Upstate South Carolina
I have spent a good bit of time in Upstate South Carolina over the last 30 years. I attended Furman University in Greenville, SC for my undergraduate degree, and I still have some really close friends in the area. So, I decided to head south from the mountains of Western North Carolina to explore the beautiful lakes of Upstate South Carolina.
Lake Keowee
My first stop was Lake Keowee. This man-made reservoir is located near Seneca, South Carolina and is 26 miles long and 3 miles wide. I was able to secure a campsite at High Falls County Park. You can read my review of this park here.
Lake Keowee is absolutely gorgeous. The calm water is crystal clear and perfect for boating, fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Within the county park there were beautiful walking trails along the water that allowed me to get all of my steps in. Lake Keowee was by far the most beautiful lake I explored during my time in the Upstate.
The town of Seneca was relatively close to the park which gave me full access to Planet Fitness for workouts, Publix for grocery shopping, and Staples for getting some business done. The town is small but has a good amount of shopping available.
After my time at Lake Keowee I headed south to explore Lake Hartwell. Sitting on the border of South Carolina and Georgia, Lake Hartwell is one of the largest recreational lakes in the US at 56000 acres. I spent time on both the South Carolina Side at Oconee Point State Park and the Georgia side at Hartwell Lakeside KOA. I am learning that State Parks are very popular on the weekends during high season. So I often camp at them on weekdays and headed to places like KOA on the weekends due to their increased availability.
Lake Hartwell
Oconee Point Campground was beautiful. I spent hours hiking on the tree covered trails around the lake and enjoying the view of the water. This park was very close to Clemson University so many of the campers were football fans in town for the game which made things fun. Their campsites were decked out in purple and orange with lots of flags. Read a full review of this park here.
Being close to Clemson University meant that I had access to all the store and restaurants that come from a college town with the peace and quiet of a campground. That is a win/win in my book. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful Oconee Point Campground.
Hartwell Lakeside KOA
My final stop was the Hartwell Lakeside KOA. While I was only at this campground for 3 nights, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once again there were plenty of walking paths and a few short (less than 2 miles) hiking trails. The trails were a bit overgrown and since I was wearing shorts I didn’t complete the full duration for fear of poison ivy, but the parts I did hike were beautiful.
During my stay in the Upstate I made my first attempt at Paddleboarding. Come back to see how it went.
Heather
