Best State Parks In South Carolina For Camping

From a grocery store to pizza delivery and even a waterpark, you’d be hard-pressed to run out of activities at Ocean Lakes. While this nation has nearly as varied an array of options for camping as it does states, few experiences combine the beauty and peacefulness of nature with amenities like electrical hookups and showers that state parks can provide. Whether you’re after somewhere nearby for a weekend in the woods or planning a trip across the country, Campendium is here to help you find the best state parks that suit your particular tastes. While most RVers head to the Oregon Coast, take off in the other direction and check out this beautiful park in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon. Located near the picturesque town of Joseph, Wallowa Lake State Park offers snow-capped mountain views and a quiet campground.

Tent campers can get away from it all, get their hands dirty, and get back to nature, all for the experience of camping in the south. As with many other interstate drives, making your way along I-81 in western Virginia can get monotonous. Thankfully, Natural Bridge State Park is just a few miles off exit 175, making it a great pit stop to stretch your legs and enjoy the scenery during a long road trip. To view the park’s namesake 215-tall rock formation carved into the surrounding limestone gorge, take the two-mile out-and-back Cedar Creek Trail from the visitor center. Where else in Oklahoma can you hike across a sea of black lava rock that’s nearly 30 million years old?

Pettigrew State Park, North Carolina

Nearby attractions include the Catawba Indian Cultural Center, Carowinds Theme Park, Canaan Zipline Canopy Tour, and Mr. Putty’s Fun Park. If the great outdoors are calling your name, set out on an adventure in one of the South’s best state parks. Our readers voted on their favorite destinations for getting outside and exploring in nature, and these parks took the top spots. Find your way to these outdoor destinations, and you’ll be met with mountains, gorges, beaches, rivers, swinging bridges, marshes, hiking trails, campgrounds, and plenty of fresh air.

With a lakeside pavilion, two picnic shelters, and 65 campsites, it’s a great place to enjoy a few days in the wilderness. If wild, rugged terrain, tumbling waterfalls, and dramatic peaks make your heart flutter, don’t miss Table Rock State Park, a 3,000-acre area of protected wilderness that offers endless opportunities for outdoor adventure. Its primary attraction is Table Mountain, but it’s also home to Pinnacle Mountain and two lakes, one of which comes with a lovely, old-fashioned swimming hole that’s even got its own diving board. With hundreds of miles of hiking trails to explore, it’s the ideal destination for nature lovers. Covering more than 7,000 acres of rolling, wooded terrain, the park offers 12 miles of biking and hiking trails, a playground, picnicking and camping, as well as fishing and boating in one of two lakes. One of only four oceanfront state parks in South Carolina, Edisto Beach has a prime location on Edisto Island in Charleston County.

You will find a lot to explore nearby, including Daniel Boone National Forest and the Red River Gorge Geological Area, where you can go birding, fishing, and canoeing. On-Site Amenities include an activity center, modern bathhouses, laundry, propane, ice, and firewood. They also have a shuttle service to the beach and downtown Charleston for only $10 round-trip. While this is technically not an oceanfront campground, it’s actually perfectly situated for anyone looking to combine a beach vacation and a trip to historic Charleston.

The Entire Menu At Comfort Scratch Kitchen In South Carolina Is Made From Scratch Every Day

Like many of the state parks in South Carolina, Aiken State Park was a Civilian Conservation Corp project. Three artesian well fountains and several buildings throughout the park reflect the workmanship of the CCC. There’s the Edisto River to canoe and a fishing pond to catch lilies and catfish. They’ve added a bit of sand to the swimming area to make the bottom of the pond more hospitable and far less squishy between the toes.

Of course, it’s easy to find big mountains lined with prickly pear cacti and roaming bighorn sheep when exploring parks like Davis Mountain or Big Bend Ranch State Park, that’s but one corner of a very, very large and diverse state. Snowy mountains, endless painted canvas desert vistas and even an island park have kept Utahians and travelers alike flocking to the state every year. Was it Thomas Jefferson who first stated that all state parks are created equal? This year-round campground only has 13 sites, but the state park is the closest to North Carolina’s famous Outer Banks. The park and campground have quick access to kayaking, fishing, swimming, and the largest dunes on the East Coast.

Trip Inspiration

Real-time Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watch Warnings help keep our community safe. Sign up with your email address I would like to receive news, exclusive offers, and fun updates from Hipcamp. Aiken RV Park “Nice easy on and off the highway. We were there just one night but it was nice and clean.” On the edge of South Carolina’s Midlands is McCormick County, home of Hamilton Branch State Park. The neighboring town of Plum Branch, South Carolina, is roughly an hour and a half from the state capital, Columbia.

There is also the Cedar Bluff Nature Trail, which is a 1.75-mile loop through the park. Other activities include fishing, boating, hiking, birdwatching, or traveling on the 10-mile equestrian trail. Croft State Park is a 7,000-acre land that has a rich history, including having been a former army training base. The park has space for picnicking, fishing, boating, biking, hiking and, of course, camping. There is a boat ramp with access to Lake Tom Moore Craig and there are non-motorized fishing boats, canoes, and kayak rentals during the day.

