April 2014 Outdoor Options are Readily Available

Mature bald eagle and immature bald eagle over the Daniel Island Golf Club on April 1

The month of April is bursting at the seams with outdoor options including events scheduled due to our pleasant Spring weather. Whereas other activities are served up by Mother Nature, April 1 marks the beginning of turkey season on state-managed lands across the entire state of South Carolina. Tennis in Charleston, Golf in Hilton Head, Birding on Edisto Island and Criterium Bike Racing in Walterboro are all coming in April.

Some April traditions are unlike any other!!

The first weekend in April brings a double-header of outdoor options in Charleston with the Cooper River Bridge Run and the finals of the Family Circle Cup. You don’t have to race in the Bridge Run to attend the festivities all day long in Marion Square Park. You  can be there simply to support the those who will be racing. The final matches for the Family Circle Cup will be played on Saturday and Sunday at the stadium court on Daniel Island.

The ACE Basin branch of the Quality Deer Management Association will hold their annual conservation banquet at the Walterboro armory on April 11. QDMA found Joe Hamilton lives in Hendersonville and this particular banquet is special to locals who remember when the QDMA organization was based solely in Walterboro. 

April 10 - 13 marks the return of Charleston Race Week - perhaps the largest regatta on the East Coast and always a top notch sailing event.

The Masters is the premiere event in men’s pro golf, and after the first major of the year is concluded at the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, the tour players converge on Hilton Head Island. The RBC Heritage golf tournament runs April 17 – 20 and is as much a social affair as it is a golf tournament. The boats at Harbour Town marina add a coastal flair to the Sea Pines golf course the finishes with Hole No. 18 along Caliboque Sound. The short game is important on this short and narrow golf course, so  players with dramatic shot-making skills will always have a chance to slip on the plaid jacket.

The Edisto Island Open Land Trust (EIOLT) will hold their annual Spring Migratory Bird Watch, the same day the pro golfers and making birdies down at Hilton Head. EIOLT members will meet at 8 a.m. and join ornithologist Dr. Sid Gauthreaux and biologist Carol Belser to seek out neotropical migratory songbirds. With the daylight cycle lengthening it is a great time to kick the winter blues and get outside!

To view this article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.