Best Cabin Camping near Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests, SC

Clark’s Hill is a Great Lake! HK is an OK park. It does have a nIce golf course and skeet shooting, kayak rentals, cabins, a restaurant and a pool. The campsites are nice enough. but. The entire park sits on a mound of ants. ants everywhere. ants of all varieties. And most of the lake access is solid Georgia red clay mud...

Whether camping in a tent or renting a cabin, all are $20 per night. 🤔 Beautiful lake, flushing toilets and hot showers. I am passing through but see others boating, fishing and hunting. Laundry available upon request and current availability.

Nice clean well cared for campground with a ADA cabin, large drive thru and back in sites plus tents. New owners putting a lot of tlc in. Saltwater pool, playground, small zip line, dog park, large shelter with fire ring, cooking pit and a big black stone. Level full hookup gravel and grass sites. Great hosts. Firewood delivered to site. Great fiber optic wifi. Easy açcess off I-26.

I gave this campground four stars, but only for RVs and travel trailers. I would not give it four stars for tent campers. Tent campers would have a hard time finding a suitable site that would not be too rocky. When I checked in, the lady was nice enough to find a site with grass behind the gravel so I could set up my tent. She didn’t warn me that it was sloped. With that said, it is a campground in a beautiful setting. The lake and the sitting area beside the lake are both beautiful. There is a paved walkway down to the lake to a sitting area and a dock. The bath house was air conditioned, almost too much. It is a shock to the system moving from the intense South Carolina heat into the bath house. However, it was a nice break from the heat. Be aware that when you take a shower, you may have to wait a few minutes for the hot water to start. When I first turned it on, I wondered if there was any hot water. Eventually it came, and it was HOT, so I had to adjust it quickly. Also, take your own hand soap with you. There are paper towels but no soap. There are several trails, and you can rent boats, peddle boats, canoes, and kayaks. There is also a disc golf course. If I had known beforehand, I would have taken my own discs. That’s my fault for not doing the research. My favorite part of this camping experience was waking up early in the morning and sitting by the lake. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture a photo of the ducks taking off and flying in a perfect v-formation, but it was so peaceful there. Overall, this is a great campground to get away from civilization.

This campground was recommended to me by a friend. After car camping for a few days, my son and I came here to a surprisingly comfortable cozy and AIR CONDITIONED (!) cabin for 3 nights. This place is so cute! There is an acre of catch and release pond, a playground and jump pad for kids, a pool, some trails, several things to do. There is a coin operated laundry and a bathhouse that I have to say is beautifully kept and clean. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I will definitely stay here again on my way back and forth from Maine to Alabama.

Set up well for families with children… room to ride bikes, scooters, skateboards; playground; putt putt course; trails to walk; beach areas all around the camp ground for easy access to the water. Kayak rentals.

Bathrooms were generally clean. Campsites a relatively flat. Good picnic tables at each site. Not every site had a pole for a lantern or trash bags to hang from. Fairly good tree coverage around the campground for shade and hammocking.

If you are looking for a near perfect lakeside camping experience in the 'Low Country' here in South Carolina, than you may have just found the perfect getaway! Tucked away from main roads and a solid 20 minute drive from the nearest traces of civilization (the itty bitty town of McCormick), Hickory Knob State Park, which sits right on the Savannah River / Lake Thurmond and provides the setting for truly one of the most perfect camping escapes I have ever encountered. 

There's about 60-70 individual campsites here, but you would be hard pressed to count them all on account that there is so much foliage that separates each individual campsite that despite the # of sites, you are left with a very intimate and secluded feeling. While some of these well-secluded spots can get you just about as close to the lakeshore as possible (without infringing upon the land boundaries itself), most set a decent 10- 15 feet above shoreline and offer a private and simple-to-navigate pathway to the refreshing lollops of the lake's gentle rippling waves. 

