Looking for the best Blackville tent camping? Finding a place to camp in South Carolina with your tent has never been easier. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Blackville, South Carolina's most popular destinations.
This campground is located just off the park entrance road, approximately mile before the Harry Hampton Visitor Center, in a mixed pine/hardwood upland forest. This campground is located at a higher elevation than the floodplain and is not subject to the flooding events that occur regularly in other parts of the park.
Campers with reservations at the Longleaf Campground have easy access to the parks 27 miles of hiking trails. Campers can reach the Harry Hampton Visitor Center by car or by hiking on the Longleaf Trail. At the visitor center you can access the Boardwalk and find information on other trails to plan your trip into the old-growth forest of Congaree National Park. Those who would like to explore and experience Congaree via canoe or kayak can launch from one of the park's two landings, located between 5-10 minutes by car from the campground.
Located in a mixed pine/hardwood upland forest, campsites are surrounded by pines and other trees. Campsites are generally in shade for large parts of the day. An open field in the middle of the campground is available for use by campers throughout the day, and this location offers campers excellent opportunities for observing wildlife such as birds, butterflies, and the occasional southern fox squirrel.
Congaree National Park is located near many attractions including state parks, forests and parks. The city of Columbia is a short drive from the park and offers access to many attractions including museums, city parks and shopping.
$15 - $25 / night
Enjoy a stroll in nature along one of our relaxing forest trails and if you want to try your hand at primitive camping let us know since we have several tent camping sites available.
We are booking reservations for our pioneer camping. Sites are $15 per campsite per night. Please note sites do not have access to fresh water or bathrooms. There is limited access to electricity in the common area but roughing it is meant to be part of the experience. Of course if you do need supplies, you are in the middle of Augusta, GA with a Family Dollar conveniently located next door. Once you step foot in the forest though you will feel as though you are miles away from it all! Our forest trails are free to the public and a great way to get out in nature!
$15 / night
This is a hike-in campground that is located at the intersection of the Bluff and Firefly Trails, approximately 1 mile from both the Harry Hampton Visitor Center and the Longleaf Campground. It is surrounded by a mixed pine/hardwood upland forest. This campground is located at a higher elevation than the floodplain and is not subject to the flooding events that occur regularly in other parts of the park.
Campers with reservations at the Bluff Campground have easy access to the parks 27 miles of hiking trails. Campers can reach the Harry Hampton Visitor Center, boardwalk, and other hiking trails via either the Firefly or Bluff Trails. At the visitor center you find information on other trails to plan your trip into the old-growth forest of Congaree National Park. Those who would like to explore and experience Congaree via canoe or kayak can launch from one of the park's two landings, located between 5-10 minutes by car from the visitor center.
Campsites are located on the edges of an open, grassy clearing in the mixed pine/hardwood forest, and is adjacent to an area currently undergoing restoration to a longleaf pine grassland/savanna. Depending on the time of day, sites may be the sun during the morning or afternoon/evening hours. This location offers opportunities to observe wildlife such as birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.
Congaree National Park is located near many attractions including state parks, forests and parks. The city of Columbia is a short drive from the park and offers access to many attractions including museums, city parks and shopping.
For facility specific information, please call (803) 647-3970.
$10 / night
Scout
I chose the lakeside tent sites section. I wish I knew that the Cypress side was open to tents also. It is much further from I-95. I can clearly hear roadway noise from this side. I visited the other side tonight and it is a much greater diatance from the highway and faces away from the noise. It is more popular over there so tonight, I have more isolation here. Good for tents all tbrough park.
Traveler
This campground is 20 miles from town. it is a long way out. The site is a loop for 35 foot or less and it has tent sites! it has one bathhouse with 2 showers and two toilets. it is not enough when it is full. It does not have sewer but a dump site. No phone or internet use. It was very quiet and it offered walking trails, small beach area on lake.
Ranger
This is a typical state park, not exciting, but mostly quiet.
The road going into the campground is horrible if you are towing a camper and full of potholes but is manageable. We are tent campers, so this didn’t affect us.
We tent camped in site #1, and the park was full this weekend. There are only 25 spots here, so it fills regularly. Our site was mostly level.
We did have a group of about 10,000 scouts camp right behind us in the group site. This never bothers us, it’s always good to see kids out in nature. They were mostly quiet for such a large group.
