Best RV Parks & Resorts near Barnwell, SC

We called to reserve a week long stay and were told they had sites available, which turned out was only one. The campground is definitely a “no frills” park and mostly used by long term/permanent residents. The host/owner had us pull right next to his own rig, it was a tight fit and we had zero privacy. He then proceeded to sit on his RV stairs and smoke and stare at us both when we were outside and when we were in our rig. We could smell the smoke which isn’t ok with us. We didn’t even bother to put the slides out. When we set up the electricity we had fire ants attack us. We decided quickly that we’d only stay the night and we’d leave first thing in the morning. Across the street is a nice state park and campground (Colleton State Park) but they unfortunately didn’t have any sites open big enough for our 30 ft class A. I’d recommend staying there over this campground if you want to be in this exact area. We luckily found another campground closer to Charleston to stay at.

Sweetwater Lake Campground is a small RV campground. There is electric and water hookup and a dump station. Lots are decent size and fairly level on grass or gravel. The owners are very nice and available, if needed. Reservations are not taken, so you pull in and pick your spot. Drop your money in a lock box. The property has a nice size lake and all spots face it. There are fire pits and hammocks. The best and most fun part about this campground are the rescue donkeys. Their shelter and grazing area is situated directly behind the camper row. You can hear them bray and they will come to you and let you pet them, although, you should use caution as they warn you that donkeys bite. This is a very nice, quiet campground surrounded by private property of fields and lake. I really enjoyed our stay here!

This one one of the cutest, most well-maintained State Park Campgrounds we’ve been to. The groundskeeper Larry is the nicest man and was so welcoming from booking to departure. You can tell he takes pride in caring for his site. There’s a nice big field for the dogs to play in and we were able to rent kayaks from the outfitter across the creek to explore the Edisto River. There’s a good burger place 3 miles down the road (Lee’s) too. The cell and WiFi worked great for full time remote work and locationally Colleton is about 1 hour between Charleston, Savannah, and Congaree National Park. I think this is also the smallest state park in South Carolina.

This is a clean well-cared RV park that is a nice place to stay but a bit of a no- frills park. We were busy exploring the town so it was really just a place to park our RV and the fact that there were not many amenities was fine with us. The park is close to I-20 and I-520 so there is easy on/off and it is a great place for an overnight if you are just traveling thru. At $35/night with full hook-up, wifi, paved patio this was a pretty good bargain. 

The person who checked us in was nice and helpful and the process was speedy. All the roads are wide and easy to navigate. The sites are level and we had no problem fitting our RV and tow car in a back-in site. Our driveway was gravel/sand but the patio was paved with a picnic table. There is no cable but there is a clear view to the sky if you have satellite and we were able to receive numerous television channels with our antenna. Note that there are no restrooms or laundry. As with many RV parks, the sites are close together and since this is a fairly new park there are no large shade trees. Note: that there are no fire pits and campfires allowed. 

Numerous stores and restaurants are nearby and there is lots to do in Augusta.  There is a nice walking path by the canal downtown where you may see some urban wildlife. Would highly recommend visiting the U.S Army Signal Corps Museum at Fort Gordon and the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area Interpretive Center downtown. We also did a narrated canal boat tour which was very informative and entertaining. Both were very interesting!

It is a very small campground. Narrow winding dirt road to small campsites. Bathhouse in the center. Check out the site pictures on their website, they are accurate. We only have a 17 foot camper and it still felt small. We stayed on site 16 which was nice and quiet. Site 18 would have been easier to back in to with the same amount of privacy. We got there early and were able to go right to our site. There were only 4 other campers there and the hosts. The bathhouse was older and could have been cleaner but it was okay. Most importantly it was warm. Our first night it got down to 27 and the water at the hose bib froze but once the sun came up it was fine. Less than 30 minutes to downtown Aiken. We loved the town and it was very pet friendly. Hopelands Gardens was beautiful, free and pet friendly. Had some good beer at Aiken Brewing Company and enjoyed all the shops downtown. We did go into Augusta and that was another 30 minutes from downtown Aiken. We will definitely go back in the warmer months to see some steeplechase horse racing and training, canoe and kayak the Edisto River and go hiking in Hitchcock Woods. There are quite a few museums we did not get to that would be nice to visit as well. I would definitely go back.

We camped here in a small hybrid with 3 kids ages 8, 6, and 3. In the center or the campground there is a small playground. The kids didn’t end on it too much, but it was a nice addition. There is also some permanent (concrete) cornhole setup, but you’ll need your own bean bags. There is also a covered picnic area beside the bathhouse and playground with 3 picnic tables and it’s own fire pit. It wasn’t used while we were there, but if you were camping with a few other families it would be amazing!

Each site has electric and water, no sewer. I’ll get to which ones look like the best ones below. Some of the sites are awkward curving instead of straight back in, but most are pretty easy to get into. The only down side is that most sites have large concrete picnic tables and the fire ring is very close while also near a corner of the raised gravel parking level. This makes it a bit more challenging to set up chairs around the fire.

There is one bathhouse, which includes men and women’s bathroom and showers, a laundry room with a large sink (there is no sign that says you can’t wash dishes in this sink), and an all gender accessible toilet/shower room. This shower has a waist high spicket as well as a normal height one. The lower one worked really well to shower the 3 year old covered in vomit after my less than stellar decision to swing her in the hammock all nap time. 🤷‍♀️ The bathhouse was clean and the water hot. They had added a place to hang clothes while showering. There is not bench to set things down, and that would be my only suggestion. My husband said the shower in the men’s room was plumbed backwards and hot was cold and cold was hot. No issues in the women’s.

The rangers were fantastic and friendly. We participated in a hike with the park manager where she told us about the animals in the park and even let us feel grey fox and beaver pelts. We saw vultures and an armadillo. That finished with hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows! On Saturday we took the beginner archery lesson with another ranger. She was so patient with our 6 year old who gets frustrated very easily. It was so much fun! It was obvious that this particular ranger was great kids. The archery lesson was fun for the adults too. Later in the afternoon we participated in a scavenger hunt. Also done very well, definitely geared towards kids, (as expected) but it was definitely fun for the whole family. All the activities were well done. You can also rent paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, and bikes. All the trailers are family friendly. I think this park is perfect for families with young kids.

See this pictures for the best campsites. In short, 16 is the best site by far. Only one with a lake view. 12&14 would be my pick for two campers camping together.