Boating
It’s all about access.
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Boating on Lake Greenwood
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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
- Calhoun Falls
- Cheraw
- Chester
- Croft
- Goodale
- Hickory Knob
- Kings Mountain
- Little Pee Dee
- Oconee
- Paris Mountain
- Poinsett
- Santee
- Sesquicentennial
- Table Rock
- Woods Bay
Parks That Offer Boating
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Boaters and other outdoors enthusiasts can’t go wrong at Hamilton Branch State Recreation Area.
Occupying a peninsula on 70,000-acre Strom Thurmond Lake in the heart of South Carolina’s western piedmont, the park displays the peaceful beauty of the Savannah River valley.
All but two of the park’s spacious campsites are directly on the lake and Hamilton Branch’s shoreline makes it an ideal fishing spot. Ramps, picnicking and biking and hiking trails also are popular.
The park’s rolling, wooded terrain supports a large variety of wildlife, including fox squirrels and deer. Hamilton Branch is also known for its wide variety of trees, including pines, dogwoods with their white blooms in early spring, oaks, hickory and sweetgum.
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 Plum Branch |
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What would you call a state park that offers 18 holes of lakeside championship golf, tennis, skeet shooting and archery, a swimming pool, full-service restaurant and meeting facilities and more than 70 lodge rooms?
That would be Hickory Knob State Resort Park.
The only full-service resort in the S.C. State Park Service, Hickory Knob rests on rolling, wooded shoreline alongside 70,000-acre Strom Thurmond Reservoir on the Savannah River: South Carolina’s “West Coast.”
The park’s amenities also include a boat ramp, campgrounds and one of the state’s most popular mountain biking trails. Serene and tucked away, location is another plus for this destination, with picturesque, historic small towns such as Abbeville and Greenwood nearby and Augusta and Anderson (and Clemson) just an easy drive away.
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McCormick |
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Hunting Island is South Carolina’s single most popular state park, attracting more than a million human visitors a year.
Also attracted to the semi-tropical barrier island is an array of wildlife, ranging from loggerhead sea turtles to painted buntings, barracudas to sea horses, alligators, pelicans, dolphins and deer, raccoons, Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and even the rare coral snake.
What they all enjoy is five miles of beach, thousands of acres of marsh, tidal creeks and maritime forest, a saltwater lagoon and ocean inlet. Amenities include a fishing pier and some of the state’s most desirable campsites and cabins.
Adding to the natural history of the big park is a piece of man-made history: South Carolina’s only publicly accessible historic lighthouse. Dating from the 1870s, the Hunting Island Lighthouse shoots 170 feet into the air, giving those who scale its heights a breathtaking view of the sweeping Lowcountry marshland and the Atlantic Ocean.
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 Hunting Island |
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A sweeping Grand Strand beach, pristine and wide open. Sea-breeze camping and fishing from a jetty or in the surf. And some of the finest bird-watching on the East Coast.
That’s not all Huntington Beach State Park has to offer. There’s also Atalaya, the picturesque, Moorish-style winter home of Anna Hyatt and Archer Huntington, sculptress and philanthropist, respectively, who left the park and adjacent Brookgreen Gardens as their legacy.
Nature lovers also will enjoy the park’s Environmental Education Center and wide variety of programming, including the chance to see loggerhead turtles and other endangered plant and animal species up close. The park’s freshwater lake is a sure-fire place to see alligators and sometimes even a mink or two.
Art lovers, meanwhile, flock by the thousands to the prestigious, juried Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival held in and around the castle each September.
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 Murrells Inlet |
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Generations of history come together with miles of fun at Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area.
The park occupies a series of peninsulas on Lake Greenwood, which itself offers 212 miles of shoreline and 11,400 acres of boating and fishing opportunities year-round.
Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area is one of 16 state parks in South Carolina built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. That history is captured in the park’s CCC museum, which also serves as a popular reception and meeting center.
CCC structures remaining at the park include picnic shelters, a boathouse, water fountain and lakeside terrace.
In addition to lakeside camping, picnicking and hiking, the park also hosts the South Carolina Half-Iron Man Competition, a popular endurance contest, each fall.
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 Ninety Six |
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Lake Hartwell State Recreation Area is a park focused on fishing.
The lakefront park’s information center displays a wide variety of vintage fishing equipment. And, of course, 56,000-acre Lake Hartwell maintains a reputation for top-flight angling, including for striped and hybrid bass, largemouth, crappie, bream and catfish.
In addition to lake access, there is a park store, hiking, camping and unique, affordable one-room camper cabins. They feature bunk beds, a porch and electricity but no running water or bathrooms. The campground facilities are nearby.
Lake Hartwell State Recreation Area is located just off Interstate 85 at the South Carolina-Georgia border and also serves as a gateway to South Carolina’s mountain country on the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway (S.C. 11).
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 Fair Play |
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Picnic facilities, a spacious lake for fishing and boating, and a community building are prominent features of Lake Warren State Park. Perhaps the most intriguing aren’t manmade, however.
The Hampton County park boasts a floodplain forest that supports four species of pines and other large tracts of wetlands and woodlands that are home to a wide variety of plants and animals including whitetail deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, migratory songbirds, armadillos and American alligators.
In addition to its 200-acre lake, Lake Warren also has a tiny pond, two nature trails, playground equipment and all the setting needed for an ideal day at the park in South Carolina’s beautiful Lowcountry woodlands.
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 Hampton |
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Looking for a chance to unwind at one of South Carolina’s most beautiful lakes? Why not come explore Lake Wateree State Recreation Area?
Located on Desportes Island, Lake Wateree SRA has a tackle shop/ park store with refueling dock and public boat ramp that can meet the needs of most any fisherman or boater.
The lake is truly a fishermen’s delight with significant populations of crappie, bream, largemouth bass, catfish and striped bass. Lake Wateree hosts numerous fishing tournaments throughout the year.
The park does not lack in camping space either with 72 sites, including many that accommodate large RVs and all with water and electrical service. These sites go quickly in the summer months, so visitors should plan ahead.
Visitors at Lake Wateree can also enjoy the picnic tables, playground and the mile-long nature trail that runs through the peaceful woods.
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 Winnsboro |
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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.
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 Anderson |
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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.
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 Santee |
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