Santee Coastal Reserve is a hidden gem near the South Carolina coast offering eight, first come, first served primitive campsites in the Santee Coastal Reserve Wildlife Management Area.

The campsites are spacious and can easily accommodate multiple tents and/or RV's. This is primitive camping so there are no water or electrical hook-ups. We drove the short distance to the Elmwood Recreation Area to fill our water jugs. They do not sell firewood at the campground and we didn't see any for sale by local residents on our way in. Fortunately, we were able to gather a lot of downed wood around our campsite since it wasn't until the end of our stay that we found out that firewood, groceries, fishing, and other supplies were available at the Seewee Outpost, about 26 miles south of the reserve on highway 17.

Out of the eight sites, only about 4 or 5 were occupied at any given time and everyone was fairly quiet. Except for one camper who ran his RV generator for hours morning and night. Fortunately, they only stayed one night.

There are several hiking trails around the reserve where you can see various birds and spot alligators bathing in the sun. The only wildlife that we weren't happy to see were the gnats and mosquitos, which we weren't respecting so early in the season.

Overall, this is a beautiful campground and e look forward to visiting again.