The bathroom / shower house is centrally located in the middle of the loop that the campground is arranged into. It was clean and had plenty of hot water.
They do lock the gate at night, so if you are arriving late, call for the code to the lock on the gate. We made it before the gate closed, but the ranger did call us while on the road (we live about 2 hrs away) to see if we needed the code.
Nothing much to do here as far as we saw, but that’s why we camped here this time. Just sat and read while enjoying the weather.
Guide
It was a pleasant stay at Congaree. As a SC resident I was surprised to learn we had our very own National Park and just had to take the short drive from Charleston to experience it - glad we did! The sites did not have water or power but were a decent size. We stayed at tent site 1 which was right at the beginning of the Bluffs Trail. We took our 2 dogs hiking to the boardwalk trail which led back to the Visitor Center.. this was a decent 3+ mile hike our dogs were pooped! Overnight guests should be prepared to gather your own wood as none is sold on site. You can also get water from the Visitor Center (which is a better drive than walk if carrying a large or multiple jugs). The bathrooms on the campground part were essentially glorified port-o-potties (a building surrounding a hole in the ground). The Visitor Center was a better bathroom experience. Overall, I would return here to camp. The hikes were not too challenging but the boardwalk provided a unique experience!
LegendThis is one of the two campgrounds at Santee State Park, and it is as different from the other as night and day. Unlike the dirt roads at Lakeshore Campground(the other campground in the park) the roads in Cypress View are paved. The sites are gravel, and many of them are pull-through sites. Although tent camping is allowed in Cypress View, I would feel out of place since most of the campers are RVs. However, our teardrop camper fits right in. Cypress View is a much smaller campground than Lakeshore Campground, but the amenities are the same. Every campsite is a short walk from the lake, and the campground is closer to the store than Lakeshore Campground. Unlike Lakeshore Campground, Cypress View Campground’s sites are much closer together, so there is not as much privacy. The campground is quiet, other than the noise from the highway. That may be one reason to be in an RV or a travel trailer--to cut out some of the noise at night.
Close to the campground, there is a tennis court, a boat launch, Fisheagle Tours, a picnic shelter, kayak rentals, hiking trails, and more. It is conveniently located to most of the state park’s attractions without having to drive so far. Cypress View Campground is also close to the main office and the boat dock.
If you had rather stay in a cabin, there are cabin rentals on the water. They are accessed by way of a boardwalk across the water. The bath house is modern and has hot showers. It is centrally located so that it isn’t that far of a walk from any of the campsites.
Overall, I do recommend this campground, especially if you are in a travel trailer or an RV. If you are tent camper, you would probably better enjoy being at the other campground in the park.
Traveler
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.
GuideThere 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!
LegendHaving been on the road for about three months before coming to Congaree, we were happy to arrive to such a quiet and tucked-away campground. For $5 per night, Bluff Campground was the perfect spot to hole up for a few days and relax surrounded by the old growth forest of Congaree National Park.
Our time at Congaree was different from the other national parks we visited, because South Carolina had just undergone major flooding and much of Congaree -- especially its trails -- were under water.
With no crowds and not much to explore, our three days in the park was very relaxing. We chose Bluff Campground -- a one-mile walk-in campground near the visitor center -- because we knew it would be less popular than Longleaf Campground, and we knew we’d be spending a lot of time there. The one mile hike seemed further than we thought because of our heavy loads, but once we arrived at our camp, set up our tent, chairs, hammocks, and slack line, we were able to just make the easy walk in and out each day.
The campground itself has no facilities; its only amenities are the fire ring and picnic table at each site. We encountered only one other camper in our two nights here. We did encounter many mosquitoes, though, so don’t forget bug spray!
At Congaree, there are several hiking trails and kayaking trails that we would have liked to do, but with our plans foiled by rain, we spent time at the visitor center, around the short boardwalk trail adjacent to the visitor center, and kayaking through the flooded plains, straight off the boardwalk.
You can read much more about our three days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Congaree)
RangerThis campground is a breath of fresh air and my new favorite campground. The park is clean and so are the bathrooms! The sites are spacious and if you get site 11 during the week, you might be the only ones in a large section of the camp. The cheaper sites (the non-"full service" ones) still have electricity and water. The bugs seem to be under control here, too.
