Irmo resident and owner of Carolina Outdoor Adventures, Billy Easterbrooks treats clients to lifetime experiences through forays into the Midlands’ most scenic destinations like Congaree National Park (CNP) and Lake Murray.
For example, last fall Easterbrooks lead a kayak trip through CNP’s Cedar Creek, a beautiful black water stream. The three-hour trip “put and back” guided tour highlights Bald Cypress, Tupelo, Pine, and Willow Oak trees along this slow-moving creek. The park is also teeming with wildlife from wild boar, otter, deer, various birds, and water creatures. Easterbrooks’ company is one of a few permitted to operate in Congaree National Park and offer a guided trip along Cedar Creek.
At other times, Easterbrooks schedules Lake Murray adventures, popular among them the three-hour paddling trip around the Dreher Island State Park. The excursion includes a stop on a peninsula with an active protected Osprey Nest, home to the protected bird. Another stop is in a cove, where wildlife features osprey but also turtles, snakes, hawks, woodpeckers, and the occasional sighting of an American Bald Eagle.
As one participant noted, the CNP Cedar kayak trip treats people to “so much nature and history during your paddle,” adding, “The kayaks are great with comfortable seats and seat backs, we could have paddled all day.”
Easterbrooks also offers a full-moon version of the trip several times a year as well as a nature walk on CNP’s Kingsnake Trail. With an abundance of diverse vegetation and wildlife the tour appeals to all ages and interests and is also a favorite for birders.
He launched Carolina Outdoor Adventures in 2015 after several years of planning multi-day kayaking and camping trips down local rivers with friends. In 2018, Carolina Outdoor Adventures became one of a handful of businesses authorized to conduct excursions on Cedar Creek in Congaree National Park. “In 2020, business took off. People were tired of being stuck indoors and wanted to go kayaking,” he shared.
Easterbrooks is a supporter of the non-profit Friends of Congaree Swamp and is surprised that a lot of people don’t realize that South Carolina has a National Park.
“I love being able to help people locally and from all over the world experience Congaree National Park. It is such an asset to have in this area and is an incredibly beautiful and diverse area,” he said.