Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Hartwell Lake

This is a well-maintained park with very friendly staff and guests. Spacious dog park, fresh gravel in the spots, fire pit area with string lights. We had a change of plans the morning of checkout, and they let us check out a little late since the park wasn’t fully booked, which was so helpful and kind of them. The park is centrally located near downtown Greer (very cute with lots of shops and restaurants) and a short drive from Greenville and Travelers Rest. We will definitely be back while passing through this area next time!

Springfield Campground is one of Hartwell’s most popular camping destinations consisting of 60 acres of primarily Virginia pine and some mixed hardwoods. The area presently offers 1 gatehouse/entrance, 2 park attendant campsites, 79 public campsites with full water and electric hookups, 6 comfort stations (4 with showers), 1 dump station, 1 boat ramp, 1 courtesy dock, 3 playgrounds, 1 designated swim area/beach, and associated paved roads and parking areas throughout.

The area presently offers 1 gatehouse/entrance, 2 park attendant campsites, 79 public campsites with full water and electric hookups, 6 comfort stations (4 with showers), 1 dump station, 1 boat ramp, 1 courtesy dock, 3 playgrounds, 1 designated swim area/beach, and associated paved roads and parking areas throughout.

Hartwell Lake is a man-made lake bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers. The dam and lake area boasts 8 campgrounds and 11 day-use facilities that are operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Hartwell Project was originally authorized for hydro-power, flood control, and navigation. Later, recreation, water quality, water supply and fish and wildlife management were added. Surrounding vegetation allows for plenty of shade, and the 962 miles of shoreline provide numerous swimming beaches, picnic areas and boat ramps.

Fishing is one of the most popular activities at the lake. Sought-after species include largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish, striped bass and hybrid bass.

The lake appeals to boaters of all kinds, whether their specialty is canoeing, sailing or motor boating. Coves and areas of quiet water provide water skiers with excellent surfaces.

Swimmers will find sand beaches and designated swim areas along the shoreline.

Clean pet friendly park with very nice, helpful and funny staff. New sod in between the large gravel sites. Bigger park than I expected.

Wow, Oconee Point in South Carolina is one of my favorite camping spots for me. I absolutely love this place, and have been coming here ever since I was little. This place holds such a special place in my heart. Hartwell Lake is gorgeous!! When we come and stay here, I spend most of my day here on the lake. I love to kayak and canoe on the lake. More times than not I am up and going at around 6:30am, and I start my day on the lake. It is so peaceful and quite in the mornings, I love it!! Another thing I love about this campground is that the campsite are very large. In the summer months this campground is very busy- so the large campsites makes you feel like it isn't AS busy. There is enough room between each campsite that you don't feel like you are intruding on another campsite! The campground is also very clean, and there are some rangers and attendants available which is also really helpful. We have asked the rangers in the past about hikes around the area. They have definitely been extremely helpful and have pointed us in the right direction. There are some really great hikes nearby that range from easy to difficult. I would suggest doing research ahead of time, or asking one of the attendants about the hikes in the area. Just so you do a hike that fits your needs. I don't remember what campsites we have stayed at, but we try and get as close to the water as possible. This just makes for a beautiful view, and easy to get our water activities in the lake. I would definitely suggest bringing any water toys you have. Again, I love kayaking/canoeing but we always see people in the lake with floaties or in tubes. I would suggest brining bug spray too- the mosquitoes are always annoying!

This is a great campground. Lots of spacious campsites. Lots of choices. We were lakeside on a pull through that was a bit short for us. The site was amazing we could kayak up to our site. Pet friendly, family friendly. Power, Electric, gray water dumps near each site. Washer and dryer in each bathhouse. A beautiful campground.

