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South Carolina · Charleston / Folly Beach · Charleston County · Folly Beach

Folly Beach South End

also known as Folly Beach County Park, Southwest Folly

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

Nearby Kiawah Beachwalker Park 16 km · Sullivan's Island Station 28.5 19 km · Isle of Palms South End 22 km · Edisto Beach Bay Point 40 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools nameHow windy15-25 knotsmixedLaunchWide beach at the County Park south and west end, hard-packed sand. The official kiteable boundary runs from 200 yards south of the County Park facility building to the inlet. Stay off the populated park sections and out of the swim zones.access rules on record, belowWaterocean28.1°C in summer · 17 things riders flagLevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level sectionSchools4named at this spotFrom the airport35 minInternational Airport (CHS)

When it fills in

Summer runs on the sea breeze and that is an afternoon wind; mornings are usually the light part. From autumn to spring the wind is frontal and arrives on the front's schedule, at any hour. No onset hours have been published for this end of the island.

The kiteable part of Folly Island is the southwest end, down by Folly Beach County Park, where the beach is widest and the sand packs hard enough to ride a landboard on it.
It takes almost any wind direction, which is why it gets used at all: elsewhere on the island you run into the pier, the swim zones, or the surfers at The Washout. The official County Park kite boundary starts 200 yards south of the park facility building and runs to the inlet, so pace that off before you rig.
On southerly wind you drift toward rock groins, and some of them go unmarked at high tide, so settle the upwind question before you commit. West wind here is side-off, and it is the direction to be honest with yourself about.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day kiters must stay at least 100 yards from the water's edge once through the launch zone (2026), and the County Park lot reaches capacity on summer weekends and holidays. Summer water runs 28.1 C and winter 15.6 C, so boardshorts in July and a full suit in January.
Nobody has published a monthly wind figure for this end of the island.

The wind

locals call it Lowcountry sea breeze

Direction

beachwater
wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: Summer runs on the sea breeze and that is an afternoon wind; mornings are usually the light part. From autumn to spring the wind is frontal and arrives on the front's schedule, at any hour. No onset hours have been published for this end of the island.

Typical strength

No station sits on the South End itself. The Folly Island record, run over roughly twenty years, averages 10 knots from the east across all hours and all seasons, which is a floor and not a session figure. Across the Charleston beaches the spring pattern is quoted at 15-25 knots and the summer sea breeze at 10-20. The frontal days from autumn to spring are the strong ones.

Summer sea breeze is the reliable part. The South End is the widest and least hemmed-in stretch on Folly and takes almost any direction.
Charleston-area wind is summer sea breeze and, the rest of the year, fronts. No monthly wind statistics exist for the South End itself.

Thermal or synoptic

sea breeze and frontal

Also on record

10

The quiver, in words

Indicative, converted from the regional wind ranges rather than measured here. For 75-85 kg: 12 m in a 10-15 knot summer sea breeze, 9-10 m at 18-22 knots on a spring or frontal day, 7 m once it is over 25. A foil or a big directional is what makes the light June-August afternoons worth driving for.

Direction to shore

Mostly onshore or side-onshore from easterly through southwesterly along the ocean beach. West wind at South End is usable but slightly side-off.

Dominant direction

Any depending on exact Folly location, with NE/ENE/E/ESE/SE/SSE/S/SSW/SW/WSW onshore flow along the main beach

Forecast

Next three days, from Windfinder · full forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan60
  2. Feb56
  3. Mar73
  4. Apr58
  5. May60
  6. Jun58
  7. Jul49
  8. Aug40
  9. Sep46
  10. Oct47
  11. Nov51
  12. Dec48

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

  1. 13Jan12°
  2. 13Feb14°
  3. 13Mar17°
  4. 12Apr20°
  5. 12May24°
  6. 12Jun27°
  7. 11Jul30°
  8. 11Aug30°
  9. 12Sep27°
  10. 11Oct23°
  11. 12Nov20°
  12. 12Dec15°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan60%12.7 ktW10.9°C12.4°C
Feb56%12.7 ktSW13.2°C14°C
Mar73%13.3 ktSW16.2°C17.2°C
Apr58%12.4 ktSW18.9°C20.4°C
May60%12.1 ktSSW22.6°C24.4°C
Jun58%11.8 ktSW25.8°C27°C
Jul49%10.8 ktSW27.7°C30.3°C
Aug40%11 ktSW27°C29.6°C
Sep46%11.9 ktNE24.5°C27.3°C
Oct47%10.7 ktNE19.7°C22.9°C
Nov51%11.8 ktNE16.5°C19.5°C
Dec48%12 ktNNE11.8°C14.6°C
modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

ocean

Standing depth

No measured figure. This is open Atlantic: once you are through the shore break you are in water you cannot stand in. The only shallow ground is the bar system running out across Stono Inlet toward Kiawah, flat on the inside and waves outside, and it shifts, so nobody publishes where it sits.

Tides

Semidiurnal Lowcountry tides. The south end stays hard-packed and wide at the workable tide stages, more so away from the populated park sections.

Temperature

28.1°C summer · 15.6°C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or rashguard in peak summer; full suit or sealed 3/2-type wetsuit in winter.

