Lake Waccamaw State Park Campground

I have camped with a large group of friends at site #2 a couple of times, but this weekend, I wanted to camp with just my two boys, and site #5 (the yurt site) was available.  This site was new since I had camped here last.  It said it slept 6 and the website showed a pic of two beds; I \*assumed\* there would be four more, since it slept 6.

  

Long story short, just 2 beds.  But the worst part was weeds growing up through the floorboards, ripped screens, doors that wouldn't zip completely, and two (purposeful) holes at the top that surely let in mosquitoes!  The boy who slept at ground level is completely bitten up, despite me spraying everyone with bug spray and using my tennis racket-style bug zapper to clear out the yurt before bed.

  

Our trash can was completely full (I mean, at least there's a trash can, but we could hardly use it). Our fire ring was full of ashes and the grate was jammed down.  The previous campers had left us a few jugs of water but also small pieces of trash scattered about.  What I'm trying to say was that this site was not maintained between the last visitors and us.

  

The campground, though, is awesome if you like roughing it.  You are allowed, thankfully, to drive to your site, but it's a hike to walk to the running water toilets, and I saw lots of people drive to them.  There is a closer pit toilet but I didn't check that out.

  

The lake is beautiful, shallow, warm, good fishing, fun for everyone!  Bullfrogs, peepers, and owls called all night.  Dragonflies galore flew about.  It's rustic, but relaxing.  And the visitor's center has a nice exhibit on the Carolina Bays.

Great campground but avoid the yurt!

This is a great spot for campers who would like to car camp and have a swimming feature. The lake is super shallow for at least a hundred yards in all directions from the dock. Where shoes when walking on the dock, lots of nail heads and splinters.

The swimming dock is a short walk from campsite 1, but quite a hike from the other primitive group sites. There are some hiking trails that meander through the sandy pine forest. They range from a .75 mile self-guided nature trail to a 4 mile hike along the lake,

The campsite had picnic tables, fire pit, food prep counter and was not near any other campsites. The mosquitos (expectedly) were pretty voracious despite liberal application of repellent.

The pit toilet had a healthy population of spiders, but the campsite was an easy walk to flush toilets and water fountains.

It would be a nice, private place to camp in colder months, but not much to do. The sunset on the lake was absolutely gorgeous and we had it to ourselves on the first night. This is also a popular destination for locals, so there were quite a few people on the dock on Saturday.

Low intensity Lake Camping

This campground is very beautiful - clean amenities, and only a few well-kept campsites with fire rings, grills and several picnic benches. The sites are all a far distance from one another so there’s no chance of bothering one another at night. We had two neighbors during our stay but never heard or saw them, except when coming and going from the site to the parking area. 

The only warning I’d give is you are permitted to drive to your campsite to set up, but sites 2-5 are a quarter mile plus from the parking area. I didn’t read the key on the map, so that’s my fault for not knowing. But just a heads up, especially sites 4 and 5 (we were in 4) are very far from the bathroom. Don’t forget anything in the car. 

Looooong Walk

We stayed in site 5 for 11 days. The Yurt had been removed but the platform stayed. We were able to get up our large tent on the platform and have enough space for our chairs. The lake is beautifully kept and clean. Very shallow. You can walk out a good 300 meters. We kayaked and fished while we were here. The rangers were helpful and checked in to make sure we didn’t need anything and kept the trash can empty. All the locals we spoke to we friendly! The down side is you are a long walk to the toilets. This is primitive so no power or water at the site. We absolutely loved it and plan to come back again!  

Bring mosquito netting or pop up to keep the horse flies away! 