Charleston County, SC Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Sec. 14.5-4 of the county code lists ten specific things the public may not do at a Charleston County-operated public boat landing or ramp, and consuming alcoholic beverages on the premises is one of them, subsection (a)(8). The same section bars abandoning or parking vehicles and trailers for more than 72 consecutive hours, transacting commercial business, using the lot exclusively for a for-profit business's customers, advertising a vehicle or trailer for sale, storing or hauling construction materials without a permit from the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission (CCPRC), parking in boat-trailer spaces on weekends or holidays, blocking the launch or "make ready" lane for more than 15 consecutive minutes, operating ATVs or off-road vehicles, and discharging firearms except in narrow self-defense or law-enforcement circumstances tied to S.C.

Code § 23-31-510. This alcohol restriction is scoped to the boat landing premises themselves; it is not a county-wide open-container law covering streets, parks, or beaches generally. Every violation of subsection (a), including the alcohol restriction, carries the same penalty under subsection (b): a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. The provision was renamed and restructured by Ordinance No. 2070 in 2019, replacing an earlier version titled "Parking rules and regulations and restrictions on commercial use of public boat landings and ramps."