Currents

Stono Inlet is right there, so rips and inlet current are both live. No measured current figures exist for this beach.

12–30°C water
Atlantic beach on the southwest end of Folly Island near Stono Inlet and Skimmer Flats, with hard-packed sand and wide beach at suitable tide stages.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced
Ridden by beginners through experts, but a beginner here has to keep clear of swimmers, the surf zone, the rock groins and the side-off drift on west wind.

The scene

What riders come here for

ocean ridingwest-wind optionlandboardingfreeridewide-beach launching
Busy public beach and county park, but the southwest end is wider and thinner on people than the rest of Folly.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Wide beach at the County Park south and west end, hard-packed sand. The official kiteable boundary runs from 200 yards south of the County Park facility building to the inlet. Stay off the populated park sections and out of the swim zones.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Kiawah Beachwalker Park, 16 km

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

Lifeguards cover the West End county park beach and the 2nd Street East to 3rd Street West frontage from May through Labor Day, and they are there for swimmers. No kite rescue, no boat, no patrol at the inlet end. Rip currents are common along this beach.
For anything serious the number is 911.

Launch

The wide, thinly used southwest end by Folly Beach County Park is the safest launch on the island.

Space

Wide beach at the County Park south and west end, hard-packed sand. The official kiteable boundary runs from 200 yards south of the County Park facility building to the inlet. Stay off the populated park sections and out of the swim zones.

Hazards riders report 17

  • swim zones
  • swimmers
  • rock jetties downwind on southerly winds
  • surfers near The Washout
  • Swim zones and swimmers
  • Folly Beach Pier and populated beach sections must be avoided
  • Rock jetties/groins downwind on southerly winds
  • The Washout is surfers' water
  • Unmarked or submerged groins at high tide on mid-island Folly
  • Side-off west wind at South End
  • Seasonal parking capacity and beach crowds
  • Stono Inlet and adjacent inlet waters
  • Rip currents, common along the whole beach
  • Folly Beach Pier and the populated beach sections
  • Rock jetties and groins downwind on southerly wind
  • Side-off west wind at the South End
  • Stono Inlet current and the shifting bar system off the south end
Rules & access
2026: Folly Beach has no kiteboarding-specific municipal rule. City beach regulations ban alcohol, glass, plastic, balloons, styrofoam, smoking, open fires and fireworks on the sand. A surfboard leash is required, surfing is barred from the swimming zone between 2nd Street East and 3rd Street West from 15 May to 15 September between 10:00 and 18:00, and barred within 200 feet of the fishing pier year-round. Dogs are off the beach 10:00-18:00 from 1 May to 30 September. No lights may illuminate the front beach between 22:00 and dawn from 1 May to 31 October, for the turtles. Lifeguards work the West End county park and the 2nd East to 3rd West frontage from May through Labor Day. The riding boundary in local use runs from 200 yards south of the county park facility building to the inlet, with a 100-yard standoff from the water's edge once through the launch zone between Memorial Day and Labor Day; that standoff is not written into the city's published beach rules. Parking at Folly Beach County Park is paid and the lot reaches capacity on summer weekends and holidays.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

  • Rig south of the County Park facility building: the kiteable stretch starts 200 yards down and runs to the inlet.
  • On southerly wind, check you can hold upwind before you go out. Rock groins sit downwind and some are submerged at high tide.
  • Treat west wind as side-off and skip it unless your self-rescue is solid.
  • Get to the County Park lot before mid-morning on a summer weekend or it will be full.
  • Give The Washout a wide berth on a downwinder. That stretch is surfers' water.
  • Get to the County Park lot before mid-morning on a summer weekend or it will be full. It is a paid lot.
  • Nobody is coming for you. The lifeguards from May to Labor Day work the swimming areas, not the kite end.

Getting there

Airport

Charleston International Airport (CHS)

Route

Drive from CHS through Charleston and James Island onto Folly Beach, then west along the island to Folly Beach County Park. Parking at the park is paid, finite, and gone by mid-morning on a summer weekend.

Transfer

35 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Folly Beach vacation rentals and small hotels are closest; Charleston has a much larger hotel base.

No-wind days

Surfing, beach walking, Folly Pier area, kayaking/SUP in Folly waterways, birding near Skimmer Flats, and Charleston historic district day trips.

Photos

Folly Beach 2021b
Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Folly Beach South End good for beginners?

It is rated for beginner through expert riders and considered the safest, widest Folly kite area, though beginners must still avoid swimmers, surf zones and rock groins.

What is the wind like at Folly Beach South End?

Wind is a Lowcountry mix of afternoon summer sea breeze and frontal wind outside summer, and the spot is described as usable in almost any wind direction.

Are there rules at Folly Beach South End?

As of 2026 there is no designated kite zone, but riders must stay clear of swim zones, the pier and populated areas, and from Memorial Day to Labor Day must stay at least 100 yards from the water's edge once past the launch zone.

What are the hazards at Folly Beach South End?

Southerly winds can push riders toward rock jetties and groins downwind, and The Washout nearby is treated locally as surfer territory to avoid.

More in South CarolinaEdisto Beach Bay PointKiawah Beachwalker Parkall →

Last updated: August 2026