots of wandering)
• A wide-brim sun hat
• Bug spray — it's the Lowcountry, the marsh is right there
• Sunglasses (for the drive-in photos, obviously)
• A crossbody so your hands are free for the alligator pics

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Things I Didn't Know About Boone Hall Plantation (Until I Went)

Allie and Noah were here. Parts of The Notebook were filmed at Boone Hall. Feel free to reenact anything you like, minus the rowboat.

It was a TV star before that. The 1980s miniseries North and South filmed here too — Patrick Swayze era. Your mom probably knows.

A prince lived here for five years. Prince Dimitri Djordjadze owned Boone Hall from 1940 to 1945. Charleston has always attracted a certain kind of guest.

What I'd Tell You Over Cocktails

• Drive the Avenue of Oaks slowly. Nobody behind you is in a hurry — they're taking the same photo.
• Budget 3–4 hours. That's what Boone Hall recommends, and we used every minute.
• Do the tractor tour. It sounds like the skippable part. It's not. Gator potential.
• Don't skip the cabins. The history is part of the visit, not an add-on.
• Go on a weekday morning if you can — Sundays don't open until noon.

Quick Trip Details

The Ending

We made our way back into Charleston and landed at Poogan's Porch for dinner. She-crab soup and a salad for me — when in the Lowcountry.

Then one cocktail at the Satellite rooftop bar at Stars on King Street before we headed back to our Airbnb and turned in for the night. A day like that deserves a proper ending.

Some trips are about the big night out. This one was about Heather's idea, a long drive under old trees filmed on two phones, a room full of books, and a gator who couldn't have cared less about us.

Go see the oaks.

We'll save you a seat on the wagon.

More GGC Getaways

• The ultimate Charleston girls' weekend guide
• Charleston vs. Savannah: which girls' trip should you book?
• Find your next getaway in the GGC destination guides

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