| |
Location |
Trip Planner |
|
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.
|
 McCormick |
Add
|
|
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.
|
 Hunting Island |
Add
|
|
A big, hilly, woodsy park with lots to do, Kings Mountain State Park has been a regional favorite for generations.
Built originally by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, Kings Mountain has miles of trails, equestrian facilities, group camping barracks, campgrounds, two fishing lakes with boat rentals and the popular Living History Farm.
The farm is a realistic replica of a typical Piedmont farm from the early to mid 1800s. Buildings include a house, barn and gin, and there are gardens and animals, including cows, chickens and a bunch of friendly cats.
Regularly scheduled special events at the park bring in local crowds and the park also is adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, site of a pivotal Revolutionary War battle.
|
 Blacksburg |
Add
|
|
A broad river, rich history and rare, hardy wildflowers come together at Landsford Canal State Park.
Stretched along the Catawba River along the South Carolina fall line, the park is home to the well-preserved remains of the canal system that made the river commercially navigable from 1820 to 1835. Locks, a mill site and the lockkeeper’s home are among the numerous intact structures from that era.
Out in the river is one of the largest known stands of rocky shoals spider lilies, tough plants that hang tight in the swift water and bloom spectacularly in a huge blanket of white in late May and early June. An easy-to-walk trail along the river leads to a viewing deck.
This crossable spot on the river (that’s what a ford is, of course) also played a role in the Revolutionary War, as both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter crossed here before and after pivotal battles.
Fishing, picnicking, nature watching (including the resident pair of bald eagles) and studying the canal structures and the interpretive signage all are favorite activities at this park in the Piedmont.
|
 Catawba |
Add
|
|
Named after the blackwater Little Pee Dee River, Little Pee Dee State Park is a subdued setting for those who want to enjoy the park’s natural features or fish the still waters of 54-acre Lake Norton.
Visitors can explore the park’s river swamp, examine features of the Sandhills region and admire an example of the mysterious geological depression unique to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Carolina Bay.
Guests also enjoy the park’s campground, nature trail and picnic area.
Fishermen appreciate Lake Norton’s ample collection of bream, bass and catfish.
The park’s easy access to Interstate 95 has long made it popular with both travelers and area residents alike.
|
 Dillon |
Add
|
|
Oconee State Park offers the joys of a mountain retreat without the work.
The historic park rests deep in the Blue Ridge foothills, with several picturesque but non-demanding hiking trails and well-kept cabins and campgrounds that have welcomed families for annual trips since the days the park was first built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.
The park’s fishing lakes offer bass and bream and the woods are full of wildlife, fur and feather alike.
Oconee State Park also serves as the southern trailhead for the Foothills Trail, an 80-mile wilderness hike on the dramatic Blue Ridge Escarpment on up to Table Rock. Adjacent to Sumter National Forest, the park also serves as a jumping off point to the nearby Chattooga and Chauga rivers, hotspots for whitewater rafting and trout fishing.
For those wanting to take it easy, Oconee State Park is an ideal destination. After all, its mailing address is the town of Mountain Rest.
|
 Mountain Rest |
Add
|
|
A renovated historic bathhouse serves as the new hub of activities at popular Paris Mountain State Park.
Once a rural retreat, the mountainside park now is a treasured green space in the fast-growing Greenville area. Bicyclists, hikers, picnickers and groups using Camp Buckhorn keep the park busy year-round. Summer is peak time for fishing, and swimming, in the park lakes.
Paris Mountain State Park was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression in the 1930s. The renovated bathhouse preserves that heritage in stone and timber on the outside and on the inside adds a 3-D map of the park, historical exhibits and a classroom for sessions on the diverse natural offerings of the leafy site.
|
 Greenville |
Add
|
|
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 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
|
|
Woods Bay State Natural Area offers a close-up look at one of the last remaining large Carolina Bays on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Experience the splendor and diversity of the cypress-tupelo swamp first-hand from the 500-foot boardwalk, or paddle your way amidst towering trees on the 1-mile canoe trail.
Habitats at 1,590-acre Woods Bay also include marsh, sand hills, oak-hickory forest and a shrub bog. More than 75 species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians are found here, along with more than 150 species of birds, changing with the seasons.
Come see alligators from the boardwalk and hear the "cu-tuck, cu-tuck, cu-tuck" of carpenter frogs as their calls echo through the trees. Take a hike on the nature trail as it encircles the historic mill pond and imagine yourself back in the mid-19th century when water from the bay powered two wooden grist mills.
Visitors also enjoy fishing, wildlife-viewing, photography and picnicking at the park.
Carolina Bays, elliptical depressions of various size scattered along the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, are among the Earth’s natural mysteries. Come check out Woods Bay State Natural Area and try to decide for yourself what created these intriguing natural wonders.
|
 Olanta |
Add
|