Enjoy the natural beauty of James Island County Park, with year-round fun for the entire family. Just a short drive from downtown Charleston, the 643-acre park offers an abundance of exceptional recreation offerings and natural beauty.

With the Campground and Cottages at James Island County Park, it has never been more convenient to explore historic Charleston and the Lowcountry. Come discover our history, charm, fine dining, antiques, plantations, parks, and sandy beaches. Just minutes from all of these attractions is your private retreat within the 643-acre James Island County Park. 

Campground at James Island County Park

This summer road trip was to celebrate a couple of birthdays. My daughter and I are both summer babies, so we usually like to include some sort of water activity in our birthday plans. With that being said, we decided on James Island County Park because it had a waterpark. And I am happy we did. This is a great campground. The whole park is very are clean and well maintained. I wouldn't say there is a lot of space between campsites, but it is about average if you are used to staying at state parks and better than a local RV park. We liked that the restroom/shower facilities were kept clean as well. It is important for us because we currently travel in a tiny camper with no bathroom or shower.

  

The best thing about this campground for us was the fact that the Splash Zone waterpark was within walking distance from our campsite. Now don't be confused and think that the waterpark is included in the price of your campsite, it is not. So be prepared to pay extra if you want to spend the day at Splash Zone, but it is reasonably priced and well worth it. Especially if you are traveling with kids. However, they also have a playground, fishing, rock climbing, hiking, and festivals throughout the year if you don't want to go swimming. We didn't do anything but swim and drive to downtown Charleston, but they do have options for everyone.

  

\*\*I do have one warning for you if you go to the waterpark. Don't take a lot of personal, expensive stuff. This waterpark is open to the public, which means people who aren't your friendly RVer will also go there. I had to guard our stuff like a hound dog at one point because there was this shady guy walking around the chairs where everybody dropped their stuff. He was fully dressed with basketball shoes on, no swimming gear or towel, and was just looking around at everybody's stuff. And when I sat down by our belongings to protect them, he got up and walked straight out of the park. He could have easily taken our bag which had our truck and camper keys in it, and then we would be stuck. So just be very careful of your things.

East Coast campground with all the fixins

Being a new full time rv-liver, lol, I am unfamiliar with many of the parks and camping areas around the country, my plan is to quickly change that! Since this is my first time as an adult alone in an organized camping area.. tons of experience just camping out in the woods, being a hillbilly from Tennessee! My view might be a little from ignorance, but I know lots of people are choosing to give up their big house payments (mine was $3100 a month!) and now exploring and choosing to live instead of just exist to pay bills! My reviews will be geared to others like me, first timers. A little nervous, a little scared but amazingly excited about this new adventure we call life! So here goes.

Make your reservations early! Which is hard to do if you just want to be spontaneous and take off, like me. The first two nights I was in what was called overflow… overflow is a great big treeless field covered by power lines and absolutely NO SHADE! No plug ins and no water. The park itself is great. There are so many things to do and an amazing dog park with a huge lake, all the amenities are great! But the reservation system doesn’t seem logical to me. I had to move three times in the 6 days I stayed there. Just seems if I’m already in a spot and someone is coming in for a night they could be placed in another vacant spot instead of the person who is already set up, unpacked etc, pack up all their gear and move to that empty spot?!? I could understand if a space is specifically requested by another camper and of course that should be honored but if someone is just coming in to spend a night, why move the person who is already in the existing set up camping spot? Since I’m a newbie, maybe someone can explain that to me?

Beaides rhe reservation issues, the park is set up well… great spot for families.. climbing wall, miles of trails, fishing and so close to downtown Charleston and folly beach but it feels like you are out in the country. Very clean and and the staff I dealt with were all very friendly. Recommended!

James Island County Park

This is one of the best "all around" campgrounds we have visited. Sites are spacious and clean. plenty of sights to see in Charleston. It has a fantastic dog park and several miles of paved walking/biking paths. Great local restaurants, carriage tours, forts, shopping and more! Awesome place to stay!

Wonderful Campground

Easy access to all of the tourist spots
and nice that it was gated. 


Great Location

We didn’t see a bad spot in the whole place. RV sites are secluded, allowing you privacy. The shower houses looked pretty new and were very clean and roomy. There is coin laundry available. It is in a state park and there is a water park, amazing dog park, picnic and outdoor games area. Book early b/c they fill up quick. It is close to just about anything you would want to do in the area.

Everything you could want in a campground.

This is a great campground in a great area! The staff is super helpful and the facilities are all great. We have been living in Charleston for the past 10 years or so and after selling our house we found ourselves at this campground three different times in the past 2 months! 

This is in a super convenient location for visiting Folly Beach. Folly has a cute downtown with lots of restaurants and bars. There is a fun night scene there as well. The campground is on James Island and not far from Wal-Mart, drug stores and anything else you might need. When we visited during the summer break there were kids all over the campground riding bikes and having a ball!

This is also the most convenient campground for visiting gorgeous downtown Charleston. There is so much to do in Charleston and so many great restaurants to try. Definitely take a walk on The Battery (ideally at sunset) and take a carriage tour.

Here is a little more info on the specific sites we were in:

Site 115: This site is on the pathway to the bath house so there isn't as much privacy when you are sitting outside of the RV as one might like. However, it was really convenient for doing laundry! 

