*Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Rice Fields Trail

Caw Caw Interpretive Center is a hidden gem in the Charleston area.  Located in Ravenel, SC, Caw Caw Interpretive Center is part of the Charleston County Parks network.  There are approximately 6 miles of trails, a nature exhibit, educational facility, picnic shelters and restrooms available at park center. There is also one outhouse farther out in the trail system. There are 8 different trails spanning 3 habitats, and they all intersect and overlap at different points. If you start at park center, you can see all that the park has to offer. The Rice Fields Trail brings you between the old rice fields and the brackish marsh. You can access this trail via either the Swamp Sanctuary trail or the Habitat loop, or you can simply take the short connector on the back side of the visitors center for more direct access. As with many of the trails at Caw Caw you can choose to connect to other trails to adjust the distance of your hike to the needs of your family. There is an alligator population in this area so it is important to stay to the center of the trail away from the tall grasses of the marsh & rice fields as this is where the alligators nest and sun themselves.  Snakes are also common in this area.  Both of these trails eventually intersect with the Marshland Trail which connects to the Martime Forrest Trail which you can take to the Bottomland Forrest Trail or as a shorter loop back to the park center. The Waterfowl Trail and Bottomland Forrest Trail trace the Habitat Loop.