Guides
Owner/Operator Joe Lotts has been guiding since the young age of fifteen. After discovering his love and tremendous passion for the outdoors, Joe attended and graduated from Brevard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education. While living in the mountains of North Carolina, Joe sharpened his kayaking and guiding skills in whitewater rivers and steep mountainous creeks. After moving to Charleston, Joe worked other outdoor nature programs mastering the skills needed to provide the best guiding service in the region. After 13 years of experience, Joe has branched off to start Charleston Outdoor Adventures, LLC, the leading outfitter of Folly Beach, South Carolina. “Here at COA we will create an outdoor experience and memories that will be cherished for life.”
Manager Tripp Copeland, from Winton, N.C., discovered his love of the outdoors at an early age. Spending his summers in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, he grew an appreciation of the East Coast and its waters especially. Tripp followed his passion to Brevard College, where he graduated with a degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education. He started guiding naturalist kayak tours in 2003 in Beaufort, N.C. From there, he moved to Charleston, S.C., where he has been guiding ever since. Living in Charleston, he has developed a great enthusiasm for the Lowcountry and a wide knowledge of its estuaries and wildlife. Now working for Charleston Outdoor Adventures, Tripp is excited to be working with a company that shares his views on the importance of promoting awareness about local environments and ecosystems.
Charlie Waterman: From the estuaries of coastal Carolina to the southern coast of Alaska Charlie has carried his knowledge and skills from one end of this wild land to the other and picked up a lot of insight along the way. He has come back home to share what he has learned with anyone who will listen and looks forward to showing everyone how beautiful and exciting the ecosystem in the marshes can be.
Cooper Smith was born and raised in the Lowcountry in Bluffton, South Carolina. After leading Kayak Eco-tours on Hilton Head Island for two years, she now attends College of Charleston and is in her senior year. Majoring in Geology and Environmental Sciences, taking Marine Geology and various biology courses, has aided in her already present knowledge of the local wildlife and processes seen in the Charleston area. In her second summer at Charleston Outdoor Adventures, she looks forward to creating an exciting journey into South Carolina’s unique estuarine systems.
