Step back in time with a visit to Fort Sumter, a place that profoundly shaped our nation's history. To reach this historic sea fort, you'll take a pleasant 30-minute ferry ride across Charleston Harbor, offering beautiful views of the city skyline and the Ravenel Bridge. Once you arrive, you have about an hour to explore the fort's ruins and the museum, where park rangers share compelling stories of the first shots of the Civil War. It's a powerful experience to stand on the very ground where such a pivotal moment in American history unfolded.