Best Glamping near Bishopville, SC

We camped here over the weekend with the pups. The state park has 2 different campgrounds. We decided for the Lakeshore one. It's pretty big with over 100 campsites. They have the usual amenities like fire pit, and picnic table with bench. Our was private, but the sites in the middle are not. The bathhouse was very clean with nice hot showers. The park has several trails, a visitor center, cabins on the water, at least 2 boat ramps with a bait shop. There are no trash cans near the campsites, there is one big dumpster at the entrance of the campground. It's about 1.30h to Folly Beach. We would definitely camp here again.

We recently returned from 5 days tent camping at Cheraw. We chose site #8 that was directly on the lake and offered electricity and water. These sites are obviously designed for RV’s with little or no space for tent campers. Although there is a designated tent area, it is back in the woods and not lakefront.

The minimal room we had was fortunately on the lake shore with wonderful shade trees.  The space was not level and contained some unfriendly exposed tree roots. Fortunately we had an inflatable air bed and the roots weren’t much of a problem. 

Lake Juniper is quite small and swimming is allowed in a designated area on the far side of the lake. We had inflatable rafts and tied our floats to a tree in front of our site , highly aware that a spillway not too far from our site would prove quite dangerous if one went too close then pulled over.

The small office on the opposite side of the lake offers ice and wood as well as ice cream, candy etc to satisfy any junk food craving. 10 minutes from the park is an IGA. It offers the basics and a little further out is a Walmart with groceries.

The bathhouse is currently “ under construction” although we saw no work being done during our stay. One half of the bathhouse had been designated unisex with three locking stalls and curtained showers. There is an interior lock if you choose to have the entire bathhouse all to yourself. I grew up in a family of eight and have no problem sharing a bathroom. The bathhouse has obviously seen a great deal of traffic, is quite dated and poorly ventilated. Hopefully the bathhouse will receive its update soon.  

The campground host was quite helpful and an all around nice guy. We chatted a bit and he has a very interesting background.

We would return to Cheraw and confidently reserve #7 or #8 for tents. There are most likely other suitable sites there that escaped my notice.

There are quite a variety of things to do at this state park, and the camp sites are spacious. There is a little store where you can buy any of the little things you may have forgotten. There were not too many people camping during our visit, but it could be that not many people want to stand the South Carolina heat! Either way, it made the visit quiet. There are also plenty of geocaches around, if you're into that. There are 2 places to shower in the campground, so I imagine that once it fills up, you may have to wait to shower. It was pretty clean and the water was clear, so I guess you could just go for a swim! I wish we had brought our tubes and some rope to float out on the water!

I hardly ever give five stars to a campground. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 9 because of the background road noise from the highway, but my wife and I had such a great experience. It was everything we wanted… and needed. 

Lakeshore Campground is one of TWO campgrounds at Santee State Park, and they are very different from each other. Lakeshore has dirt paths and sandy sites. I realize some people had rather have paved roads and RV sites with hard surfaces, but I prefer a more natural site. The spaces are large and fairly level. Although there may be some roots onsite, they were not really a problem. I don’t remember there being lantern hangers, but there were picnic tables and fire pits. We stayed in Santee for four days, so we were able to relax without feeling as if we were rushing, which reflects the whole essence of Lakeshore Campground. We booked for two nights, but we loved it so much we booked two more nights. Unfortunately, we had to move to another site in order to stay longer. 

Our first site was a little closer to the bath house, and we stayed in a teardrop camper. Knowing what I know now, I would do a little more research to see if I could get closer to the lake next time, although most of the sites between us and the lake are reserved for tents only. Still, the lake was visible from our campsite. 

The main reason people visit here is the lake, whether they want to fish for huge catfish or just want to boat on the water. Within the park, there are several “fishing holes” to explore and several trails as well. When hiking the trails, however, you have to constantly be on the lookout for alligators. We came across one on one of our hikes, and it was huge. I guess it was probably at least ten feet long if not longer. We also came across turtles, ducks, and other animals. Although I didn’t have any luck while fishing, it didn’t matter. I just enjoyed wetting a hook. 

The bath house has tiled floors, and it had hot showers. For a state park, it had above average facilities. Would I recommend this campground? Absolutely!!!!

BE CAREFUL EROSION IS SEVERE IN SECTIONS OF THE PARK. We stayed here for a week to take care of some medical issues. VA healthcare is difficult on the road. Anyway the campground is ok, nothing amazing. The location is nice. They have a boat dock. Cabins and 2 RV camping areas. The bugs are plentiful. The shoreline is difficult to reach from the campground. I see the lots are mowed after the campers leave. The grass gets mowed and anything left on the ground gets chopped up, small trash included. When we arrived with our RV we were neve directed to check in. We found our site and on the pole was a small tag with our name and a checkout date. We have been here 5 of the 7 days and we have yet to see the camp host unless he IS the "Mad Mower" even so we didnt get as much as a wave. My wife did venture over to the restroom / showers and refuses to return. She said they were not clean and had bugs everywhere and it was disgusting.  I figured she was exaggerating so I checked the men's room. It really needs some help. I would be happy to spray down a bath house or 2 but since I haven't seen a camp host I will leave it be. It's amazing how much fellow campers will help out if they have the opportunity,  I was ready to help and even have everything needed to help out. Maybe I will see him this weekend before I get busy with other things. Anyways this came was not a bad experience so far but I think they really need some better hosts and maybe set up some kind of activities. They have nothing going on here other than the lake. UPDATE: Before we left our week stay in santee we were able to visit the other campground connect to the same park to get to this side you must turn right. They were collecting a $2 fee. At 1st everything seemed ok. Minor road damage, downed trees here and there, nothing that 2ould keepme away. It seemed like the permanent camps were here. Some of the camps appear to have been set up for a very long time. As we went back the roads got worse and worse. I would not take my rig into the back 2 loops without locking in 4 wheel drive and riding on the "grass" to go around. The road in the back has some major road erosion going on. I suggest you walk back before taking a rig of any size back there. With the leaves on the ground it does not look bad. I saw drops of at least 12" BE VERY CAREFUL, THE ROAD EROSION IS SEVERE.