Oconee State Park Campground

My wife& I stayed at Oconee State Park Oct. 28th-31st in a Cabin. For 90% of the stay, we had a wonderful time in the Cabin and walking/viewing the Lake, etc. However, there were several events that occurred in the Cabin that were disgusting and resulted in a BAD Situation and which I would assume is also occurring throughout the entire Oconee Park Cabin locations. On the 1st Night: We killed a"huge" Brown Recluse in our bathroom, on the floor near the sink wall. Luckily, I captured it and threw it in the fire. Next Morning: I noticed a big Fat Worm about 2-3" long of some unknown type on the bathroom floor near the sink area again. Obviously disposed of it. That afternoon, we went to the Station and told the Ranger attendant guy about our 2 experiences already. He searched and gave us a white Orkin Glue Strip to use and explained that Pest Control occasionally visits the Cabins?? Really?? Apparently not ours! 2nd Night: After placing the Glue Strip in the bathroom near the sink wall, I could not believe that, after hearing my wife scream, I discovered a Mouse partially trapped by the glue trap and only able to barely crawl toward the log wall with its front legs. I cautiously picked-up the glue trap from behind and threw the critter outside, still attached. 3rd Morning: Once again, another type of unknown Big Fat Worm in the bathroom near the sink and about 2" long. Again, disposed of. I cannot believe that, as nice as the rest of our Cabin#5 was, that there were that many insects& Varmints freely entering the Cabin walls. That was truthfully, DISGUSTING& VERY DISAPPOINTING. It is apparent that this Oconee State Park Cabin(s??) is managed by Gross Oversight& Negligence by someone. These four(4) unpleasant events greatly disturbed our stay and left a Very Unpleasant Taste in our Minds due to these occurrences. Imagine how uncomfortable you might be trying to slip into your bed linens at night with this invasion happening!!! If this State Facility is using any kind of Pest Control Measures, then obviously it is NOT WORKING and someone should be Disciplined or Fired! We have already filed a Complaint with the Oconee Park Manager several weeks ago and with the SC State Parks but as usual& expected, NO RESPONSE FROM ANYONE! NO ONE! Obviously, SC Parks and their Park Manager could care less about their customer’s bad experience, or the terrible condition of their specific cabins. All they want is YOUR MONEY$$$ and then you can leave!

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.

What a lovely, relaxing park. There is an area for day-use people, with boat rentals, a small swimming area, and playgrounds (including mini golf!). 

As for camping, you have two options: a large drive-in section (each with electric and water), some near the lake, some more forested, and some in the middle on higher ground.

Pro-tip: Site 18 has an amazing view, of the lake, and you can walk directly down and boat (but not swim) from the site. It's also on a "finger," so there's a tiny bit more solitude.

For strictly tent camping, there's a walk-in only section with a dirt path leading two two campgrounds, one of which abuts another lake. 

All campsites on both the drive-in and walk-in sections have a fire ring and picnic table. 

The camp HQ/store has good wifi and there's a weak phone signal is available in most of the park (site 18 has no Verizon signal, but walk a bit towards camp and you'll pick up two bars of LTE). I found the camp store prices to be reasonable and they have firewood bundles for $5.99. If you arrive after the office closes at 5pm, you can go to a site and check in the next morning.

When I stayed here, there were very few campers. Part of the reason was that school had started, and it was during the middle of the week. That was a good thing since there is limited privacy between the sites. I say limited, but compared to most campgrounds, there is a lot more privacy than some that have very little space between sites. The sites are well shaded, there is electricity and water, there are picnic tables, and lantern poles. The sites are gravel, which is fine for RVs but not necessarily for tent campers. However, there is a separate group tent section. The only other thing I didn’t like about staying here were the mosquitoes, but that’s to be expected in this environment. There are a lot of things to do. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explore everything, and the beach area was closed. There are two lakes, so I could go fishing and/or kayaking. During the season, peddle boats and canoes are available for rent. There is a really nice playground area for children. When I go back the next time, hopefully with grandchildren, they will take full advantage of that. What really surprised me was the condition of the bath rooms. It was modern and up to date with tiled floors. I felt as if I were in an exclusive resort. There is also a camper recreation building, along with a community building for special events. The trading post is interesting looking with an old ca. 1930s gas pump out front. There is quite a bit of history at this state park. Not only is there a CCC dedication with statue and plaque, but there is also a plaque recognizing the treaty with the Cherokee moving the frontier boundary into what is now Oconee County. The possibilities at this campground seem endless. There is mini-golf, a wildlife habitat, and lots of trails(including the Palmetto Trail), a fishing pier, and one of my favorites—the waterwheel. Overall, I spent too little time here to enjoy it all, but I will definitely want to come back. The only downsides are the gravel for the tents and the minimum two-day reservation system.

In the midst of all the Covid claustrophobia, it felt amazing to get up to the mountains and feel like being alone was normal.  The site was great, the bathrooms are amazing, and the campground was everything you'd hope an RV/tent-camping place would be.  There are primitive, walk-in sites that had the benefit of added privacy, but with 3 little kids, bathroom proximity was a higher priority this time around.  The waterfalls are closeby and you should really try King's Creek (30 min hike), Reedy Branch (10 min walk) or Yellow Branch (1.5 hr hike), they're some of our favorites.  Hidden Falls is also a hike that starts from the campground, about 1.5 hrs each way. So lovely and remote!Being able to get up in the morning and go to the falls without having to drive 1+ hrs to get there made it just dreamy for our crew!  The fire pit was easy to cook over, there's a mini-golf area and a playground that was closed still while we were there.  We loved it and will definitely be going back, my 5yo hails our time there as "best of the summer" everytime we ask :)

Nice park with a lot to do close by. We tent camped here the first weekend in June.

Bathrooms were always clean and seem to have been recently redone. Sites were small but not overly so.

Being regular tent campers, we understand that sometimes you are at the mercy of your neighbors. The people staying across from us decided that 1030 was the time to start blaring music and screaming. No camp host showed up, but after they fought and someone threatened to crush someone’s tent, they decided to calm down.

There are tons of hiking opportunities in the area with tons of waterfalls. We did get to hike to a few, but wish we had more time to spend there. We live 4 hours away, and if it were closer, we would be regular visitors. We will definitely go back at some time.

The park staff came around twice a day to pick up trash, very nice. There were warning signs for bears, but we saw no trace of them. Posted in my pictures is one of two baggies we found at our site. Being a former corrections officers, I know what I think it is, but I’ll leave that to the reader.

This place is still getting 4 stars due to overall cleanliness and location.

I cannot not truly describe how much my family enjoyed this campground. It was our first time and living in the Upstate most my life I can not believe we have overlooked this park. There is such a variety of activities. My 13 yr old had a blast on the bike trail at Stumphouse and my 3 yr old grandson was in awe of the abyss of the tunnel. Hidden trail is an easy and beautiful hike/stroll in the woods not to be missed and the absolute high light of the trip for myself was the exact hole by hole putt-putt course that 100% mirrors the the old Table Rock course that was torn down years ago that brought back a flood of sweet emotions and memories for me!! FYI bring your own balls and putter for cooler evening playing. The swimming are has a feel of a 1950's wading pool in the shallow and a trip to the bath house will make you feel as if your are on the set of Dirty Dancing. We stayed 3 night and only had time for a quarter of the things we wanted to do. We will definitely be back many times more.