Updated November 2026.
Shelling is one of the favorite pastimes on Edisto Beach, and for serious shell lovers one spot has a reputation all its own: Shell Island, the local nickname for the shell-covered sandbar across Jeremy Inlet at the north end of the beach. Here’s what it is, how to get there safely and what you can (and can’t) take home.
What Is Shell Island?
Walk north along the beach in front of the Edisto Beach State Park campground and you’ll reach Jeremy Inlet, where the beach ends at a fast-moving channel. Across it lies a low sandbar island, its sand bleached white by the sun and covered in shells washed in by the tides. Beyond it, the undeveloped shore runs on past Jeremy Cay and Edingsville Beach toward Botany Bay.
How to Get There Safely
- Don’t wade across the inlet. At low tide it can look shallow enough to walk, but the currents in Jeremy Inlet are strong and the tide comes back quickly, so it’s easy to get swept off your feet or stranded on the far side.
- Go by boat or kayak, ideally with a local eco-tour or charter captain who knows the inlet, and plan your trip around the tide chart.
- Bring water, sun protection and shoes for walking on shells. There’s no shade or facilities.
- Swimming isn’t a good idea. The currents off the inlet are stronger than on the front beach. Read up on rip currents.
Shells You Might Find
Shell lovers report angel wings, wentletraps, Atlantic jackknife clams, apple murex, calico scallops, cockles, slipper snails, surf clams, banded tulips, whelks and more, along with sand dollars, horseshoe crab shells, sea glass, fossils and the occasional shark tooth. Hermit crabs may be living in some of the shells, so check before you pick one up and leave occupied shells where they are. See what washes up on Edisto’s shore.
Can You Take the Shells Home?
It depends on where you are. On most public beaches you may collect empty shells, but Botany Bay, a few miles up the coast, is a heritage preserve where taking shells, fossils, driftwood or anything else is prohibited, and fines are steep. Rules can also differ inside Edisto Beach State Park. If you’re not sure whose land you’re standing on, take photos instead of shells, or ask your guide or the park before you go.
Wherever you shell, leave live animals and sea turtle nests alone, and take your trash with you. Want more beachcombing? Try the town beach at low tide after a storm or a king tide, and see our Edisto bucket list.
