City Parks

From the 93-acre recreation complex of Byerly Park to the shoreline picnic shelters, playgrounds and pavilion of Lawton Park on Lake Prestwood, the City of Hartsville’s Parks and Leisure services has much to offer. Learn more about these parks, as well as Pride Park on Sixth Street and the downtown Centennial Park by clicking here.

Rental information and more for Lawton Park may be found here.

Kalmia Gardens

Located on a former 19th century plantation, Kalmia Gardens is a 35-acre private botanical garden and historic house open to the public. The Thomas E. Hart House, built in 1820 with timber cut from the property, and surrounding gardens are on the National Register of Historic Places. Kalmia Gardens boasts a wide array of rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, wisteria, tea-olives, dogwood and the Gardens’ namesake — Kalmia latifolia, the Mountain Laurel. It also features a daylily display garden recognized by the American Hemerocallis Society. Kalmia Gardens is part of the scenic S.C. Cotton Trail and is the gateway to the 796-acre Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve.

Kalmia Gardens of Coker College has been open to the public since 1935 and includes many exotic ornamentals planted by Mrs. David Robert Coker, the garden’s founder. When the Coker family acquired the land in 1932, “Miss May” began transforming what was then a desolate area into a place of tranquility and beauty, creating many trails that lead down to Black Creek. She gave Kalmia Gardens to Coker College in 1965 as a memorial to her late husband. In 2002, her daughter established the Joslin Education Center at the Gardens.

From the Hart House and formal gardens there is a 60-foot drop in elevation to the Black Creek floodplain where trails and boardwalks guide you through laurel thickets, pine-oak-holly uplands and a beech bluff. The unusual terrain is responsible for creating Kalmia’s unique and diverse plant and animal life. The contrast between the formal house and gardens and the cypress swamp below makes for a distinctly enjoyable experience.

Kalmia Gardens is open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk.

Contact Information
1624 W. Carolina Ave.
Hartsville, SC 29550
(843) 383-8145
Fax: 843-383-8149
Email: kalmia@coker.edu
 www.kalmiagardens.org

Hartsville Community Garden

Sponsored by Pioneering Healthy Communities and the City of Hartsville, the Hartsville Community Garden aims to bring Hartsville’s citizens together, increase residents’ access to healthy food and also enhance community pride and purpose.

638 S. Fifth St.
Hartsville, SC 29550
www.hartsvillecommunitygarden.com/