About Whitewater Santee

Since 2001, Whitewater has been promoting access to the active, outdoor lifestyle by lowering barriers and inspiring people to engage with the outdoors. Whitewater focuses on the promotion, preservation and management of resources offering access to world-class outdoor activities.

Whitewater Santee represents some of the most important and diverse natural resources offering access to extraordinary outdoor pursuits in the state of South Carolina. Whitewater Santee is designed to highlight and provide greater access to these rare and threatened resources in an effort to preserve and promote their value.

Whitewater Santee is roughly defined as the region comprising the Santee River Basin. This three thousand square mile area covers the area from the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers flowing southeast to the Wynah Bay and extending below Charleston to include the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.

This area has benefitted for generations by the numerous layers of land protections offered by public and private entities, as well as the remote and difficult access to the area. The merger of pine and hardwood forests with the swamps and ocean bays at the mouths of these rivers results in a diversity of outdoor recreation and cultural experiences like no other.

Whitewater’s focus on the Santee Basin is designed to promote and protect the region’s most compelling fishing, biking, paddling, and historical resources. Whitewater Santee includes accommodations and events at the 326-acre Middleburg preserve on the East Branch of the Cooper River, as well as guide services for fishing, paddling and biking throughout the Santee. Whitewater Santee also offers resources including films and mapping services to inspire and plan trips to the various natural resources in the area.