Recreation and Leisure
Charleston is a city that prizes and celebrates its opportunities for leisure. Even the local dialect, considered by many to be the most patrician of the southern dialects, belies a relaxed gentility unique to the region. The people speak slowly, eliding their vowels, and in cadences more reminiscent of both the French Canadian and Sephardic Jews who were among the early settlers than the more nasal tones of Georgia or even western South Carolina.
Golf and boats figure prominently in the leisure lives of Charlestonians. Golf courses are abundant, and weekend evenings are often spent relaxing on private yachts and pleasure boats, traveling among homes and restaurants on the area’s many navigable waterways. Many local companies offer fishing charters.
The best of the local golf courses include Charleston National designed by Rees Jones, Dunes West and Coosaw Creek Country Club – both designed by Arthur Hills, Arnold Palmer’s RiverTowne Country Club Course which is open to the public, the spectacularly scenic Patriots Point course across the harbor from downtown, and The Links at Stono Ferry – 20 minutes from downtown --which makes use of old farm walls and historic plantation ruins in an unusual and, above all, fun course.
Charleston is a bit more of a baseball city than is typical in the football-mad South. The local team, The Charleston RiverDogs, are an affiliate of the New York Yankees, playing in the Class A South Atlantic League at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Population inside the city limits: 104,883
Metro area population: 562,666
Elevation: 118 feet above sea level
Area inside city limits: 97.0 square miles
Average daily temperature in January: 49.3 degrees Fahrenheit
Average daily temperature in July: 82.1 degrees Fahrenheit