Carolina Safari Co. announces the return of the 2026 Purple Martin Tours
June 19, 2026
Carolina Safari Co. announced the return of its highly anticipated Purple Martin Tours for the 2026 season, offering guests the opportunity to witness one of South Carolina’s most spectacular natural phenomena on Lake Murray.
Join local Naturalist, Captain Zach Steinhauser, for a pontoon boat tour of the largest purple martin roost in North America: right here on Lake Murray! Steinhauser has traveled across the United States and Brazil to study this mystical migratory songbird. His work has been featured in Living Bird Magazine, Garden & Gun, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, WIS-TV, and so many others!
Steinhauser shares, “Purple Martins from across the southeast arrive at the island in the evenings every night for two months with numbers peaking around 500,000 at the end of July. This gathering is one giant party for the birds as they prepare for their migration to places like the Amazon Rainforest. While this phenomenon occurs elsewhere in the country, the flock of Purple Martins on Lake Murray happens to be the largest known gathering of Purple Martins on the planet.”
“In a world today where everyone’s eyes are locked to their screens, it brings me great pleasure to provide folks the opportunity to experience firsthand one of SC’s greatest natural wonders,” stated Steinhauser about the famous tours.
Evening tours showcasing the spectacular sunset return of the Purple Martins to Bomb Island will be offered Wednesday through Sunday from June 24 through August 23, 2026. Guests are encouraged to reserve their seats early through Carolina Safari Co., as tours often sell out during peak migration season.
Zach Steinhauser, a Naturalist at Wingard’s Market, is the owner of the Carolina Safari Company, and the cinematographer who debuted Purple Haze: A Conservation Film.
