Cheraw State Park Campground — Cheraw State Park

We stayed in the camp juniper group area this time, but have camped in the regular campground in the past. The regular sites are usually full, and very close, but the lake front sites are gorgeous and worth being close to neighbors. The trail around the lake is very pretty, and there are lots of things to do across the lake. (Boat rentals, playground, picnic areas, park office…)

the only drawback to the group area is that it's not directly on the lake, and there are no bathrooms. Bring a bucket potty, or drive to the other camp area to use the bath house. Or do the 200-yard hike-with-a-trowel... Our Girl Scouts and Daisies managed just fine, though!

Great family camping, but regular campground is crowded

Perfect little gem on the outskirts of a dirty little town. Many amenities, beautiful views.  A cute little beach area with kayak and canoe rentals. Day area open from 8am to sunset. 

Perfect 

Didn’t have any expectations of this place since it’s in the middle of nowhere and not many photos. We loved it here. We were lucky enough to catch a great view of Jupiter merging with Saturn last night. Super cheap. We stayed four nights for under $100.  30/50 hookups and water. No sewer but very close dump station in campground. Primitive camping area for tents too. Pull through sites and back in. Spacious sites that feel nicely private surrounded by evergreens which is a nice relief in winter to see trees with leaves. The lake is beautiful. Awesome walking trail that takes you to the other side of the lake where there is a playground. Lots of swings and benches and picnic tables around. Barely anyone here in December, so it feels so nice to be out of our house but not needing masks constantly. When it isn’t off season they have cheap boat rentals. Firewood is $6.50 per bundle. 

Off season gem!

Small, but really nice. A lot of sites right on the water. Lots of trees, really quiet. Nice boardwalk and nature trails nearby, with rental gear available.

  

Not much around the campground though. If you want peace and quiet, and don't need shopping or touristy stuff- this is for you.

  

(We are in 17ft travel trailer)

Hidden gem

This location is small but big on activities for you and your family , I’m going back again in the fall . Perfect getaway.

Perfect state park!

I was very happy with Cheraw State park. The views are beautiful. The bathrooms are very clean. The staff is friendly and helpful! 

Perfect Camp Ground! 

Stopped on our way back from Florida. Lots a little uneven, but it's a small price to pay for lakefront sites with water and electric. The campground host was very helpful too. Mountain biking and fishing was a blast

Excellent campground

Cheraw state Park was an overall good camping experience. We stayed in the tent camping area, which was well kept. My only complaint is that the sites are somewhat close together, but it's not a huge deal. Park is well kept and the sights are worth seeing. Plenty of trails to walk down, with a boardwalk that covers the side of lake juniper.

Worth a stay

We recently returned from 5 days tent camping at Cheraw. We chose site #8 that was directly on the lake and offered electricity and water. These sites are obviously designed for RV’s with little or no space for tent campers. Although there is a designated tent area, it is back in the woods and not lakefront.

The minimal room we had was fortunately on the lake shore with wonderful shade trees.  The space was not level and contained some unfriendly exposed tree roots. Fortunately we had an inflatable air bed and the roots weren’t much of a problem. 

Lake Juniper is quite small and swimming is allowed in a designated area on the far side of the lake. We had inflatable rafts and tied our floats to a tree in front of our site , highly aware that a spillway not too far from our site would prove quite dangerous if one went too close then pulled over.

The small office on the opposite side of the lake offers ice and wood as well as ice cream, candy etc to satisfy any junk food craving. 10 minutes from the park is an IGA. It offers the basics and a little further out is a Walmart with groceries.

The bathhouse is currently “ under construction” although we saw no work being done during our stay. One half of the bathhouse had been designated unisex with three locking stalls and curtained showers. There is an interior lock if you choose to have the entire bathhouse all to yourself. I grew up in a family of eight and have no problem sharing a bathroom. The bathhouse has obviously seen a great deal of traffic, is quite dated and poorly ventilated. Hopefully the bathhouse will receive its update soon.  

The campground host was quite helpful and an all around nice guy. We chatted a bit and he has a very interesting background.

We would return to Cheraw and confidently reserve #7 or #8 for tents. There are most likely other suitable sites there that escaped my notice.