Best Campgrounds near Cleveland, SC

Nice state park. If you are into water sports (kayaking, Paddle boarding, boating or fishing) this is a perfect park. No sewer hookups but each loop has a dump station. We stayed at site 42 lake view and level with a little incline to pad. Best sites 38, 39, 41 and 5. These are right on water with level pads and access to your play toys that you can pull up to the coast. Rangers are very friendly and are okay but clean. Will make this a future revisit park.

We thoroughly enjoyed staying on the river. The Manager, Deb, is so sweet and helpful! The area came alive with Spring Beauty & yet the storm damage is still very evident. On one hand, it was a bit depressing to see all of the loss - on the other hand, it felt good to give back to the local community.

We stayed for six days in March. We loved everything about this campground. The sites are spacious and well spaced, offering more privacy than many locations. The showers and bathrooms were very clean. There are numerous hikes that are on the grounds or just outside. The staff was very helpful and friendly. The campground is 15 minutes from downtown Asheville and 5 minutes from the North Carolina arboretum.

General: 81-site RV park. Some sites are paved, and some are gravel. They are rated Economy, Premium, or Super Premium, although it was difficult for me to see the difference between some of these sites. 

Site Quality: We chose a Super-Premium Site (the same price on the Dyrt as the other sites so why not?) but I was surprised to find out our camper pad was gravel and not paved. We had water and electric, but not sewer (not needed). Our site also had a picnic table. 

Bath/Shower House: All-in-one contained clean units with sink, toilet, and shower. Nice towel rack and hook. Did not use the shower so cannot comment on its quality. 

Activities/Amenities: There are many activities to keep family members occupied, including a playground, basketball, corn hole, soccer nets, community fire pit (you can rent a private firepit), and in-season, a pool. There is also a clean laundry room with three reasonably priced washers and dryers. 

We arrived just after the office closed at 4 pm and had to leave before the office opened at 9 am the following morning but we did meet the resort manager who was very welcoming. We chose this location because it was the most convenient for where we needed to be the following morning. 

While this RV park was clean and well-maintained, it was also located on a busy road, so road noise was always present. There was no foliage/separation between sites although there was a reasonable amount of space between sites. 

For us personally, I would give it three stars because we prefer more rustic camping with trees and less/no road noise, but if you like RV parks with many activities, I would recommend this one.

We arrived pretty late, close to midnight after hitting a lot of traffic traveling from Fl. The coordinates took us directly here, and upon first arriving we did see a campsite to the left which was being used. Continuing on for about another twenty minutes down a one-way gravel road we did not see anymore sites until the end of the road which has a beautiful sunrise view. There are hundreds of downed trees, I am assuming from Hurricane Helene. Which were chopped up, perfect for a firering.

We went almost to the end of the road before turning around and just pulling over onto a little 'shoulder' to set up the tent for the night.

Pros- Dead silent and relaxing Great view of the stars during early spring/late winter

Cons- Not car accessible (road is narrow and very bumpy. 4x4 recommended but I made it down in a 2x4 fullsize pickup) Have not seen nor heard any creek despite one being in the photos.

Definitely would come back

You MUST camp outside of 1000ft from road. You WILL get investigated by park Rangers, which stepped up enforcement of this stupid, pointless law around 2 years ago.

Otherwise, wonderful, awesome spot. If you wanna ignore the rules, I advise the topmost pullout. Best sunrise views.

This is my favorite SC park (so far). Several waterfalls are in the area, plus fishing lakes and swimming beach. Lots of outdoorsy things to do, and beautiful views of Table Rock from the Mountain Laurel Campground. The White Oak Campground is hillier. I stayed here over New Year's and did a ranger-led First Day Hike.

Cabin 3 stars- older duplex cabin, studio (hotel) style, shared front porch, roomy, clean and comfortable, tub/shower combo in bathroom, high top dining seating for 2, very rustic private screened in back porch overlooking woods *Campground 3 stars- wooded, shady, hilly, paved roads, quiet, nice lake *Amenities 4 stars- clean pool area with 4 canopies for shade, loungers and chairs *Staff 5 stars-very friendly and helpful, informative, responsive, checked in on us multiple times through the campground texting service

I camped here in June 2023, for the second time. This is a federal campsite. The fee for camping is five dollars a night. Just right outside the federal camping area is disbursed camping. There approximately eight dispersed camping sites. Remember this is bear country. Follow all the bear rules and be cautious. I will come back here next time I’m in the area. It is well worth it.

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!

Each campsite has wonderful views of the water. there is a playground by the entrance and near the farthest campsites as well. we enjoyed our stay.

Right off 276 on the right as you are going down the mountain. Hard gravel road. As soon as you turn in there is a spot on the left and a little further up there is a bigger spot right on the little creek just before the gate. Not 100% sure it is a spot as it is not marked but signs may have been damaged and it does show a tent symbol on the forest service map. There is a lot of back and forth traffic in the morning but it dies down around 9 pm. There is a fall a few miles up the road and connects to other service roads hence the traffic . We made it down the road in a 30' class A motorhome and made a 180 and was able to level the rig no problem and it's well off the road Did not see any fire rings in this spot or the first one ( pictured in the first image). No cell service, starlink worked enough to stream tv and post this.

I love coming here to swim. Signal is very poor for Verizon. The sites are not super private but not too close to each other. The prices per night are ridiculous imo for a non full hookup campground but hey I still pay it just to swim in lake Joccassee.

Not too far from the water, which was great since we brought our own kayaks and kayaked to two water falls. Lots of trees to hang hammocks (we had 3) which is good because the only place to pitch a tent is on the pads which aren’t very large. They are basically concrete pads and we couldn’t steak the tent down well. Many dead limbs in the trees so be careful where you pitch your tent, or hang your hammock. Since the site is near the marina we could see/hear boats docking. Each site has a bear box which are roomy and were clean. The bathhouse was clean and well lit. The RV/camper sites are pretty close together with narrow roads. The park was beautiful and mostly clean. I found a tire in the water a few miles out on the way to the first waterfall and took it to a ranger the next day. He was happy to take it.