South Carolina
From the 50 State Visitor Guide:
S.C. Code Ann. 2019 §§23-3-400 through 23-3-550. AWA Compliant.
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
3 business days for initial registration and updates for “residence.” Residence / temporary residence means one’s home, or any place where one “habitually resides” or resides for a period of 10 consecutive days or more. Residing in the state for 30 or more days during a 12-month period also establishes a residence. §§23-3-430, 23-3-450, 23-3-460.
Visitors: “Summary” FAQ website states that registration is required if you are planning to visit for 10 days or more.
Per Rolfe Survey, Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence restriction: For certain offenses against minors, may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of school, day care center, “children’s recreational facility,” park, or playground. §23-3-535.
State pre-emption: A local government may not enact an ordinance that: (1) contains penalties that exceed or are less lenient than the penalties contained in state statutes; or (2) expands or contracts the boundaries of areas in which a sex offender may or may not reside. §23-3-535(E).
Duration & updates:
Lifetime. Tier III and SVP update every 90 days; all others every 6 mo. §23-3-460.
Most recent visit: May 2026
Yes, while visiting South Carolina you will be bound by their registry restrictions. However, for a visitor these restrictions are “relatively” few. In fact, if your offense was not against a minor you’re off the hook, and only apply for “certain hands-on offenses” although I’m not ready to offer a definition of “hands-on” here.
Also, SC is one of nine states that have laws pre-empting local governments from adopting any law more restrictive than the state law. So believe it or not – in South Carolina yet – you can travel without fear of getting snagged by a local restriction.
Congaree National Forest
Even so, in my travels to date through South Carolina I have never tried to test their system. When camping I still prefer national parks and forests. My main objective for this trip was Charleston, but on this trip I figured an afternoon would be enough and that left time to go visit Congaree National Forest, which is SE of the state capitol Columbia.
Congaree is a vast southern swamp, so remote back in the day that slave holders were unwilling to enter it in search of for escaped slaves. The freedom seekers built their own town and sustained themselves there for many years. Nowadays there are trails and boardwalks and yes – campgrounds.
Charleston
I have actually been to Charleston a fair number of times, usually with family, and usually going to the same places – the Battery, City Market, Rainbow Row, and eating at a downtown restaurant. On this trip I was, as usual, running behind after my side trip to Congaree National Forest, but I wasn’t concerned because I had already decided to get on an on-off tour trolley and stop wherever I wanted.
Unfortunately it turns out that Charleston has no on-off trolley! This really surprised me. They do have an ordinary city tour bus that takes you to all the sites, and I did that, but I didn’t have the energy left to go retrace my steps to see anything I couldn’t get off to see on the tour. In the end I was disappointed.
One thing to point out about Charleston: Their visitors center is centrally located and has plenty of all day parking (which of course you have to pay for). It’s a good jumping off point for your day in Charleston and it’s where you should go first.
Upon leaving Charleston I found a campground in Francis Marion National Forest. The next morning I passed through Myrtle Beach, which is just as touristy as you can imagine, but also has a beachfront state park. It was a Saturday morning, but it was off season so few people were there. But I’ll bet it’s a nightmare in the summer.
After that it was on to North Carolina and the Outer Banks.
No comments:
Post a Comment