On most days, Johns Island County Park costs $2 to enter. That gets you 700-plus acres of trails, a dog park and a disc golf course. So what happens when the same park at 2662 Mullet Hall Road hosts a bluegrass afternoon one Saturday and a two-night music-and-camping festival the next?
That's the plan for November. The two events are run by different organizers and aimed at different crowds, and both use the same park. On the second Saturday, a family farm on River Road fills the hours before the music starts. For anyone who lives on the island, the first half of November can happen almost entirely on Johns Island's own open land, without a trip downtown.
The two weekends at a glance
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Admission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Harvest Festival | Johns Island County Park, 2662 Mullet Hall Rd. | 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | $10 ages 13 and up, paid at the gate; free for 12 and under and Gold Pass members |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Charleston Classic festival, night one | Johns Island County Park | Music starts at 5 p.m. | $30 one day, $50 both days; kids free |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Fields Farm Fest | Joseph Fields Farm, 3129 River Rd. | 1 to 7 p.m. | Day-of tickets, cash, debit or Venmo |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Charleston Classic festival, night two | Johns Island County Park | Music starts at 5 p.m. | Same as Friday |
| Nov. 13 to 15 | Charleston Classic tournament play | Trophy Lakes and Old Grove | Scheduled tee times | Player registration |
November 7: the county's afternoon
Charleston County Parks has run the Harvest Festival as an annual tradition, and this year's festival guide lays out the full day. Three local bluegrass acts share the stage:
- YeeHaw Junction at 11:30 a.m.
- Southern Flavor Bluegrass Band at 1:15 p.m.
- Willie Wells & The Blue Ridge Mountain Grass at 3 p.m.
Between sets there are hayrides, pumpkin decorating, giant bubbles and a crafters market that the county pitches as an early start on holiday shopping. Food vendors sell Carolina barbecue and kettle corn, priced separately from admission.
A few rules set the tone of the day. You pay at the gate, because advance tickets aren't sold. Gold Pass holders get in free, but only with the physical pass, since a purchase receipt won't work, and the pass doesn't guarantee entry if the event sells out. Chairs, blankets and small tables are welcome. Coolers, outside food and alcohol are not. Leashed dogs can come along. KultureCity is providing sensory bags at an accessibility tent, first come, first served, and there's a quiet area behind the barn. The grounds are grass, gravel and natural surfaces, and boarding the hayride means climbing steps.
The format is a daytime family outing on a county budget, and it's over before dinner. Six days later, the same park runs on a very different clock.
November 13 and 14: the Classic after dark
The Charleston Classic disc golf tournament began in 1998, and this is its 29th year. Find the Line, the group now running it, calls the 2026 edition "a new chapter." It's partnering with the Charleston Disc Golf Community and Charleston County Parks and adding what its Charleston Classic page describes as "a larger festival designed to introduce new people to the sport." On that page, the group puts its position this way:
"Find the Line isn't replacing that history, we're building on it."
In practice, Johns Island County Park becomes festival headquarters. The PDGA A-Tier tournament plays its championship rounds on two courses, according to the Charleston County Parks event listing. One is Old Grove, inside the park. The other is Trophy Lakes at 3050 Marlin Road, a 19-hole course that opened in 2003.
The difference for neighbors is the evening. On the tournament's Disc Golf Scene page, Friday's lineup is Right Ratio and Headstrings Collective's Paul Simon tribute. Saturday's is Marsh Grass Mommas, with more acts still to be announced. Both nights' sets start at 5 p.m. Find the Line also lists food trucks, local artisans and artists, disc golf vendors, kids' activities, hands-on art, a community drum circle and a blacklight putting course with glowing obstacles and UV lights.
Ticket prices are on the Charleston City Paper Tickets page. Friday or Saturday admission is $30, or $33.94 after fees. Both days cost $50, or $55.20 after fees. Kids get in free. Admission covers the festival grounds, music stages, vendors and spectator areas. If you want to stay over, camping is an add-on and still requires an admission ticket:
- Primitive camping: tent, car or dry RV for both nights, $40 per car, or $44.57 after fees, with no hookups
- Electric RV site: $75, or $81.78 after fees, with 30/50 amp service, no water, and a limited number of sites
- Single nights: not sold
The Harvest Festival charges $10 and wraps up at 4:30 in the afternoon. The Classic charges three times that, starts at 5 p.m. and lets you camp on the grounds. Within six days, one park works as both a county fair and a small music festival.
Saturday, November 14: start on River Road
The Classic's second night falls on the same Saturday as Fields Farm Fest. That makes it easy to spend the whole day on Johns Island without leaving.
Joseph Fields Farm, at 3129 River Road, is a 50-acre certified-organic fruit and vegetable farm. The farm's website describes Joseph Fields as a third-generation Gullah-Geechee farmer and roots the family's farming tradition in the late Robert Sr. and Nancy Fields. A 2017 Farmers Market Coalition profile notes that he was born and raised on Johns Island and that the farm had already been selling at farmers markets for well over 20 years by then.
The farm's Eventbrite listing calls this its second annual community fall festival, running from 1 to 7 p.m. It lists pumpkin and face painting, DIY crafts, tractor rides, a petting zoo, contests and games, food trucks and barbecue, sweet treats and an adults-only fire-pit lounge. The listing says dogs are welcome, and it mentions day-of ticket sales by cash, debit or Venmo, but not credit cards. The page shows "sales ended" and doesn't give a price, so check with the farm about admission before you go.
The hours line up. The farm fest runs until 7 p.m. and the Classic's music starts at 5, so you could spend the afternoon among the fields on River Road and then drive over to Mullet Hall Road for the evening sets.
What the park is the rest of the year
Once the stages come down, the park goes back to $2 admission, free for Gold Pass members and children 2 and under. Charleston County Parks lists equestrian and walking trails, mountain biking, birding, archery, picnicking, reservable facilities and the Old Grove disc golf course among its year-round uses. The off-leash dog park has separate sections for large and small dogs, plus water fountains, a dog-washing station, a shelter, tables and benches.
The park is also home to the Mullet Hall Equestrian Center. Its trail system covers 20 miles through pines, moss-draped oaks, meadows and farm fields, and it's open to walkers and runners as well as riders. The Classic's tournament rounds use Old Grove, and you can play it any week of the year for the price of park admission.
If November on Mullet Hall Road has you thinking about how your own week could fit the island, from trail mornings at the park to Saturdays out on River Road, Anjela Perry is glad to talk through the parts of Johns Island she knows best. Let's Connect.
