McClellanville is located in Charleston County northeast of Charleston along US Highway 17 near Bulls Bay. McClellanville is a community situated near the Atlantic Coast on the Intracoastal Waterway in the Francis Marion National Forest.
Situated between Charleston and Georgetown in Charleston County, South Carolina, McClellanville is surrounded by the 350,000 acres of The Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge, The Francis Marion National Forest, and the Santee Coastal Reserve.
The community was originally founded by rice planters after their summer colony at the mouth of the Santee River was destroyed by the hurricane of 1822. Several years later the town became a year-round home to the descendants of planters. Today, the principal economic activity is commercial fishing. McClellanville, located on Jeremy Creek, is home port to a large fleet of shrimp boats.
McClellanville is part of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.