Best RV Parks & Resorts near Chapin, SC

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!

First time staying at Chester State Park. Checked in at the Ranger’s station with friendly staff and a small store front with ice available. Picked pull through site 16. All 25 of the sites are on mostly level ground. The lake from the campground has a fairly new access via a ADA compliant walkway with lighting leading to swings, benches and Adirondack chairs surrounding a rock fire pit. There are benches facing the lake for sitting and or fishing and a new deck that provide even better views of the lake. The trails are well marked and wide that run along the lake edge. There is fishing, kayaks and canoes at the boat dock for rent and to our children’s disappointment no swimming in the lake. The other side of the park has the boat dock, playgrounds for the kiddos and plenty of grassy areas and picnic tables for sitting by the lake. Also there is a professional disc golf course on site. Last but not least the bathhouse is up to date, clean and well stocked.

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.