A glimpse into its murky magnificence can be made from a board walk trail at a small park on the north edge of Manning. From the half-mile boardwalk can be seen native trees such as bald cypress, willow oak, red maple, black gum, bay, and water tupelo. Woods Bay State Park encompasses 1,541 acres, most of which are open savannah near the pointed end of the egg-shaped Carolina Bay, and dense cypress swamp elsewhere. At the edge of the bay are sandy flats with loblolly pines and turkey oaks, and on the north side adjacent to the bay is the Mill Point Pond. The park was named after Andre Woods, who once owned a gristmill at the pond.
Wildlife is prominent, including numerous species of wading, perching, and preying birds.
The facilities are limited to nature study, hiking, picnicking, and fishing. There are hundreds of shallow, elliptical depressions known as bays in South Carolina's coastal plains. The bays are also found in southeast North Carolina and northeast Georgia. They range in diameter from a few hundred feet to five miles. Attempts to explain this natural phenomenon include the meteorite theory, the ancient ocean springs theory, and the ancient ocean lagoons theory.