Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2021

54 www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com | www. ReadMPM. com | www. I LoveMountPl easant . com D ewees Island is just a 22-minute ferry ride from the Isle of Palms, but the two communities are worlds apart in their philosophies and accessibility. Isle of Palms offers a residential and commercially developed destination dotted with restaurants, bars, shops and accommodations, as well as the typical seasonal drawbacks of popular beach communities: traffic congestion and the din of cars and crowds. All this commotion makes daytime wildlife encounters infrequent, and the light pollution obscures night sky views. Across the intracoastal waterway lies Dewees, where the entire 1,200-acre barrier island is under a conservation easement with the state. A homeowner’s covenant limits construction to just 150 homesites with no paved roads, and residents travel by electric golf carts, as gas-powered vehicles are banned. Life moves slower — and not just because of the island’s 17-mile-per-hour posted speed limit. Only 5% of Dewees Island can be developed; commercial enterprises are prohibited, and neither BY COL I N MCCANDLESS Life on Dewees Island A Closer Look at a Secluded Community Photos prov i ded by Judy Fa i r ch i l d.