Best Tent Camping near St. Matthews, SC

Built to celebrate the Sesquicentennial of South Carolina in the 30’s . At one time on the furthest outskirts of Columbia SC. It is now firmly in the muddle of the Metro area. Plenty of trailer sites. Tent site and primitive camping. Has recreational areas. Restaurants and shopping nearby

This was my family’s first time tent camping in the cold weather and it wasn’t that bad. The lakeside tent area provided beautiful scenery with access to restrooms and showers. It wasn’t too crowded as it was military members only and you can’t beat the price for a lakeside spot. We would definitely go tent camping here again!

Did some tent camping in mid October. Had tons of fun and the park was really clean. Bath houses were nice and had hot water. T mobile service doesn’t work at all, but they have Wi-Fi hotspots for rent for $5 per day. Tent camping was $7.50 per night. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5, was because Quiet hours are supposed to be from 11-7, but there were people partying pretty late. Definitely should’ve brought some ear plugs. Check out our review https://youtu.be/j-5JBxOl3uE

Good camp for rv or tent camping. Plenty of trails, splash park for kids and a lake for boating and fishing

I chose the lakeside tent sites section. I wish I knew that the Cypress side was open to tents also. It is much further from I-95. I can clearly hear roadway noise from this side. I visited the other side tonight and it is a much greater diatance from the highway and faces away from the noise. It is more popular over there so tonight, I have more isolation here. Good for tents all tbrough park.

Small campground not far from Charleston and very close to Bee City Zoo. This campground has several shelters one with a fireplace at both ends. The tent camping area is awesome and has a great layout with lockable chuck boxes on each site along with power and water. There are several large fields to let the kids run wild. There are also a few hike in sites in the very back with some bathrooms.

Camped here numerous times throughout the years. Always had a good time. Rangers are nice and helpful. We park our John Boat at our tent camping site without any problems. They seem to be adding a splash pad area for the kids. A couple of big playgrounds at the park too. A decent lake for fishing and paddle boat (at least I think) rentals. Picnic tables and charchol grills are availble near the lake as well.

We spent a lovely weekend at Givhans State Park. It's definitely a small park, and its big draw is its location on the Edisto River, with lovely river-tubing to boot. 

We stayed in the tent sites, which have water and electricity at each site. There is a central parking area, and then you must carry in your stuff to your site. Ours, T-28, was one of the first, and from the closest parking spot, it was 200 steps along flat ground (just to give you an idea). 

The tent sites are right behind the only public restroom, which means that the restroom gets filthy after a day of the river-goers going in and out. There is only an outdoor shower. You can walk into the RV loop to get a larger, cleaner, and more private restroom with showers. 

The only trash dump we could find (apart from the small cans in the restrooms) is located just off the entrance of the park. The park has a strong WiFi signal at the main house/office, but the rest of the park doesn't get WiFi and barely any cell service. The staff keeps the park clean and it's very pleasant, especially on weekdays! Don't forget the bug spray! And steer clear of the poison ivy, which is everywhere.

Large. Multiple trails. Secluded. Scenic. Rental/Activities. Waterways. Picnic areas. Kid playground. ***BUT...! if you are camping... there's no wifi or cell service in camping section!! Whether 'primitive' or tent/rv with power, it ALL seems a little primitive. Only difference is power connection sites and a bathhouse. I'm truly ok with semi-primitive, but no cell service or Wi-Fi (in camping area), as a female... this needs to be addressed for safety, at minimum. It was beautiful, but we had to leave, as safety is #1. *oh.... SITE 17.... is the worse, if you wanted a little seclusion. It's the only rv/tent site that is "in" the 'activity field' (there was a group of teens playing loud and rough football right next to us, even my daughter did NOT like it). Highly suggest day visits, not so much camping.

It was a pleasant stay at Congaree. As a SC resident I was surprised to learn we had our very own National Park and just had to take the short drive from Charleston to experience it - glad we did! The sites did not have water or power but were a decent size. We stayed at tent site 1 which was right at the beginning of the Bluffs Trail. We took our 2 dogs hiking to the boardwalk trail which led back to the Visitor Center.. this was a decent 3+ mile hike our dogs were pooped! Overnight guests should be prepared to gather your own wood as none is sold on site. You can also get water from the Visitor Center (which is a better drive than walk if carrying a large or multiple jugs). The bathrooms on the campground part were essentially glorified port-o-potties (a building surrounding a hole in the ground). The Visitor Center was a better bathroom experience. Overall, I would return here to camp. The hikes were not too challenging but the boardwalk provided a unique experience!

Angel’s Campground is adjacent to Lake Moultrie and is a great place to launch a boat for fishing. The Santee Cooper area if famous for record sized catfish and other species. The campground landscaping is well-maintained. It does accept tent campers, but I would feel out of place if I were just tent camping. Most of the campers are large travel trailers and RVs, and most of those from what I can tell are permanent campers. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the spaces are too close together with not much privacy for tent campers. 

The main activity, of course, is the lake; however, there are other things such as a swimming pool and a basketball court. If I stayed longer than one night, I’m sure I would discover much more. The campground is quiet, and the other campers seemed friendly. I gave it only four stars because the sites are not all that spacious or private, and the bath house really needed updating. I guess most people use the bathrooms in their RVs, but still, I was a little disappointed.  I did like the size of the shower stall, however.  It was very spacious.   

