Best Cabin Camping near Clinton, SC

We had a great time staying here. Some of the sights were rather inclined, but they listed this on the website when booking(it's on a mountain after all). The areas between most of the sites was spacious, we were able to hang 2 hammocks to chill in. The Bathhouses had been remodeled and were kept clean while we were there. (There wasn't hand soap at the sinks that was a little weird for me).  The Large trash bins were located back down across from the Park Center, as was the play ground. It would have been more convenient for campers to have these things closer but were convenient for day use visitors. The park center is a gorgeous stone/log cabin type building with a long porch facing the Swimming area. There are Adirondack chairs on the porch, then between the porch and the lake are wooden lounge chairs and benches to relax on while taking a break from swimming or hanging out. There are miles of trails and streams to explore. We had a lovely time and plan to visit again soon.

Overall, this is a very nice, clean park conveniently located to the interstate I-85) and attractions in the area. It has all the amenities you would expect to find at a KOA such as a swimming pool, playground, dog park, miniature golf, store, clubhouse, and more (including goats). It is by far the nicest private campground in the area that we have stayed at.

This KOA has 127 sites offering varying degrees of services to accommodate RV's, tents, and those wanting to rent cabins. We chose a 50-amp full hook-up back-in site but were upgraded to a pull-thru so we could be in a sunny location to mitigate the chilly air. How nice of them! Our site (#79) was perfectly level as were most others (but not all). Water, electric, and cable hook-ups were well placed at the site and worked fine. We paid $37/night(with the KOA member discount). Nice, large grassy area for dogs to walk and sniff and there is a decent size dog park.  Roads and pads are hard packed gravel with grass in between sites. Some sites are set in a wooded area while some are out in the open with plenty of sun and satellite coverage. The park is big rig friendly and the roads are easily navigable. All sites have a picnic table and some had fire pits but ours did not. Cable is included and offered over 50 channels. Wifi worked well at our site.  The laundry was small with three washers and three dryers but very clean and had a decent book exchange. The bathroom and showers were super clean and looked like they were updated recently. 

The campground is extremely clean and the owners/employees are super friendly. There is a short hiking trail (less than a mile) through the woods and plenty of green space in front of some of the pull-thrus. playground large swimming pool with large deck putt putt with lots of goat humor. 

The only downside would be the closeness of sites but that is pretty much what you expect from private RV parks. Fortunately, we did not have neighbors right next to us which gave us more space. I'm usually not a KOA fan but have to say this one was great for our overnight stay and we would recommend it.

I did a quick overnight here, as is custom when I travel for work, and it was spectacular. I stayed at Trailside Camp Site #2, which is one of their remote, primitive sites at the North Lake and all I can say is wow. The views were spectacular, and watching the full moon come up over the mountain was something I will never forget.

The site itself was spartan, as is expected in a primitive site but it did have a fire ring and a picnic table. Site 2 is right on the lake, with plenty of dead wood to get a fire going. The hike in is about 2ish miles of moderately difficult trails, with some amazing views along the way, including a walk across the North Lake dam. The hike was well worth it though.

Campground Review: 

Paris Mountain State Park is just a short drive outside of Greenville, SC, but seems a world away. It is beautiful in all seasons. The campground is a typical state campground. Water, electric, fire ring, and picnic table were at our site. We stayed at #39 which was fine for our needs. If you had any sort of rig, we would NOT recommend this spot. The concrete was in poor shape and would make for a leveling nightmare. We voted we’d stay in #40 next time. It was a pull through with a creek running by the fire ring. The shower house was perfectly adequate and clean. Their reservation system was easy. We enjoyed all of the hiking options and the swimming area in the park. 

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Product Review: 

As Rangers for The Dyrt, we get to test products from time to time– today we tested Banner & Oak apparel www.bannerandoak.com. We loved their trucker hats. They were breathable, and held their shape under the sweat from a hard hike. We felt they were very attractive as well. As a long torso’d and arm’d couple, we both noticed right away and appreciated the length of the shirts themselves and the length of the sleeves on the long-sleeved shirt. There is nothing worse than washing shirts and having to stretch the heck out of them to try to get them back to looking presentable. We have no fear our Banner & Oak short and long-sleeved shirts will not give us this trouble. They worked well under our packs and we didn’t find ourselves needing to pull down our shirt every few mins or so. As a larger busted woman, however, their Women’s Large ran a bit small in the chest. I normally wear a Large which gives me some room to move around, but I wish I would have ordered my shirt in a XL. It is a tight fit. All in all, we really liked Banner & Oak’s apparel, in style, cut (mostly), and comfort. The shirt material is super soft and we could see ourselves ordering more from their site.

Initially, I was not impressed with Paris Mountain State Park. I was told to take a picture of the state park map at the kiosk unless I wanted to buy a park map. Things got better after that, however. There is a variety of sites from which to choose, and most of them are level. There were a few tent campers, but most sites were filled with RVs and travel trailers. Although we didn’t have sewer hookup(and didn’t really need it for a teardrop camper), there were electric and water hookups. This is to be expected at a state park. There was also lots of shade, something I have come to expect at a state park. I sometimes take it for granted until I have stayed at other campgrounds that have very little shade. I also didn’t feel as if I were“on top of” the next campsite since there was plenty of space between most of the campsites, but not all campsites are equal. There is a swimming beach… and it was open. Not too many campgrounds have opened their swimming pools or beaches since the pandemic, so I was happy to see this. At the swimming beach, there are peddle boats and perhaps(I’m not sure) a place to rent kayaks. It was during the middle of the week, so I don’t know if the empty kayak racks were because of this or if they really don’t have kayak/canoe rentals. As far as other activities, there were hiking trails, a volleyball net, and a playground. The trail I liked most was the one beside the lake, which led to the dam. There are plenty of picnic tables for day use, but the bath rooms were being renovated. Fortunately, the ones at the campground were fully functional. Overall, I enjoyed Paris Mountain State Park and I would highly recommend it.