Boating

It’s all about access.

Boating on Lake Greenwood

The state parks alongside major bodies of water have boat ramps and other access points for your water recreation.

If you don’t have your own boat, you can rent jonboats, canoes and kayaks at several state parks with small lakes and ponds.

So bring your boat or other watercraft and prepare to have fun on South Carolina's waterways via your state parks!

Marinas

Tired of taking your boat in and out of the water. Calhoun Falls and Dreher Island State Recreation Areas offer marina slip rentals. The slips come conveniently equipped with water, electricity and in-water refueling.

Contact Calhoun Falls at 864-447-8267 or Dreher Island at 803-364-4152 for more information on these rentals.

Attention Boaters

Parts of South Carolina are experiencing a moderate drought. Check water levels at your favorite lake before boating. Look for stumps and exposed vegetation and use extreme caution.

Things to See While Boating on SC Lakes

There is a variety of wildlife and natural features that inhabit the lakes of South Carolina. Some of them include waterfalls, and many species of birds, including the osprey that nest on Lake Russell.

Boating Safety

Here are some general boating safety tips:

Have a plan
Tell someone where you are going and what time you will be returning
Carry extra clothing, in case of rain or extreme weather
Make sure your boat is in good operating condition
Carry a cell phone
Check fuel and battery status before leaving the shore

For more information on boating safety, make sure to check out the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boating Safety site.

The parks listed below all offer boating opportunities!

Boat Rentals

Many of our parks offer rentals of kayaks, canoes, and jon boats for your enjoyment! For availability and rental fees, contact one of the parks below that offer these rentals:

Aiken
Andrew Jackson
Barnwell
Cheraw
Chester
Croft
Goodale
Hickory Knob
Kings Mountain
Lake Warren
Little Pee Dee
Oconee
Paris Mountain
Poinsett
Santee
Sesquicentennial
Table Rock
Woods Bay