There are at least 8 geocaches, a self-led park BINGO, a swimming beach, paddleboat rentals, fishing ponds stocked with catfish, and a tackle loaner program. Note that the park office is only open from 11a-noon and 4-5p. The rangers are super-friendly.
If you get a chance to go to nearby Blackville, make sure to dine at Miller's Bread-Basket, an Amish-Mennonite restaurant with a Southern touch.
GuideI’ll put my gripe first and get it out of the way. Site 16 was awful to get into. Two trees are only about 10 feet apart and once you clear those you have to jackknife and nearly scrape your tow vehicle on a tree just to get close enough to the utility pedestals and to have some space on the door/awning side. The site slopes by the utilities and I had to get onto 4 leveling blocks and was still slightly off kilter. Ok. Gripe over. The rangers and crew were friendly and amazing! The park (during the week, late May) was pretty sparse with only 7-8 of the 25 sites occupied. Come Friday it fills up (and group near me noisy).. the park is beautiful, but small. Has a really nice fishing pier and beautiful hike around the lake. The two towns on either side (Blackville and Barnwell) are just enough for supplies. Overall a great and affordable place to visit!
Scout
I would like to give an honest review of this campground because I rely on other peoples’ reviews to choose campgrounds that I have not been to before. I cannot in good faith recommend this campground to anyone. I called the week ahead to confirm that reservations were not required. I spoke with a lovely lady who shared reservations were not required and that their campground never fills up. (However I will have to say the night that I arrived, there were very few spaces left.) I told her I had read good reviews and that we were local and were excited to come.
My first impression - I would prefer to camp under the stars. Instead, at this campground you camp under a light pole at each campsite. We also like to have a fire ring to have a fire going to cook our food, but not at this campground. There’s a community fire, and no fire rings at the campsites.
But the most deplorable part of our short stay was the treatment received from the owner. We arrived after dark, in the fog and after setting up our camper, we went to plug it in only to find that there was no wiring in the electrical box. Unfortunately we did not notice the small, paper sign, wet and faded stating that the electric box was out of order. When we spoke to the owner, he had no professional courtesy at all. He was the rudest person I have ever met. He blamed us for not reading his wet, faded sign that could not be seen in the dark. He did not offer to help, but instead raged on and noticed that we had South Carolina plates. He then said we weren’t even supposed to be there, that their campground is for out of state campers. I have never heard of such a thing and not to mention, the lady I spoke to earlier in the week knew I had said we were local and did not mention this policy on the phone.
If I I am paying to camp, I expect a working campsite. If it does not have working electricity or sewer, it should be roped off so that people know not to park there. We packed up and left because of the unprofessional behavior of this campground owner. If you are looking for a place to camp, I would highly recommend skipping Sweetwater Lake Campground and checking out one of our State Park campgrounds instead. They have working campsites under the stars with electricity, water, fire rings, and park rangers that care about your camping experience.
ScoutWell, last minute decision on a Friday in July. Should be hot, humid, mosquito-filled, but was breezy and with a water view! Site 115 in the tent area (tent or RV, but had a tent) was beautiful. Not full this weekend. I'd say the whole campground was 40% full, being the week after the 4th and all, but I'd highly recommend such a visit! The camp store, purportedly open until 5, was open until 7, perfect for smores fixings and breakfast, etc. And nice quite morning! Children are the future, but honestly a campsite where they aren't wailing before 7AM is a treasure and a rare find. Enjoy!
RangerFirst of all: this place is mainly an RV campground and I am a tent camper.
But I was desperate, so I showed up here without any prior contact or reservation.
They allowed me to pitch my tent close to the lake, far away from the RVs. They do have a bathroom with a shower and it’s not in the best condition, but when you haven’t showered in a week, it’s just fine.
This place wasn’t ideal, but it was great in a pinch for one night.
GuideWe stayed in Longleaf site 1 and site 2 in April. Site 1 is the closest to the parking lot- like 20m away. It’s very public and right beside the trail for all the other Longleaf sites. Site 2 is a further walk down the trail and then a walk into the bush. So it’s more private but there’s a lot more plants everywhere. These sites are more for smaller tents and not massive ones. There are a lot of tree roots which it tough if you have a huge tent. There is one washroom open at the visitor centre and a potable water tap available all night long- but drive there walking is too far. There is a vault toilet at the parking lot for Longleaf.
