ROAD TRIP: EDISTO ISLAND

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DISTANCE: 280 MILES, FIVE-HOUR DRIVE

There is something magical about treehouses that you just don’t get over, even once you’re quite grown up. Suspended in the treetop canopy, these dreamy cabins among the leaves have views only the birds can normally appreciate. If you’re ready to get high and channel your inner Swiss Family Robinson on a unique South Carolina adventure, look no further than the Edisto Island treehouses.

Approximately four miles from Interstate 95 in Canadys, South Carolina, you’ll find Carolina Heritage Outfitters, the riverside outpost and home of Anne and Scott Kennedy. There, for $170 per person for the first night ($85 per person for the second night, and $60 for the third), you can rent your vehicle for the trip (a canoe) and lodgings. After a thirteen-mile adventure down the Edisto River, you’ll find a 160-acre nature refuge and the Kennedys’ three paddle-in tree houses.

“About 20 years ago, we bought the land so that we could provide our customers with the ability to camp for two days,” Scott said. “I was going to build camping platforms at first, and [the assistant manager] kind of suggested that was mundane, that I should do something a little more attractive. Thus came about the treehouses.”

Wanting to be truly authentic, the Kennedys also purchased a sawmill and cut their own lumber, floating the wood in via the river. The resulting rustic treehouses constitute “comfortable camping,” equipped with a propane grill, a covered deck, a sleeping loft, rocking chairs, tiki torches, a dining table, a two-burner stove and an outhouse. No electricity, no WiFi and no running water (aside from the Edisto). Enjoy the high life!