Looking for inspiration to romanticize your summer in the Carolina Lowcountry? Here’s a Southern summer bucket list full of slow-living rituals, local traditions, and nostalgic charm —written from the heart of Bluffton, SC.

The May River — Bluffton, South Carolina

Growing up in Bluffton, South Carolina, I didn’t know I was growing up in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Since I left, I’ve lived in the upstate and I’ve lived in the midlands, and I’ve traveled all over the country — but there’s nothing quite like the Carolina Lowcountry. If you know, you know.

I’ll be spending this summer getting back to my roots — helping family with some projects, squeezing in a few beach days in between, and feeling nostalgic that this is the summer I leave my twenties behind me.

And crossing things off my summer bucket list.

So, yeah. It’s not just another summer for me. And you can bet I’ll be soaking up every single second.

The Slow-Living Southern Summer Bucket List

In the spirit of manifesting a summer to remember, here’s my easy living, East Coast summer bucket list to make the most of my time back in the Lowcountry.

1. Watercolor Painting With River Water

Trending? Maybe. But I also imagine it’s cathartic, grounding, and a little poetic. Bonus points if the painter’s palette is made of seashells.

2. Golden Hour Golf Cart Rides

Preferably daily. Sometimes with a cocktail, sometimes with a wellness bevvy, but always with good tunes and good company.

3. Bake All the Southern Summer Sweets

Cast-iron skillet peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream and friends around a bonfire. Paula Dean’s Not-Yo-Mama’s banana pudding with fresh local farmer’s market bananas. A cold, tangy slice of key lime pie after a long day in the sun.

4. Early Morning Swims in the May River

My dad and I used to do this when I was a kid, and I intend to check off this summer bucket list item every single week. I just ordered a dorky pair of water shoes — no oyster-cut feet here.

5. Savor the Best Seafood

Another thing I didn’t truly appreciate until after I moved away — seafood fresh from the May River. Blue crab, oysters, shrimp. Fried, steamed, buttered, cracked, peeled. A squeeze of lemon. If I had to choose my last meal on earth it’d be that.

6. Practice My Golf Game

I was just getting in the “swing” of it when I left for school and never picked it back up. I’ve been missing golf lately, so this is my chance to get back in the game.

7. Learn to Play Pickleball

I’ve had the pickleball set sitting in my hall closet for a year, and I am determined to put it to use this summer. Care to join?

8. Play Rummy on the Porch

A deck of cards. A glass of wine. People you love. Cicadas, an old-school playlist, and summer breeze. Does life get any better than that?

9. Ride a Bike

One with a basket, so I can ride around town and fill it with flowers and finds. It’s a sweet summer bucket list activity that will have you feeling like you really are that girl.

10. Romanticize a Summer Storm Off the Marsh

The kind of storm that you can feel before it’s there, in the way the air shifts. The kind that rolls in slow, and changes the colors of the marsh.

A torrential downpour ending in a sudden peek of sunshine. Then, the smell of the rain on hot pavement.

11. Sunrise Jog on the Beach

Am I a runner? No. But something about being on a wide open beach before the world wakes up makes me want to turn running into a summer bucket list activity.

12. Have a Little Waterside Picnic

I’ve been dreaming about making pasta salad in cute little glass jars. This is my chance.

13. Go to the Sandbar, or Crabbing or Shrimping

A whole world opens up at low tide. Dolphins and seabirds come out for a feeding frenzy and sandbars see the sun again.

Toss a bucket, twine, and raw chicken necks in the boat and you have everything you need to catch fresh blue crab for dinner.

14. Write Somewhere Moody

The South, and the Lowcountry in particular, is full of mystery, dark history, and secrets, all deep-rooted and generational. And its tangled webs of Spanish moss, maze-like estuaries, and ancient oaks make it a perfect setting for exploring as a writer.

15. Start a Tea Ritual

Sweet tea isn’t my taste — but there’s something to be said for a slow tea-making ritual. It’s one of those healing habits that helps you relax and reset.

So my summer bucket list includes starting my own tea ritual. I’d love to sip homemade iced matcha lattes all summer long.

16. Shop Summer Keepsakes to Treasure

It’s easy to shop in Bluffton — the downtown area is one cute boutique after another and Tanger Outlets is there, too. But this summer, I want to shop with more intention.

I want to be thoughtful about shopping for things that will always remind me of this summer and this particular time in my life.

17. Capture the Small Moments

The nostalgia of this summer has me wanting a Polaroid or disposable cameras and capture every little tiny beautiful moment — a fiddler crab that found his way to our box of Cheez-Its, my grandmother’s hands when we’re cooking a new recipe, a glowy golden hour golf cart ride.

polaroid pictures on wood desk — via Canva

This summer bucket list is all about reconnecting with my inner child, romanticizing the little things, and creating memorable new experiences. I look forward to sharing throughout the summer as I cross each off my list.

What are some of your summer bucket list activities or things to do in Bluffton, SC? Let me know in the comments!

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