Best Glamping near Dorchester, SC

Nice RV Site if you are visiting Charleston, South Carolina. The site is very hot due to no trees. Currently the restrooms and showers are down, so you need to have a self contained unit. However, very quiet. No pull thru sites. Must back in.

There are two sections to Edisto Beach State Park. The Ocean side campground is the best with the ocean breezes, but the marsh side campground is an easy bicycle ride from the beach.

It's South Carolina in the summer, so there are mosquitoes. And the raccoons are pretty fierce so you want to make sure your food is stored securely, so you don't wake up to critters eating your potato chips.

The restrooms and showers are clean.

Edisto Island is one of the least developed islands in South Carolina. There is a Piggly Wiggly grocery store to pick up all the things you may have forgotten. There is an ice cream shop and several restaurants, but it is pretty quiet. My favorite thing about staying at Edisto Beach State Park is bicycling to the beach, bicycling along the paths in the state park that lead to a shell mound, built by Native Americans around 2,000 B.C., and bicycling for beers at one of the little bars overlooking the ocean. Another plus is the park's proximity to Botany Bay.

Reservations during the main season are key if you have any hope of getting a campsite in this awesome Francis Marion National Forest campground which sits just along the gorgeous intercoastal waterway, about 40 minutes northeast of Charleston, SC! We pulled in without reservations and nearly every site was booked out. The campground host was super helpful, though, finding us an empty spot (due to a cancellation) for a couple nights, then moved us to a non-reservable site for the remainder of our time.

The majority of the sites are designed for very large RVs, with a few very nice waterfront sites designated for tents. Each site is spacious, complete with a picnic table, firepit, 2 lantern poles, and electrical hookups, with a dump station at the back of the campground. The bathrooms are equipped with flush toilets, sinks, and a shower and kept relatively clean.

The campground itself is dripping with live oaks and speckled with Palmetto trees, so lots of shade is available, especially in the tent areas. The boat launch is walking distance from the campground and has a nice picnic area adjacent to it. We watched a pods of pelicans and dolphins come through the area, as well as many other sea birds.

We kayaked along the intercoastal waterway and out into marshy sea grass areas and had one of the most amazing wildlife encounters to date (and we’ve been all over the country). We saw a pod of dolphins in the distance, which appeared to be feeding. We stopped about 150 away and just enjoyed watching them dance and dive in the morning light. Then, two of the dolphins peeled away from the pack and headed straight toward us. As they approached our kayaks, the larger one gave an extra tail fin flap and dove under our boats, coming up just a bit on the other side. As naturalists, our hearts were pounding with excitement! We also hiked and mountain-biked along the gorgeous Palmetto Trail (which is a mountains-to-sea trail across South Carolina, and this campground serves as its coastal terminus).

Also, don’t miss the famous Sewee Restaurant for some downeast coastal Carolina fare, as well as the Center for Birds of Prey just across the highway from this restaurant. This wildlife conservation and rehabilitation center is doing some amazing things for birds and in the region and doing a great job of public education. If you head up the coast, be sure to stop in Boats & Hoagies in McClellanville for a bite to eat. Cute place, great food, awesome service!

The $20 per night fee is a great price for the amenities this campground offers, especially with full hook-ups and showers, and a boat launch. Check out our blog on The Dyrt's Online Magazine about our experience on the coast of South Carolina.

When making reservations at James Island County Park we had modest expectations, but we were going to tour Charleston most of the time, so we decided anything close to the city would be good enough. The campground turned out to be very nice. We wished we had stayed there longer to enjoy not only Charleston, but the nature beauty of the park itself. The campground is located in a huge park with lots of amenities. The sites are spacious, covered with trees, full hookups with 50 amp service. There are a lot of shaded picturesque walking and bike trails in the park. The dog park was amazingly big, with a little doggy beach for water lovers. There is a big kids playground with a fun looking spray play fountain. It is located just 15 min drive from the campground to downtown Charleston. It is a great campground to stay when visiting Charleston. We have a video on our YouTube Channel- Summertime RV Rovers- about this park- Great Campgrounds in Coastal South Carolina: Charleston and Hilton Head Island. Please check for yourself. We camped at James Island County Park in a Motorhome.

We didn’t see a bad spot in the whole place. RV sites are secluded, allowing you privacy. The shower houses looked pretty new and were very clean and roomy. There is coin laundry available. It is in a state park and there is a water park, amazing dog park, picnic and outdoor games area. Book early b/c they fill up quick. It is close to just about anything you would want to do in the area.

