Summer Campgrounds in South Carolina for an Outdoor Adventure

Barnwell State Park is located near the town of Blackville in Barnwell County and a favorite spot among the community for a family-friendly getaway. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937, the park offers a variety of outdoor activities from hiking, mountain biking, and picnicking to water-based fun on a small lake in the park, such as non-motorized boating, fishing, and kayaking. The Barnwell State Park Campground has sites for tents and RVs with electricity and water hookups, a dump station, picnic tables, fire pits and grills, and comfort stations with hot showers, toilets, and drinking water. The park offers complimentary wireless Internet and has a children’s playground.

223 State Park Rd, Blackville, SC 29817, Phone: 803-284-2212

Set on the shores of the man-made Hartwell Lake, which is fed by the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers, Coneross Campground is one of eight campgrounds in the area operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The moderately sloping, heavily wooded campground is spread over 136 acres and offers 106 public use campsites, 94 of which have full water and electric hookups, while 12 are primitive pad-only sites. Amenities in the campground include comfort stations with showers, drinking water and flushing toilets, dump stations, a boat ramp and a courtesy dock, four children’s playgrounds, and ample parking. The campground has two safe swimming beaches, and activities range from hiking, mountain biking, and boating to fishing, canoeing, and sailing.

699 Coneross Park Rd, Townville, SC 29689, Phone: 888-893-0678

Congaree National Park is a 26,276-acre national park in central South Carolina that is home to the largest tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States. The park has two campgrounds - Longleaf and Bluff Campgrounds – which are situated in the upland region of Congaree National Park. The campgrounds cater to primitive camping with tents only, and sites have picnic tables, fire rings, and vault toilets (only at the Longleaf Campground). The Harry Hampton Visitor Center has 24-hour water filling stations, and the campgrounds are nestled in a spectacular wooded setting surrounded by pine forests. Activities in the region include hiking, mountain biking, special ranger-led programs, and canoeing and kayaking on one of the rivers.

100 National Park Rd, Hopkins, SC 29061

Resting on the shores of the 7,500-acre Lake Jocassee at the eastern edge of the Sumter National Forest in northwestern South Carolina, Devils Fork State Park is a pristine wilderness that offers hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and camping. The park has two campgrounds located near the shores of Lake Jocassee that offer standard sites with electricity and water and one 12' by 12' tent pad, as well as picnic tables and fire rings. Walk-in campsites designated for tent camping only are available a short walk from a central parking area and have 25 elevated tent pads with picnic tables and fire rings. Laundry facilities are also available.

161 Holcombe Cir, Salem, SC 29676, Phone: 864-944-2639

Home to Carolina's longest system of hiking and biking trails, Edisto Beach State Park is a fantastic family-friendly place to soak up the beauty of South Carolina’s southern coast. Located near the town of Edisto Beach in Colleton County, the oceanfront state park features campsites for tents and RVs nestled in the along the shaded maritime forest or set along Edisto Island’s waterfront, as well as rustic furnished cabins in the woods. Campsites have water, sewer, and electric hookups, picnic tables, fire pits and grills, and access to comfort stations with hot showers, flushing toilets, and drinking water. Activities in the area include excellent fishing, kayaking, hiking, and biking.

8377 State Cabin Rd, Edisto Island, SC 29438, Phone: 843-869-2156

Hamilton Branch State Park is spread over a 731-acre peninsula in Lake Strom Thurmond near the town of Plum Branch in McCormick County. The park has a campground with 150 spacious, lakefront camping sites with beautiful views for both tents and RVs with water, sewer and electric hookups, picnic tables, fire pits and grills, and access to eight comfort stations with hot showers, flushing toilets, and drinking water. Two dump stations are available for RVs, and activities in the area range from water-based fun such as boating, fishing, swimming, and canoeing, as well as hiking and biking trails such as the 12-mile Stevens Creek Bike Trail.

111 Campground Rd, Plum Branch, SC 29845, Phone: 864-333-2223

Set along the shores of beautiful Lake Keowee in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, High Falls County Park is a 46-acre park with a family-friendly campground, a fishing pier, a mini-golf course, and several sports courts. The campground has 91 campsites with ten waterfront sites, all of which have water, sewer, and electric hookups, picnic tables, fire pits and grills, and access to comfort stations with hot showers, flushing toilets, and drinking water. A dump station is located outside the park entrance, and three pavilions can be rented for special events, while other day-use facilities in the park include picnic tables with charcoal grills, a fishing pier, two boat ramps, and a playground. The 18,000-acre Lake Keowee offers an array of activities such as fishing, swimming, and canoeing.

671 High Falls Rd, Seneca, SC 29672, Phone: 864-882-8234

The coastal park of Huntington Beach State Park boasts beautiful beaches, wetlands, and riparian habitats that teem with marine life. The park is home to famous landmarks such as the spectacular Grand Strand Beach, the picturesque, Moorish-style winter home of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, after which the park is named, and the Brookgreen Gardens. 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.

16148 Ocean Hwy, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576, Phone: 843-237-4440

Keowee-Toxaway State Park rests along the shores of Lake Keowee in Pickens County with breathtaking views of Blue Ridge Mountains. The park has a sizeable family-friendly campground with a designated tent area featuring 14 sites with individual tent pads, fire rings, and central water, and ten paved RV sites with individual water and electrical hookups.

The campground has easy access to restrooms with flushing toilets, drinking water, and hot showers, and there is a three-bedroom cabin with modern conveniences and a private dock. The park is home to the Jocassee Gorges Visitor Center, which offers a wealth of information about the Jocassee Gorges, and the Keowee-Toxaway Museum that documents the history of the Cherokee Indians and their interactions with local settlers through a range of informative exhibits.

108 Residence Dr, Sunset, SC 29685, Phone: 864-868-2605