Best Glamping near Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests, SC

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Another awesome place if you are a boater! Beautiful views. Grounds need a little work. Electronic and water hookups on sites. Bathrooms and showers available. We did a quick tour of the area to stay next summer.

From the website: Located on the north shore of Lake Murray, Putnam's Landing (no website; 1201 Putnam Dr, Chapin; 803-345-3040) is open from April to October and features 24 sites for tents or RVs. Sites include sewer and electrical hookups, but offer central water only. Shower and restroom facilities are located in the campground, and Putnam's landing also offers an on-site restaurant.

If you want to get away from civilization, this might be the place to camp. However, it is beside a road, but the road is not used very much since it is a national forest road. 

I was glad to see that it had running water and one of the cleanest pit toilets I think I have ever seen. The Palmetto Trail runs through it, so if you are thru-hiking, this would be a good place to camp for the night. I was at campsite 5, which was the one farthest from the road, and I could tell it was the most popular. I picked up a small bag of trash left by previous campers before setting up. There are trash receptacles nearby, but alas, some people leave their trash at the campsite anyway. 

There is a spacious grassy area in the middle of the campsites for whatever activities you want to engage in. There is also a large, separate grassy area for group camping. It includes a communal fire pit. 

Overall, it is a great area for primitive camping and for dry camping if you are in a small RV.

We like it. It's been quiet the times that we've been there. If you're a road cyclist this is heaven, and some decent trail riding down to the lakes. Just be aware that there are no picnic tables. Still it's cheap and close to where we live in Spartanburg.

Easy to camp. I’ve stayed here in summer and winter months. Site 18 had great water access. Beach is made of clay so be sure to wear shoes unless you don’t mind red feet. Spacious pad for gear.

Still being upgraded, so newish pad was still soft but pretty level. Sewer pipes stick out a good 6 or 8 inches. Electric posts are new but have a meter right below plugs, so surge suppressor gets to hang sideways. All nice and new. Will try again in future as it keeps improving

We just overnighted so did not use facilities nor do much in the surrounding areas.

I was right under a WiFi antennae, and managed a 4.5meg download and 4.48 upload. Following are phones ( mostly for hotspot) I have and how they feature Cricket; 7.98dn, 0.84up ATT; 27.69, 0.3 up Visible: 7.2dn, 1.2up Verizon: 44.9dn. 1.88 up T-mobile mifi: no 4g nor 5G service

If I we’re staying in the area for more than a week, I would probably try a nearby COE as they are on the water. This park is near the water and has a restaurant an few hundred yards down the road.

Really pleasant staff. Friendly and were helpful and obliging.

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.