Ashley River Road (SC-61)

Ashley River Road is the nationally designated scenic portion of SC-61 that follows the Ashley River northwest from Charleston through the South Carolina Lowcountry. The byway corridor passes three of the oldest and most significant plantation gardens in North America — Drayton Hall (1738), Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, and Middleton Place — all fronting directly on the road. The route transitions from a four-lane suburban arterial to a two-lane canopy-covered road lined with live oaks draped in Spanish moss as it enters the historic district. The road dates to at least the Lodge-Cook Map of 1771, making it the oldest continuously used road in South Carolina. A National Scenic Byway designation covers the stretch from Church Creek Bridge north approximately 10 miles.