This is a great campground in a great area! The staff is super helpful and the facilities are all great. We have been living in Charleston for the past 10 years or so and after selling our house we found ourselves at this campground three different times in the past 2 months! 

This is in a super convenient location for visiting Folly Beach. Folly has a cute downtown with lots of restaurants and bars. There is a fun night scene there as well. The campground is on James Island and not far from Wal-Mart, drug stores and anything else you might need. When we visited during the summer break there were kids all over the campground riding bikes and having a ball!

This is also the most convenient campground for visiting gorgeous downtown Charleston. There is so much to do in Charleston and so many great restaurants to try. Definitely take a walk on The Battery (ideally at sunset) and take a carriage tour.

Here is a little more info on the specific sites we were in:

Site 115: This site is on the pathway to the bath house so there isn't as much privacy when you are sitting outside of the RV as one might like. However, it was really convenient for doing laundry! 

Site 48: This was our favorite of all of the sites. It is more private and had the best cell service of the ones we were in. It's a little bit further from the bath house than the other sites we stayed in, but we thought the privacy was worth it.

Site 117: This was the first site we were in. All of the sites in the park are great, but this one was shady and very wet. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there and the site seemed to never dry out!  

Site 71: This is a pretty big site so that was nice. It got morning sun and was much drier than 117. Site 71 is a shared site, but it didn't really matter since we were in the site that faced out to the big yard. Site 72 had to stare at our RV the whole week.

We also heard from a campground host that sites 86 and 88 flood when it rains. FYI!

When you are driving into the campground, make sure to follow the brown signs leading you to the campground. The live oaks in Charleston are gorgeous, but some of the limbs definitely hang a little low in places! Following the brown signs will help you avoid them.

Great place for families. Not very secluded. It is pretty much one big open green space with tent sites circling in a loop around the green space. You cannot park your car right at the site. There is a parking lot so you have to hike in just a little bit. The park there is really nice though and nice trail that takes you to the dock and marsh. There is a shower and they even have laundry facilities. Great play area for kids during the day also with a spray play. Volleyball nets throughout the area and you can rent bikes, kayaks, sup, and pedal boats. Also have a climbing wall. This was a great place to get our feet wet when we first started camping.

Went camping there when my son was young lot of room to camp (tent) keep an one ear on creters. Great trials clean bath house good fishing

Perfectly situated near folly beach! Awesome trails. Pet friendly ,great fishing. Clean restrooms.

Stayed at the James Island County Park during our honeymoon road trip. The park is located really close to Charleston, which made it ideal for exploring the city. The park the campground is located in is also super nice, it's quite a drive back to the campground. Bathrooms were great and clean, park property was clean. Our site 36 was right on the pond and close to the bathrooms. Sites are close together and there were some huge rigs. Nice campground if you aren't trying to rough it.

We got there before a storm that everyone was worried about. Attendants came around to ensure we were ok. The area was lucky but it did get very flooded. Our spot, 124 was fine but some spots got a lot of water, but didn’t take long for it to subside. Can’t wait to come back.

This is a big county park over 600 acres. We could only get reservations for two nights since there was no availability. However this was my favorite ever park to camp at. The campground is tucked in the back of the park. There’s numerous walking/biking paths and a terrific dog park with lake access. The park is very clean and well-maintained. I wish we had more time to explore this lovely, serene park.

Large multi-purpose park. Camping area is kept well and separated from general park areas. Basic no frill camp sites we like that get the job done. Nice asphalted trails for bikes, wheelchair, walking, water park in the park looks great for use in warmer times. Convenient to historical points in Charleston with grocery and Lowe’s nearby for resupply or items you forgot to bring. We’ve book marked for future stays when in the area.

This was a beyond beautiful park. From walking trails, the pristine bathrooms, and incredible dog park, we couldn’t have had a better stay. We should have stayed longer. We stayed at site 29, a large pull through with full hook ups. It was like having your own private driveway. It was also incredibly close to downtown Charleston and sites. We plan on coming back!

It will be hard to share how much we loved this spot! First off, the location to Charleston, Folly Beach, and Mt. Pleasant doesn’t get much better! We planned on staying just 3 nights but made it 4 once we realized how great of a spot it is. They have bike trails, a dog park, a water park (which is obviously closed in the winter), laundry, a camp store and very clean bathhouse! It’s a bit pricey but for the location and all the amenities it’s worth it!!!!