Oliver Lee in NM is a nice park but hardly the best in a collection of great state parks. That has to go to Caballo Lake State Park, the section below the damn. Mega scenic, on the river, great hiking, well maintained and excellent hosts. But frankly it iis very difficult to pick just one NM state park as the best. Search our Park Finderfor your perfect camping experience, or if you know which park you are interested in, go ahead and make your reservation. The park is also home to Atalaya, the Moorish-style winter retreat of renowned 20th-century sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, philanthropist and Spanish scholar Archer Huntington.

Hickory Knob State Resort Park, Sc

Paynes Creek Campground is one of the eight campgrounds in the Lake Hartwell State Park, which boasts 962 miles of shoreline and offers a variety of outdoor activities ranging from boating and fishing to canoeing and swimming. The sloping 399-acre site is shaded by hardwoods and pine trees and features 44 campsites with full water and electricity hookups, picnic tables, firepits, and comfort stations with showers, toilets, and drinking water. Located on the banks of the beautiful Lake Keowee in the foothills of Pickens County, Mile Creek Park offers a variety of overnight accommodations ranging from tent and RV camping to rustic lakefront cabins.

For a rather different experience, brush up on your history a bit by calling Connor Battlefield Historic Site home. Take some time to learn about the Battle of the Tongue River, and if you get a little restless in the small park, kick up a little dust in the adjacent town of Ranchester, one of Wyoming’s famously small small towns. Find a State Park in WyomingThe wild west is still firing off pistols and bucking its broncos in Wyoming.

South Carolina RV parks are spread across the state, with the most popular RV resorts being on the coast or along the state’s northwestern corner between Charlotte and the border with Georgia. Charleston is consistently ranked among the best cities in the world to visit, while resort towns like Myrtle Beach have been drawing crowds for many generations. South Carolina is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the entire country. There are many areas where tent camping is allowed, and throughout the state, you can find campgrounds, RV lots, and cabins. There is an amazing overlook on the side of the road that provides amazing views of what is called the Green Swamp.

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Park yourself for a day—or overnight, in one of the historic cottages—at Gulf State Park in Alabama. There’s no denying how the pandemic fundamentally changed the world—including how we live inside our homes. An overall trend toward celebrating the history and originality of our homes is displacing ultramodern aesthetics and sharp lines as we all look to create cozier, colorful, more personalized spaces that better suit our lifestyles.

Best Kid Friendly Resorts In South Carolina

This place is special in that it preserves the site of the first permanent English settlement in the Carolinas. It features a natural habitat zoo, a replica ship, cannons that still can be fired, and loads of hiking trails! When you head out to the great outdoors you never know how the day will unfold.

Huntington Beach State Park Campground offers sites for tents and RVs with water, sewerage, and electrical hookups, picnic tables with charcoal grills, and easy access to restrooms with flushing toilets, drinking water, and hot showers. Several nature trails like the Kerrigan Nature Trail and the Sandpiper Pond Nature Trail have viewing decks where visitors can learn about the local fauna and flora. The southeastern U.S. state of South Carolina offers beautiful beaches, pristine golf courses, historical sites and cities, and exceptional cuisine. South Carolina also boasts over 180 miles picture-perfect coastline, spectacular beaches, and family-friendly beachfront resorts, as well as many state parks and recreational areas that offer an array of outdoor activities and adventures. Pack your tent or jump into your RV and start exploring this amazing state.

The view from Eagle Point Overlook alone is worth the trip, but you could also come to play on a nationally ranked golf course or fish the lake for white bass and rainbow trout. Given that this is Kentucky, 24 of the 144 campsites are horse-friendly. Gulf State Park in Alabama has more than three miles of white-sand beaches to explore. The state parks here may be bundled beneath one geographic designation—the South—but they couldn’t be more different from one another, encompassing some of the most mind-boggling features of this country. From Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas to Babcock State Park in West Virginia, hikers, campers, and outdoor adventurers will want to add these 14 state parks in the South to their outdoor adventure list. Located in Northwest Florida off East County Highway 30A, this state park is home to one of the Panhandle’s most picturesque stretches of shore.

Oklahoma: Elephant Rock Campground Lake Murray State Park

Find a State Park in OregonVolcanic lava is gurgling beneath wedge-shaped snow-capped mountains cutting slices of pie into the clear blue summer skies above the Beaver State. A rainforest is lush with countless species of birds fluttering away above a plethora of mushroom-hunting. Wakeboarding, surfing, hiking, climbing, slacklining or disk golf…if it’s a sport, someone, somewhere in an Oregon state park is taking it to another level. So if you’re finding it hard to sleep at night, dreaming about that perfect RV camping trip and which state is going to provide it…look no further. And whether you’re interested in a cup of coffee or an evening cocktail, everything you’ve come to know and love is right at your fingertips. Swimming pool with slide, horseback riding, miniature golf and of course lots of hiking.