We have been for 8 days with tomorrow being our day to head home. First for the pros. There is a fhu area with several buddies sites. These sites look to be upgraded from in the not to far past. My site was easy to back into with my 37’ 5th wheel with plenty of room for my truck. There are plenty of tent and water/electric only sites. Those are suited mostly for smaller rigs. There 2 lakes with easy trails around both. A swimming area , putt putt course and a park store. Many adventure in the area to be had, waterfalls , hiking, history, and other state parks. There was a square dance Friday night and by the screams of the kids it was a hit. A snow cone food truck is on site with weekend hours. Trash pickup is done by the park staff daily, which was nice. Now for a few cons. Many people put their trash out at night and garments opened the bags and staff were left with picking it up. Bathrooms were a little neglected during the week until the park becalm loaded again. Putt putt course is in pretty bad shape but still playable. As with most parks roads are directional and many people just ignored the signs or did not see them so the signs could be clearer. Our site need the grass trimmed due to the sand spurs growing. And last, a pet peeve of mine, pet on a leash or lead is for everyone, no Matter how well trained you think they are and we saw lots of dog poop in and around some camp sites where the campers were just leaving it for the next person to deal with. Overall our stay has been nice. Saw some waterfalls, and there are many in the area. Hiked , and hit devils fork for a swim in the clear lake. I would visit this park again since overall it has so much to offer in the area.

Beautiful kid and pet friendly campground. Waterfalls, hikes and free fishing gear available. Non dispersed campsites. Quiet neighbors. We could hear the water current at our site. Site 17 is spacious. We fit 2 vehicles, 20x10 tent and another 4person tent along with chairs inflatable couch and all that with plenty of room to move around. All the staff are extremely friendly and helpful! Clean bathrooms. The hooks for your belongings are out side of the shower. Different but manageable.

I found everything I was looking for and more in Jonesboro, NC, where I left knowing I would come back to again and again to experience a little bit of Heaven here on earth. Camping lots at only $25/night. So many aminities right on site that included, but not limited to; excellent fishing spots, showers & laundry services, recreational abundance all around, and golf cart friendly community filled friends always willing to help whenever the need arose. Lake access offered clean beach atmosphere with breathtaking sunsets and welcomed pets like family. I cannot wait to go back! I will stay as long as I can.

The campground itself was absolutely beautiful. There were lots of sites along the creek, making it even better.

Their website makes the sites look bigger than they actually are. We BARELY fit two small tents in one site.

Campground is pet friendly, but I wouldn't recommend unless you're RV camping. (In fact, this campground is more geared for RV camping.)

All of the sites on our "loop" were RIGHT ON TOP of each other. I mean, bacon cooked outside would probably get grease on a neighboring camper. We aren't big fans of close camp sites, so we weren't thrilled.

Quiet times were not respected while we were there, but we were not bothered. That may bother others though!

Bathrooms were nice!

This campground will be great for some! Just depends on what you're looking for!

Mike creek is one of several parks located on Lake Keowee. We were really disappointed that they had closed off the primitive campsites to build new cabins, but the new cabins are very nice! They were built October 2018 so they are brand new- They are pretty small but clean, air conditioned, and have a kitchen with stove and fridge as well as a screened in porch. They have 2 sizes- They house 4 or 8 people and are a little over $100/night. As of right now they don’t allow pets if you stay in the cabins so keep that in mind! The park ranger said they are planning to build some primitive sites again in the next year or so and we are looking forward to that. Overall, the cabins are clean even if they are small and the weekdays usually have openings. Mike creek has a lot of amenities such as a beach area, lots of parking, docks, and playgrounds. I highly recommend this park!

My wife and I camped up here about two weeks ago. It was still perfect out. 75-80 during the day hi to mid 50s at night. The campsites about 3/4 of mile walk downhill to one of six campsites around a little pond and a creek that the pond drains into. Spots five and one are probably the most secluded but six has a good Creekside view.

It’s about a mile and a half walk from the campsite to rainbow Falls. There’s Turtleback falls be on Rainbow Falls. My wife and I decided not to go all the way up there. It’s pretty dangerous so just be careful especially if you have a pet.

We also went and explored Brevard which is about a 30 minute drive from the state park. We even went and saw the white squirrels that are the local legends they look like white tree rats to me but whatever. It’s a cute little mountain town I recommend going to it just explore on a day trip. I’ll definitely back to explore that further trails that we didn’t get to check out on this trip. Also the visitor center is incredibly awesome and the people that work there were the most friendly staff that I’ve ever encountered in any state park I’ve ever been camping. They made recommendations on everything we could do, and even gave us cutlery when we forgot ours when we ate breakfast up there to watch the sunrise.

1st time staying here, absolutely loved it, sites were large level & clean. We will be back. My dogs even loved it!