Parks That Offer Boating

	Location	Trip Planner
Sadlers Creek State Recreation Area Outdoor recreation and wildlife observation are popular activities at Sadlers Creek, which sits on a peninsula extending into Lake Hartwell. The park features a lakeside campground, fishing, picnicking, hiking, meeting facility and boat access to the 56,000 acres of Lake Hartwell, one of the big Savannah River reservoirs. Its tranquil surroundings and convenient proximity to I-85 make it a great stop for travelers and area residents alike. The park also offers easy access to the Savannah River National Scenic Highway.	Anderson	Add
Santee State Park Park Video Tour Current Weather Conditions on Lake Marion at Santee State Park Santee State Park offers cabins, camping, biking, hiking, boating and fishing in the heart of one of the nation’s best-known outdoors destinations – Santee Cooper Country. The park sits along Lake Marion, one of the two lakes (the other’s Moultrie) that gave birth to America’s inland striped bass fishery. Together, the lakes cover more than 170,000 acres and now also are known for their abundant populations of huge catfish. The park’s rondette cabins, including 10 on piers over the lake, have been hosting outdoorsmen and families for generations. A community meeting building, with its large, screened-in grilling facility, also attracts groups. Out in the lake across from the park is Lake Marion’s flooded cypress forest. Pontoon boat tours into the lake’s swampy headwaters are based out of the park’s marina/park store.	Santee	Add
Sesquicentennial State Park Sesquicentennial State Park, situated in the middle of the Sandhills region, features a beautiful 30-acre lake surrounded by trails and picnic areas. The park’s proximity to downtown Columbia and interstate highways attracts both local residents and travelers. Sesqui, as it’s affectionately known, is heavily used for family reunions and group campouts. It also features dog park and well-attended interpretive nature programs, as well as a dormitory, meeting facility and ropes course popular for corporate retreats and team-building. Once a drive out to the country but now a green space in the Columbia suburbs, the park was originally built by the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Evidence of their craftsmanship remains today, including in the distinctive white stone blocks that mark the front gate.	Columbia	Add
Table Rock State Park Table Rock Mountain provides a towering backdrop for an upcountry retreat at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Table Rock State Park features two lakes, a campground, mountain cabins, meeting facilities and its historic, renovated lodge. The park has been one of South Carolina’s most popular since it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Many of its structures are now on the National Register of Historic Places. Table Rock was home to one of the state’s first formal nature education programs and now serves as a trailhead for the 80-mile long Foothills Trail through the wilderness along the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Trails through the forested park also include one that leads to the top of Table Rock Mountain itself. The park also hosts a visitors center near the main gate along S.C. 11, the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway.	Pickens	Add
Aiken State Natural Area Set against the calm, winding South Edisto River, Aiken State Natural Area is a popular destination for the family or a budding naturalist. The beautiful park in rural Aiken County offers canoeing in the river, peaceful picnicking, fishing in the river and the park’s spring-fed lakes, campground and trailside camping and hiking trails. The 1,000-acre site is uniquely diverse, combining a blackwater river and swamp, bottomland forest and dry sandhill pine forest. Aiken State Natural Area also has its place in history. It was built during the Great Depression by an African American detachment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Interpretive signage tells their story and their work can still be seen in some of the park’s original structures and features.	Windsor	Add
Andrew Jackson State Park Andrew Jackson State Park combines history, art and community activities into a setting that has made it one of the S.C. State Park Service’s most popular attractions. The only park in the system dedicated to a U.S. president, Andrew Jackson State Park features a museum that details the boyhood of the nation’s seventh president, who grew up here in what then was known as the Waxhaws of the South Carolina backcountry. A striking highlight of the park grounds is the bold equestrian statue of “Old Hickory” sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington of Brookgreen Gardens fame. Living history programs with docents in period garb are included in the park’s programming. The Lancaster County park also has a replica of a late 18th-century one-room schoolhouse, an amphitheatre that serves as home to a well-attended bluegrass festival each year and other community gatherings, as well as a campground, fishing lake, picnicking facilities and trails.	Lancaster	Add
Baker Creek State Park Baker Creek State Park is closed for the Winter season from October 1st, 2009 until March 1th, 2010. This seasonal closure enables the SC State Park Service to provide better stewardship of our resources and maximize the efficiency of our park staff during this period of low demand. Several nearby state park campgrounds --Hickory Knob State Resort Park and Hamilton Branch State Recreation Area--are open for camping during this time. Looking to leave city life behind for a few days. How about a secluded venue to enjoy nature? Baker Creek State Park, located on the shores of Lake Thurmond, is the ideal location for a lengthy camping trip or a relaxing swim. Along with its campgrounds and lake access, Baker Creek is also known for its 10-mile mountain bike trail, where riders can test their skills as they enjoy the park’s stately pine forest. The park also is a great place to observe wildlife, including waterfowl, wild turkeys, deer and curious squirrels. Baker Creek also has a large lakefront pavilion ideal for family get-togethers and other gatherings. It’s also just a few minutes from Hickory Knob State Resort Park, with its golf course, restaurant and other full-service resort offerings.	McCormick	Add
Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area sits astride several pine-covered points jutting into Lake Russell, one of the least-developed large reservoirs in South Carolina. Besides providing access to the big Savannah River lake, the park offers camping, picnicking, a tennis court, playground, seasonal swimming area and hiking. Picturesque views of the lake and surrounding forest are another highlight. Area anglers know well, too, that Lake Russell holds large numbers of bass, bream, catfish and crappie. And that’s no fish story.	Calhoun Falls	Add
Cheraw State Park Natural beauty and great golf come together at Cheraw State Park. An 18-hole championship course winds its way through the long-leaf pinelands of the traditional state park, a course that’s earned notice from the Aubudon Society for the way it’s managed to preserve and protect the habitat it shares with uncommon critters such as red-cockaded woodpeckers and fox squirrels. The park in South Carolina’s northeast corner also boasts Lake Juniper, a 300-acre impoundment built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression along with the park’s original cabins and picnic facilities. A boardwalk along the lake helps visitors enjoy the scenic setting, and kayakers particularly enjoy silently scooting into the cypress wetlands at the lake’s edge.	Cheraw	Add
Chester State Park Chester State Park has been a haven for hiking, picnicking, boating and fishing for the surrounding communities in the South Carolina Piedmont ever since it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Centrally located between Columbia and Charlotte, the park centers on a 160-acre lake, itself surrounded by a two-mile nature trail through the pine forest. A community building, camping, archery range and johnboat rentals and an unusually serene, placid setting close to town are among this traditional state park’s attractions.	Chester	Add