Cherry Hill Campground

The first time I went, I did not have reservations, but there is a camp host. I went to the camp host site to get a site, but s/he was not there. I looked around the campground and there were only three or four campsites taken. After driving and sightseeing, I came back about an hour later. Nobody was still at the host site. I did some more sightseeing and came back about another hour later. No success. The only way I was able to get a site was by reservation. Eventually, I got a site, but the process of having to reserve online ahead of time is frustrating, especially since I was told by a park ranger at another South Carolina State Park that even if you don’t have reservations you can show up if sites are available. 

The campsite I was at had a level tent pad, which was gravel. There was a picnic table and a freeze hydrant for water. I checked the hydrant before deciding since the freeze hydrant on my last camping trip did not work. Parking was about fifty feet away since I stayed at the tent site area. Another option would have been to stay at one of the regular tent/RV sites closer to the bath room. The tent/RV sites are level and have fire pits, but I wanted a little more scenic view than having to see the bath house from my campsite. 

There were very few campers this time, so it was quiet at the campground. However, I did hear some road noise until late evening since the tent sites are closer to the road. Since it is pretty far from any major town or city, it got really dark at night, so this was really nice for watching stars. '

The bath house had the basic needs—toilet, wash basin, and shower. The floor was concrete, and the toilet was stainless steel with no removable lid. I thought that was strange for a men’s bathroom. 

Overall, it was a pleasant stay once I was able to actually get a site.

The campground is pretty old. That said the showers are warm and there’s a flush toilets, so it beats a straddle trench in Afghan, but not a penthouse master bath in Asheville.

There’s numerous sites, and they are now available online to reserve through recreation.gov.

We stayed on campsite # 11 which abuts against a small creek. Each site has its own grill pit and a grate that swings out over the the Pitt as well.

The campground was probably 80% occupied and seemed like it could be a possible base camp for some hunters. The only bad thing was, there were some loud kids screaming at six in the morning, I came to get solitude so this and the prison style all metal toilet are the only reason I gave it 4 stars.

There was one trail that myself and my better half went down. It was about 3 miles. We just wanted to take it easy, so we didn’t go on the foothills trail about 1 mile or so away on the same road the campground is on. It’s hard to see, but it it has one or two parking spots on a turn off for it. On the way out we saw hikers going in from there so it is probably a popular headway.

All in all we had a great time, the ranger/ host had firewood available for sale (20pieces and some kindling for 10$)would definitely go back, and keep exploring the area for overnights and stay here as a base camp.