Rangerthis is a great park. have visited on many occasions both by tent and the cabins the park has to offer. It is great for the kids with playground and hiking trails.
ScoutWe stayed over on our way to Charleston, SC. We booked it online. We had no hookeups, but water and a dump station is available. There are hiking trails, canoeing, and fishing. The ranger was super friendly and they are pet friendly. We had to switch sites when we arrived due to a space issue. We have a 32’ RV and the site stated a max of 35’ but there was a tent pad that would have interfered with us being level. We were allowed to switch with no issues.
ScoutSites 2,10 and 8 are private or not to close to other sites. It a easy walk in from the parking lot. Bathroom are clean but no water anywhere next the campground. The sites were clean but the tree roots are horrible, it night you will trip over them and there will be some under your tent. Very nice park office,young ranger a bit rude but the volunteers nice.
Traveler
The tent area with electric and water hookup of this campground has no privacy. Our first time at a private campground. We prefer state parks. The kids did enjoy the dome they got to jump on at various times of the day. The playground is great! The hike was pretty uneventful. They have a pool although we did not swim when we went, much too cold in November. The staff is great. Bathrooms were clean. This place is great just depends on what type of camping you enjoy.
ScoutOverall good experience with this campground. The ranger was super sweet and helpful. We enjoyed the trails, and they were nice and easy to get through and just long enough to feel like you got a bit of hiking in. They offer rentals for John boats, paddle boats, and kayaks for a very reasonable cost. We rented two paddle boats and had a blast (it was exhausting though). There is wifi at the office and meeting building, which came in handy for communication since cell service was spotty at best.
The sites are kind of on the smaller side and close, so if you are bringing a large camper it might be a challenge. There were lots of campers, so it's definitely doable though. We were in a tent so the pad size was perfect for us. The pad is mostly sand over clay, rather than gravel, which was great with the tent. The sites have power and water. Lots of trees, so it's perfect if you have hammocks. They also sell fire wood on site, if you need it.
My only minor complaints were the bathrooms, office hours, and wasps. The bathrooms are clean and fully functional but oddly proportioned so the showers and stalls are really cramped but the sink area is huge. The office is only open a couple hours a day, which was understandable but inconvenient. There were a lot of wasps around the fishing pier and the boats. Didn't have any problems with them in other areas or at the camp site, so that was good at least.
All in all, the trip was very enjoyable and we look forward to going back to Barnwell as well as making our way through the other state parks.
ScoutReally clean camp sites, they offer primitive camping without any amenities theses camp sites are more secluded and peaceful in my opinion its also near a large fishing pond and creek all the primitive sites do all have a small fire pit, and there are two outhouses( bring your own toilet paper). They also offer more luxury camping in the main park with running water and showers and outlets this is also where the RVs are parked, but you can also put up tents. In the main park there is a few fishing ponds with the ability to rent Kayaks, a spring fed pond with a swimming area, hiking trails, playground and also bathrooms and picnic tables. There is alot to do my family had a blast.
GuideWe stayed in the Cabin which was great with a baby! AC kept us cool in the heat of the summer but we were still close to our friends in tents and campers... nice tree coverage and close (quick drive) to the Edisto river/beach. Where you can raft or hang out at the beach.
Right by the cabin is a walk down to the river for fishing. Don’t recommend swimming here! undertow could be dangerous... there’s a path to the water on the other side of the camp where we set up to fish also but lost a lot of lures in the brush. Kids had a blast anyway!
RangerThis is an ok campground. Small (25 sites) and quiet. Kudos to the park staff for calling the day before to see if we needed firewood, and give us the gate code in case we were going to be late.
As I said before, it is quiet (except for our neighbors ac kicking on and off all day and night). Site 23 is spacious, and although it backs to the road, there is minimal traffic on it.
The bath house is in the middle of the loop and easily accessible. It is a little outdated, but was always clean. The showers are newer than the rest of the bathroom.
There is a canoe/kayak launch close enough to walk to and we saw many people with kayaks and canoes.
We are tent campers and slept with no rain fly, looking at the stars and listening to coyotes howl at night.
A good park overall and a quiet peaceful weekend.
