An iconic Lowcountry spot, Cypress Gardens, is open to visitors once again. This past Saturday, with great fanfare and ribbon cutting, officials unveiled a new and improved Cypress Gardens. Cypress Gardens has long been known as one of the Lowcountry’s most scenic locations, ever since it opened to the public in 1932. Not only does it house the most gorgeous collection of cypress trees around, it also boasts some pretty impressive nature exhibits as well. Think alligators and butterflies galore.
It’s where The Notebook was filmed
For movie buffs, Cypress Gardens is the place where a very famous scene in The Notebook was shot. This is where Noah and Allie canoe through the cypress trees amidst a gigantic flock of white birds. So in other words, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were here. Scenes from the movie The Patriot with Heath Ledger and Mel Gibson were also filmed at Cypress Gardens. The park’s been closed for more than three years, due to the 1000-year flood that happened in the fall of 2015. Water ended up in every single building in the park. Cypress Gardens was supposed to open much sooner, but each subsequent fall brought additional storms and issues that had to be dealt with, for the benefit of the park and its visitors. Well, finally all of that has been taken care of, and now the park is better than ever.
Some stats on Cypress Gardens:
- Approximately 170 acres of preserved natural beauty;
- Boat rides through the swamps;
- Miles of scenic hiking trails;
- Large reptile exhibit;
- Butterfly House you can walk through and experience over 500 butterflies first hand;
- Improved landscaping, renovated visitors center, boat dock, walkways and bridges, new exhibits and more animals than ever;
- Watch a report on the grand reopening from Live 5 News.
Cypress Gardens is a pleasant drive north from your luxury house on Isle of Palms. It’s located at 3030 Cypress Gardens Road, Moncks Corner, in neighboring Berkeley County. Here’s the website with all the details, as well as their Facebook page. Check it out, and be sure to call us at EP when you’re ready to book a terrific beach house near Charleston. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger
Photo credit: Cypress Gardens