A Conversation with Sarah Wilson with Black River Cypress Preserve

By Karen Owens
Publisher

I continue to marvel at the growing number of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors throughout Georgetown County. This week, I had the good fortune to meet with Sarah Wilson, a retired educator who now serves as the Outdoor Education, Recreation, and Visitation Manager for Black River Cypress Preserve.

Black River Cypress Preserve is part of Butler Parklands, Inc., a private foundation dedicated to conserving and protecting the natural environment, advancing environmental education, and offering outdoor recreation, especially for young people. With roughly 1,500 acres in northwestern Georgetown County, the preserve offers school children and community groups a variety of recreational opportunities, including biking, kayaking, and walking trails.

As we moved from conversation to trail talk, it was clear that Black River Cypress Preserve is more than a place set aside for quiet enjoyment. It is also a living classroom, one that invites visitors to slow down, notice the details, and understand how deeply the Lowcountry’s natural landscape shapes our sense of place.

Georgetown SC Gazette:

Tell me about this beautiful space and how it became the Cypress Preserve.

Sarah Wilson:

Gilbert Butler, a conservationist and philanthropist dedicated to preserving natural habitats for the animals and plants that call these lands home, purchased the property in 2015. He’s also committed to providing educational and recreational opportunities to future generations. Black River Cypress Preserve was born out of his love of the state’s rivers and swamplands.

The property was originally agricultural, with forest lands featuring hardwoods and longleaf pines for many years. Then as the paper industry grew in South Carolina, the longleafs were replaced with loblolly pines, which grow faster for harvesting purposes. Since Butler purchased the land, the longleafs have been brought back.

Today we walked through our recently completed Native Plant Garden, which provides a wonderful chance to see plants and trees that may have existed here hundreds of years ago.

Georgetown SC Gazette:

When did the park open?

Sarah Wilson:

We started offering kayak trips in 2018 through an external vendor, Coastal Expeditions out of Mount Pleasant, through our Swampside tract. Then we added biking and hiking in 2022, to schools and small community groups. In 2023, we transitioned all of our kayaking activities to the Peninsula tract. We are a “closed gate park” meaning you can’t just show up and come in.  You have to make a reservation, and we have certain group size requirements to be effective with our guides and activities.

Georgetown SC Gazette:

What types of activities do you have available?

Sarah Wilson:

At our Swampside tract, which is about 1,000 acres, visitors can bike and hike along the trails, and we even provide the bikes.

Then at the Peninsula tract, that’s where we have our kayak launch on the Black River where we offer kayaking to middle and high schoolers. We have more natural trails for hiking but no bicycling over there. There is a trail that goes all around the property along the riverfront. They originally offered camping, but with the evolution of the nearby Black River State Park, we decided to let the state provide camping options.

There is a third tract, called Wild Azalea, which was purchased from the City of Andrews. It sits adjacent to the Narrows section of the state park, but there are no formal plans for its development at this point.

We average between 4,000 and 5,000 visitors a year, and our seasons run from February through May, closing during the warm summer months, and then reopening in September until mid-December.

We offer a number of classes on birding, botany, and butterflies, to name a few, and this fall we will also have a few full moon walks available for visitors. Our first event is a Birding Hike at the Peninsula tract on September 12. You can visit our website for more information about our upcoming events and how to sign up.

We also have some meeting space that can be reserved for daytime retreats or meetings. We don’t have overnight accommodations for groups to stay on property, but we can recommend a local caterer that can provide meals and snacks if needed.

Georgetown SC Gazette:

What does it cost to come to the preserve?

Sarah Wilson:

Everything we do here is free, with the exception of the non-school group kayaking service from Coastal Expedition. You go through their website to schedule those tours.

Whether you come for a guided walk beneath the cypress canopy, a quiet morning of birding, or simply the chance to see the Black River landscape through fresh eyes, Black River Cypress Preserve offers a powerful reminder of the natural beauty that surrounds us here in the Lowcountry. Places like this encourage us to look closer, breathe deeper, and appreciate the forests, wetlands, wildlife, and waterways that make our corner of South Carolina so special. For those who have not yet visited, it is well worth making a reservation and experiencing it firsthand.