Best Tent Camping near Winnsboro, 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

Great spot for a quick weekend away without needing to travel too far. For tent camping the spaces are large and pit toilets very clean. The only negative part of this campground is how close of proximity all sites are. very popular spot and more people than we had expected after reading other reviews! Definitely will come back though!

It’s not a campground really. it has places for rv’s maybe a tent site. but it is basically by the interstate and just a place to stay. cabins are nice but again they are just beside the rv’s. no scenery at all. the employees are real nice also

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.

Located just outside historic Waxhaw NC, Cane Creek is part of the NC Soil Conservative Sites. They offer day passes,$4.00 per car where you can launch you kayak canoe or fishing boat. If you like Bass Fishing, they rank as one of the best spots around. They have swimming areas for both day users and one for campers. This really is a gem within Union Co NC. The campground is on the other side of the lake. They have camping for RV’s, Cabin Rentals and tent sites for either large groups or individuals. The hiking trail is beautiful and takes you around the whole lake. Watch for horses, as this is a great place for riders too.

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!

It was difficult for me to find Woods Ferry, but after talking with a park official, I finally got there. It is off the beaten path, so it is quiet. Apparently, there had been a lot of rain recently, and the area showed it. Woods Ferry is a campground mainly for campers who have horses. There are corrals at many of the campsites, so there are also a lot of horseflies. Horseflies and the actual site itself are my two main concerns. Selecting my campsite was my mistake. It was sloped, but there are a few others that were not sloped. There is running water and a pit toilet. Otherwise, you will have to take everything else in that you need. 

Since South Carolina is hot during this time of year, I was a bit uncomfortable, especially since I was on a slope.

There is a separate section for group camping. However, I think it caters to groups of horse campers, as there are corrals at the campsites. 

Overall, it’s not too bad for those who camp in an RV or a travel trailer, but it’s not ideal for tent campers.

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.

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.

Poinsett State Park is absolutely beautiful and a true hidden gem. We recently visited South Carolina and after spending the weekend visiting nearby Congaree National Park, we opted to stay at Poinsett State Park for 4 nights in our Mercedes Sprinter campervan. As we had read online, the roads into and around the park are truly in desperate need of repair, but once in the campground, the sites are very nice. Site 24 was perfect as it is the last one with hookups and that allows RVs. The hiking is fantastic- I was able to easily hike several miles each day with my dogs and most of the hiking trails are very peaceful and pretty. Even though we were there in early February, we did encounter some gnats/mosquitos and we had to be incredibly vigilant about picking ticks off of our dogs. The only negative is that the park host was incredibly rude to us. We travel with our two well behaved dogs and ALWAYS keep them on a leash. I spent several hours a day hiking with them and walked through the campground with them on several occasions, which I know the host saw since we walked past him multiple times. On the third day of our stay, as I was bringing one of our dogs back and we were switching leashes and harnesses, our other dog jumped out and got away from us for a minute. We immediately ran after her, and after calling her name, she turned around and came back. She was out for less than a minute, and we were actively pursuing her with leash in hand the entire time. My husband was literally running after her without shoes on. The camp host came and yelled at us claiming that our dog"almost attacked his dog." She's a 9 year old Golden Retriever that is literally the most friendly dog on the planet. She was in our view the entire time and never barked or growled, only went up somewhat near them(several feet away) to say hello. It was clearly a mistake that she got out and something we rectified immediately. He kept yelling at us well after she was in our control. While I 100% understand and agree that all dogs should be on leash, it was clearly a mistake and absolutely nothing happened. It made us feel really awkward and uncomfortable. Then, on top of that, the next day, we couldn't even walk our dogs because there were 2 loose dogs running all over the campground with literal bells on- the camp host of course didn't address what was actually a flagrant violation of the rules by a neighboring camper. Other than that, our 4 day stay was perfect, but this really negatively impacted our stay.