Also... if you are looking for nearby things to do I highly recommend taking the hour drive south to Botany Bay Plantation to see the driftwood beach!

Lovely campground with forested, private sites. Palm trees and oak trees with Spanish moss. Nice hiking trails. Phenomenal dog park. We stayed here in January 2021 and will come again in February 2021.

Pretty large campground but nicely wooded. Great location for day trips into Charleston. We stayed only one night but will probably come back when the weather is better.

Among the best. Well maintained, very clean and adequate bathhouses, level gravel sites with reasonable spacing. Even WIFi ! Location is very convenient to downtown Charleston and Folly Beach.

Fishing, kid friendly, climbing wall, rope course, water park, 10 minutes to Charleston and 15 minutes to the beach.

This is a well kept, maintained campground. This is also my first time here. The kids loved finding the geocache throughout the park. There have been no ants, food stealing fauna aka squirrels. The mosquitoes haven't been excessive either. My thermocell has been able to keep up!

Charleston County has done a great job with this campground and park. Sites are medium sized for the most part. But do watch out for the double campsites if you are not camping with another party as you will be too close to strangers. Trails are expensive, park is well maintained, has large dog park on pond, bikes can rented and a lot of water recreation activities are available. Laundry and shower facilities in camp!

We camped here in mid September during a very hot week.  The staff was courteous, and the sites are mostly private.  The mosquitos were abundant the week we stayed in Site #6.  Restrooms and showers are modern and well maintained.  Lots of washers and dryers available.  The campsite was gravel and sand, with lots of large gravel stones that made it uncomfortable to walk around at times.  The site appeared to not be maintained often (lots of old leaves and weeds), but overall the park was clean.  Our site was close to the road that many county vehicles travelled, so it was not a quiet spot.  The park offers a shuttle to Charleston, a climbing wall, splash pool, many trails.  The dog park is huge with a great place for the dogs to swim.  The park store has most items you'd need while camping, and some souvenirs.  Overall it was a good experience, but I'd suggest a site more off the road if you want a quiet site.

I cannot say enough good things about James Island County Park! Bicycle trails right in the campground, wonderful playgrounds, rock wall Climbing (which we missed out on but will do next time), 15 min to local beach accesses. Quiet. Peaceful area where we all relaxed It was a great start to our camping season this Easter! Staff was super friendly as well.

This was a cool park. Splash pads, ponds, giant playgrounds, large trails and more. Great place to bring kids!

This park is very pretty and really surrounds you with lush forest in all directions. The only reaon i did not give this place 5 stars is because the directions they give you are off to where the park actually is.

This county park makes an excellent base camp for visiting the Charleston area. Tent camping is done festival style, with no specific sites. Everyone is in a big open field which is a lot of fun but does not offer much privacy. Staff was very friendly and helpful. There are many activities available at the park, including a dog park and dog beach, a waterpark, and a lake. It is just a short 20 minute drive to get into Charleston or down to Folly Beach. Make reservations. Would definitely stay here again.

Being a new full time rv-liver, lol, I am unfamiliar with many of the parks and camping areas around the country, my plan is to quickly change that! Since this is my first time as an adult alone in an organized camping area.. tons of experience just camping out in the woods, being a hillbilly from Tennessee! My view might be a little from ignorance, but I know lots of people are choosing to give up their big house payments (mine was $3100 a month!) and now exploring and choosing to live instead of just exist to pay bills! My reviews will be geared to others like me, first timers. A little nervous, a little scared but amazingly excited about this new adventure we call life! So here goes.

Make your reservations early! Which is hard to do if you just want to be spontaneous and take off, like me. The first two nights I was in what was called overflow… overflow is a great big treeless field covered by power lines and absolutely NO SHADE! No plug ins and no water. The park itself is great. There are so many things to do and an amazing dog park with a huge lake, all the amenities are great! But the reservation system doesn’t seem logical to me. I had to move three times in the 6 days I stayed there. Just seems if I’m already in a spot and someone is coming in for a night they could be placed in another vacant spot instead of the person who is already set up, unpacked etc, pack up all their gear and move to that empty spot?!? I could understand if a space is specifically requested by another camper and of course that should be honored but if someone is just coming in to spend a night, why move the person who is already in the existing set up camping spot? Since I’m a newbie, maybe someone can explain that to me?

Beaides rhe reservation issues, the park is set up well… great spot for families.. climbing wall, miles of trails, fishing and so close to downtown Charleston and folly beach but it feels like you are out in the country. Very clean and and the staff I dealt with were all very friendly. Recommended!