GuideThis Campsite is absolutely beautiful, we stayed during labor day weekend so it was really crowded and we like that because it makes us feel safer. Well we came home and everyone was gone except for 5 campers. We decided to go out to dinner and when we came back we immediately noticed that our tent strings were tied around 2 trees, this occurred around 10pm and there was no way I was going to be out and about. Me and the husband decided to stay in the car and wait it out but we just didn't have a very good feeling. I know it maybe just a prank but it still scared us. I will say this camp is absolutely stunning and has the best scenery. Even a gorgeous golfcourse across from us.
RangerWe stayed in the Lakeshore side, and after viewing the Cypress View campground, we made the right choice.
Cypress view is nice, and closer to the camp store, but is geared more toward RV campers, and we are tent campers.
The drive in is mostly paved. The road in is bumpy in spots, but easy to navigate in any vehicle.
The sites are spacious and not right on top of each other. Our site had a good view of the lake. We have Verizon, and had no issues with service here.
The town of Santee is close by, about 10-15 mins away. We did go into town to purchase firewood at the Santee General Store. A bundle was about $6, stored under cover, and dry.
Some of the neighbors were loud at the campground, but we consider this more of an inconvenience of rude people and not the parks fault. When camping at state parks, the noise levels are hit and miss depending on the people camping.
We would have given this park 5 ⭐️ if it weren’t for the bathrooms. They did have plenty of hot water, and were kept clean, they were just dated. Old facilities, no mirrors, etc. but clean.
There is a boat ramp close by and trails to explore, although we did neither. We just relaxed, enjoyed the weather, and decided we would definitely come back since it is only a little over an hour from our home.
LegendI 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!!!!
Guide
This was the maiden voyage of my parents 22ft airstream! They originally booked a site far away from the water in the back of Lakeshore Campground but were able to move thanks to a helpful person at the park! My husband, kids and I came along and brought our tent. It was a super spacious site with more than enough room for us to spread out and park our cars away from the site. This factor really helped with those 4 stars because its not often that you can get a lakefront view with lots of room to spread out.
The good: Spacious, well wooded and there was a fantastic breeze all weekend with helped with the heat and bugs! The lake access had a beach area that the kids (3 and 1) loved to play at and there was no rocks around that area or dangerous drop offs. The bathrooms were well kept, and cleaned every morning while we were there. Our neighbors were super friendly and helpful with all the camper questions we had!
Lakeshore is also right next to a public (within the park) boat ramp so if you have a boat, its super convenient to bring along and put in. The electricity and water hookups worked well and the dumping station was actually pretty clean (for a dumping station).
We had super easy access to the lake for putting in the SUP and paddling around! The view of sunset on the lake is absolutely breathtaking!
The bad: Our first night, a group of campers were very loud and rowdy until 12am. Then after the rowdiness calmed, their TVS were set on like the loudest kid show until 3am!! These were not campers that were close to us either so it had to be pretty darn loud for those that were next to this group. They also do not lock up the campground at night so we had late night fishing visitors that walked by our campsite at 2am waking us up because they were loudly dragging their cooler down the dirt road. They were apparently not staying at the campground either which was a little annoying that anyone can just come in when they please. Needless to say, if you're looking for a quiet place to enjoy the lake this might not be it.
The trash was another big negative. Our campsite was littered with cigarette butts and having young kids it was a little frustrating since they pick up everything! My 3yo wanted to pick up the trash on the little beach area one afternoon so we did, then the next morning it was littered with fresh beer cans again. I wouldn't even let them walk near the beach next to the boat ramp (public access) because it was covered in trash and fish carcasses. It is unfortunate that people treat such a beautiful landmark with such disregard to throw trash everywhere and ruin it for others. If BOTH the campers/visitors and park staff would put forth a greater effort to combat the litter issue it could be a 5 star park!!
Travelergreat little park 29 sites, very friendly host amd rangers. lakes are very well stocked only down fall is most sites are sand. be sure to read site info to be sure your rig fits. trails are very well maintained. bathrooms very clean
Tent camping near Blackville, South Carolina, offers a unique blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure. With several campgrounds in the area, campers can enjoy a variety of amenities and activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Blackville, SC?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Blackville, SC is Longleaf Campground — Congaree National Park with a 4-star rating from 27 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Blackville, SC?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 tent camping locations near Blackville, SC, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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