The sites remind me of the gated communities in which the houses are on top of each other and you can stick out your hand and shake the neighbor’s hand through the window. It’s not that bad, but I do prefer a little more privacy. There is a store with all the supplies you need, but it’s on limited hours. 

Overall, I would recommend this campground, especially if you want to launch your boat and you are in an RV.  However, I would have reservations about staying here in a tent.

This is one of the two campgrounds at Santee State Park, and it is as different from the other as night and day. Unlike the dirt roads at Lakeshore Campground(the other campground in the park) the roads in Cypress View are paved. The sites are gravel, and many of them are pull-through sites. Although tent camping is allowed in Cypress View, I would feel out of place since most of the campers are RVs. However, our teardrop camper fits right in. Cypress View is a much smaller campground than Lakeshore Campground, but the amenities are the same. Every campsite is a short walk from the lake, and the campground is closer to the store than Lakeshore Campground. Unlike Lakeshore Campground, Cypress View Campground’s sites are much closer together, so there is not as much privacy. The campground is quiet, other than the noise from the highway.   That may be one reason to be in an RV or a travel trailer--to cut out some of the noise at night.

Close to the campground, there is a tennis court, a boat launch, Fisheagle Tours, a picnic shelter, kayak rentals, hiking trails, and more. It is conveniently located to most of the state park’s attractions without having to drive so far. Cypress View Campground is also close to the main office and the boat dock. 

If you had rather stay in a cabin, there are cabin rentals on the water. They are accessed by way of a boardwalk across the water. The bath house is modern and has hot showers. It is centrally located so that it isn’t that far of a walk from any of the campsites. 

Overall, I do recommend this campground, especially if you are in a travel trailer or an RV. If you are tent camper, you would probably better enjoy being at the other campground in the park.

This one one of the cutest, most well-maintained State Park Campgrounds we’ve been to. The groundskeeper Larry is the nicest man and was so welcoming from booking to departure. You can tell he takes pride in caring for his site. There’s a nice big field for the dogs to play in and we were able to rent kayaks from the outfitter across the creek to explore the Edisto River. There’s a good burger place 3 miles down the road (Lee’s) too. The cell and WiFi worked great for full time remote work and locationally Colleton is about 1 hour between Charleston, Savannah, and Congaree National Park. I think this is also the smallest state park in South Carolina.

There are quite a variety of things to do at this state park, and the camp sites are spacious. There is a little store where you can buy any of the little things you may have forgotten. There were not too many people camping during our visit, but it could be that not many people want to stand the South Carolina heat! Either way, it made the visit quiet. There are also plenty of geocaches around, if you're into that. There are 2 places to shower in the campground, so I imagine that once it fills up, you may have to wait to shower. It was pretty clean and the water was clear, so I guess you could just go for a swim! I wish we had brought our tubes and some rope to float out on the water!

Having been on the road for about three months before coming to Congaree, we were happy to arrive to such a quiet and tucked-away campground. For $5 per night, Bluff Campground was the perfect spot to hole up for a few days and relax surrounded by the old growth forest of Congaree National Park.

Our time at Congaree was different from the other national parks we visited, because South Carolina had just undergone major flooding and much of Congaree -- especially its trails -- were under water.

With no crowds and not much to explore, our three days in the park was very relaxing. We chose Bluff Campground -- a one-mile walk-in campground near the visitor center -- because we knew it would be less popular than Longleaf Campground, and we knew we’d be spending a lot of time there. The one mile hike seemed further than we thought because of our heavy loads, but once we arrived at our camp, set up our tent, chairs, hammocks, and slack line, we were able to just make the easy walk in and out each day.

The campground itself has no facilities; its only amenities are the fire ring and picnic table at each site. We encountered only one other camper in our two nights here. We did encounter many mosquitoes, though, so don’t forget bug spray!

At Congaree, there are several hiking trails and kayaking trails that we would have liked to do, but with our plans foiled by rain, we spent time at the visitor center, around the short boardwalk trail adjacent to the visitor center, and kayaking through the flooded plains, straight off the boardwalk.

You can read much more about our three days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Congaree)

Pros The pond was beautiful, nice walking trail for beginners, would never consider this a hiking park. Location was close to Colombia and all it offers. Bathhouse was acceptable but nothing to brag about. Toilets were three flushers is you cared about the next guy.

Cons Guessing I may have had the worst site (41) but walking through there were others similar. Site 41 is a pull through lot which declines quickly upon entry and is marred by deep ra9n crevices. You then incline to the area you should probably land as there is an obvious flat spot. Unfortunately in you stop there, your camper door will open on the neighboring fire ring which is the only fire ring on the back side of the neighboring spot in in the fore ground of yours. Asinine. I had to manipulate my camper for an hour to a spot level enough yet not in my neighbor's fire and dealt with a large tree and had to tie back branches to extend my awning. Uggg

Effing covid. The state of South Carolina, the City of Columbia don't have mask mandates. But this state park requires a mask to pee in the urinal. The boss says the county still mandates it.