Each site is apportioned with the basics - long drive-way with corresponding flat base platform (either perfect for RV or very amenable to the largest of tents), fire ring, water spigot and picnic table. While there's a handful of campsites that appear to be close cousins to the one next to it, most sites feel independent from one another and offer up enough space to forget your next-door neighbors. Further, I counted 3 separate loops (or communities, if you will), each with their own facilities. 

Apart from the greatest amenity being the lake itself, the park also offers a simple, yet splendid boat jetty with an easy-to-navigate round-about. Unlike many other state parks I have visited in the country, this one offers boaters many easy places to stow away their boats, when not in use on the lake. Further afield, there are plenty of trails to explore the deeper, less frequented side of this overgrown lakeside forested haven. 

If there were any drawbacks at all, it would simply be the less than mediocre bathrooms and showers that the state of South Caroline seems intent on not fixing (think back 50 to 60 years ago to what bathrooms might have looked like back then and then come present day to find exactly the same thing, without any repairs (and perhaps any sanitation) being made whatsoever). With all of the tax dollars that the state collects, on top of the fees paid for camping in these amazing state parks, you think the state would be able to afford building and maintaining better and more modern facilities for its overnight guests (what is it that they say about hospitality in the South?!). 

In sum, if you are looking for some really good seclusion, right on the lake, don't mind the overgrown nature of this campsite, have a boat, and perhaps older children that don't need playgrounds (and other man-made distractions) and can do without direct access to civilization, then this may very well be a perfect spot for you. 

Insider tips? Here's a few: (1) Because the nearest town of McCormick is a bit of a hike to get to (think at least a 20 minute drive on slow moving, winding country roads), be sure to bring everything you need with you, but if you do need any groceries, there's a Food Lion that has just about everything you might need; (2) When you grow tired of trying to conjure up that next meal from the depths of your Cordova cooler, then check out Michelle's, which is one half family restaurant - where I never believe any waitress who answers the question 'What is the best thing on the menu' with the response 'EVERYTHING!', but I will admit, she was absolutely right - we tried the pizza, wings, salad bar and hamburger one night - all were equally amazing - and one half happy hour / karaoke bar that apparently the entirety of McCormick shows up at after 8pm every night, which was pretty cool to experience; (3) When / if you head into the town of McCormick, take note of the Ice ATM machine there - it's fantastic and super cheap, so be sure to stock up on your ice there; and (4) If you are wanting to 'whet your whistle' after a good hard day of kayaking, then head on over to nearby Back Paddle Brewing for some really nice local craft beers.

Happy Camping!

Elijah Clark is a great place. Easy to get to, and you still have cell service. Great playgrounds for kids, plus mini golf and kayak rentals. Many sites are waterfront.

I highly, highly, highly recommend the walk-ins. Suitable for car campers who don’t mind making a couple trips to the car. The sites are very close to the parking spots. 

Site 8 has a great view of the lake, but isn’t directly on the water. Just downhill of the site is a boat slip for a kayak or canoe. If renting a kayak form the park, it’s not too far to paddle from the boat ramp where the kayaks are kept to the slip by the site.

Bathrooms for the walk-ins are below-average, aged, but more or less clean, as long as you don’t mind a few bugs.

Hiking is limited, but the little historical to-dos are fun. Check their calendar before going; they often have fun things going on over the weekend.

Easy in and out. Family friendly.

Becci the general manager is very friendly. We were on our way from Asheville to Naples and our truck broke down on the side of I26. We called this KOA to see if they’d have a spot available if we could get our 5th wheel here. We are a family of two adults and a 7 month old + 2 cats and we really needed a place to stay. Becci said they’d have a spot and recommended a local towing and repair shop.

We were able to get our truck towed and our 5th wheel towed to the campground. Becci was able to move some things around so we could continue to camp here for a few days while our truck is being repaired.

This park is owned by a few couples. Everyone has been more than helpful. They have a play ground and basketball hoop for kids. A pool. All of the spots we saw have fire pits. There’s a small zip line for kids. It looks like they’re setting up a small water mining station where kids will be able to “mine” for gemstones.

Wifi works great and we have great T-Mobile and Verizon coverage.

We have enjoyed our stay immensely and would love to plan a trip back under better circumstances.

Second time here. Great hosts, great wifi, pool, playground basketball, games and scavenger hunts. Big covered picnic area with Blackstone and fire ring. Decorated for Halloween. Clean shower houses. Propane on site Wood delivered to your site. Camp store and they are expanding. Tent pads are chipped rubber surface.

Had to wait for sundown. Beautiful full moon.

The owners and host are amazing at what they do! They’ve planned so much for this campground that our kids have had 5 days of things to do each day. We’ll definitely return and mark this as a favorite campground.

I stayed at the campground for roughly a month or longer. The campground itself is well kept and clean. There is not much to do at the campground. Supplies can be picked up roughly 15 to 30 minutes away from the campground.

Office was very friendly. They take you to your site which we always so appreciate. Hookups are modern, nice dog park, propane tank for easy fill ups. Fresh donuts anytime, pizza and chicken wings (bone in and bone out) til 6. Very clean and well maintained. Site was perfect for our 43’ Motorhome and dolly. Would definitely stay again.

This campground was not far off the highway and made for a good overnight stop. The staff was incredibly friendly and the pull through site we were in was easy to get into. It wasn't very crowded the night we were there. They have a nice dog park. I would stay here again if in the area.

We stayed here overnight. Camp host is excellent. Clean restrooms and well kept facilities.

Nice, clean campground! Friendly staff. Visited nearby revolutionary war site with hiking trails and plan to take a day trip to Columbia Zoo for Christmas lights. Second stay at this campground this year and we have enjoyed ourselves both times.

From the welcoming hosts to the well groomed sites, this KOA is a perfect way-stop no matter where your winds blow. The salt-water pool was a pleasant surprise and the discreetly placed gnomes and fairy gardens along the way make this place just right. Topping the evening off was a chorus of song birds providing background music for a ballet of fireflies. All together make our return trip a certainty. Highly recommended.

One night stay on way to Florida and it was the perfect stop. Small, family friendly with great amenities and conveniently located off I-26

Stayed overnight here on September 14th . Pleasantly surprised to find such well kept facilities. Bathrooms modern and very clean. Nice pool area. Hosts were helpful and friendly. Nicest KOA Journey we have seen in a while.

Easy access off of highway.  Great for an overnight stay.  Our site was not a good one for more than one night due to very muddy.  Other sites have nicer gravel area to set up under your awning if desired.  Ours did not.  Our travel trailer is 38' so unfortunately, we had to unhitch our truck.  Since we are just staying one night, we wanted to stay hitched up, especially since it's been raining since last night, with continued rain forecast for another day.  On the positive side, it's a nice little campground with very friendly and helpful staff.  The bath house has two showers and four toilets, all very clean.  The clean and well lit laundry room has three washers and dryers, which I appreciated very much.  The office has a little store attached with a variety of items.  They have a nice pavilion where they had live music last night, which was very nice. The campground is about 7 miles east from a Pilot Travel Center to fuel up using your EFS card.

Stayed for one night, the tent sights were flooded so they put us in an RV spot. The fire pit was clean and ready for use. The bathrooms were spotless, you could eat in there if you’re into that sort of thing. Over all nice places

We’re new campers. We’ve only visited state parks so far. This was our first KOA stay. This place was clean and the owners are constantly working and really nice. They showed us to our campsite and brought firewood to our site when we bought it in the store. They had a cute little general store and a play set for the littles. There is a pool for warmer weather. I only gave this campground two stars because of the location of our site. I camp with my two small children and the location of this site was simply unacceptable. Even if I was alone with my husband, I would have been terrified of this site. It was SO CLOSE to a main highway that I could reach out the back window and touch it with a broom! There were no trees or anything between our site and the road. There was no guard rail. If a car ran off the road, it would hit our camper. I didn’t sleep the whole time and wanted to leave early. Interior sites were okay. We won’t go back.

The staff and grounds are above expectations and will highly recommend this KOA to anyone. Job well done!