Site 48: This was our favorite of all of the sites. It is more private and had the best cell service of the ones we were in. It's a little bit further from the bath house than the other sites we stayed in, but we thought the privacy was worth it.

Site 117: This was the first site we were in. All of the sites in the park are great, but this one was shady and very wet. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there and the site seemed to never dry out!  

Site 71: This is a pretty big site so that was nice. It got morning sun and was much drier than 117. Site 71 is a shared site, but it didn't really matter since we were in the site that faced out to the big yard. Site 72 had to stare at our RV the whole week.

We also heard from a campground host that sites 86 and 88 flood when it rains. FYI!

When you are driving into the campground, make sure to follow the brown signs leading you to the campground. The live oaks in Charleston are gorgeous, but some of the limbs definitely hang a little low in places! Following the brown signs will help you avoid them.

Awesome location with lots to do!

Nice park with lots to do. Central location for visiting Charleston and Fort Sumpter and the Low Country.
Great dog park with lake!
We had 2 days of heavy rain and some sites flooded, but everything drained well.
Clean showers. Water park/splash pad.

Central location for Charleston 

Went camping there when my son was young lot of room to camp (tent) keep an one ear on creters. Great trials clean bath house good fishing

Great place for family camping

Perfectly situated near folly beach! Awesome trails. Pet friendly ,great fishing. Clean restrooms. 

Great for families and pets!

If we had more time then we would have stayed longer to enjoy the lake and more. We pulled in late in the afternoon and then headed right into the city. There were a few sites remaining when we got there but virtually no one in the back lot tent area. They have a large tent only area and big parking area. They could do something to cater to van campers with their big lot out back. 
The showers were nice and they had a nice park and splash pad next to the pond. They have a nice game room, some yard games, and other amenities. Hookups at all the sites except for the tent area. 

Fun Park Near Charleston

This county park is a great one, but it is especially awesome during the Festival of Lights. People all over Charleston want to come check out the lights, so being able to stay in the park during the festival is amazing. You are right there with all of the festivities, but the park is set back a little so you don’t have to be in the hustle and bustle if you don’t like. The location is the best you are going to get for checking out downtown Charleston. Also, Folly Beach is the closest beach and isn’t far away at all. There are some great restaurants nearby and grocery stores too.

Festival of Lights - Amazing!

Ok so the campground is awesome because it’s full of trees. I love that because it offers lots of shade and privacy. Also I felt so safe with my family. Also we saw so many people just walking their dogs, which we love dogs. It’s quiet. It’s great. Also it’s very kid friendly. They have an awesome park. Can’t wait to go back. Now I will say I would not recommend the cabins. They are not clean or updated. Which is a shame because they could be really cool. But this review is for the location where you have your RV. 

Amazing

This was a beyond beautiful park. From walking trails, the pristine bathrooms, and incredible dog park, we couldn’t have had a better stay. We should have stayed longer. We stayed at site 29, a large pull through with full hook ups. It was like having your own private driveway. It was also incredibly close to downtown Charleston and sites. We plan on coming back!

We will be back!

It will be hard to share how much we loved this spot! 
First off, the location to Charleston, Folly Beach, and Mt. Pleasant doesn’t get much better! 
We planned on staying just 3 nights but made it 4 once we realized how great of a spot it is. They have bike trails, a dog park, a water park (which is obviously closed in the winter), laundry, a camp store and very clean bathhouse! 
It’s a bit pricey but for the location and all the amenities it’s worth it!!!!

Also... if you are looking for nearby things to do I highly recommend taking the hour drive south to Botany Bay Plantation to see the driftwood beach! 

Favorite campground we’ve ever been at! 

Lovely campground with forested, private sites. Palm trees and oak trees with Spanish moss. Nice hiking trails. Phenomenal dog park. We stayed here in January 2021 and will come again in February 2021.

Lovely campground, nice trails, great dog park

Stayed at the James Island County Park during our honeymoon road trip. The park is located really close to Charleston, which made it ideal for exploring the city. The park the campground is located in is also super nice, it's quite a drive back to the campground. Bathrooms were great and clean, park property was clean. Our site 36 was right on the pond and close to the bathrooms. Sites are close together and there were some huge rigs. Nice campground if you aren't trying to rough it.

Clean Park and Great Location to Charleston

Sprawling park and campground right between Charleston and Folly Beach. There is a camp store which is well stocked and stays open till 8pm.
The predominance of this campground is RV sites. The sites are well maintained and with enough space between each site.

The tent camping site and group tent sites are hike-in. The hike in is really not that far at all from where you park your cars, so no worries. The individual tent sites sit back in  the woods, with a nice tree canopy, which gives it a real "primitive" feel to it. The sites are raised and contain a gravel bed. 

There are bathrooms and private showers on site in a few locations. The bathroom and showers for the tent sites lay next to the group site, which is a short walk.

Shopping and stores are on hwy 117, just a few short minutes from the park.

Great campground

I cannot say enough good things about James Island County Park! 
Bicycle trails right in the campground, wonderful playgrounds, rock wall Climbing (which we missed out on but will do next time), 15 min to local beach accesses. Quiet. Peaceful area where we all relaxed   It was a great start to our camping season this Easter! Staff was super friendly as well. 

Wonderful campground for Family

JICG has large shaded sites from primitive to full hookup 30/50amp. Great wifi. Water park is off the chain. Mostly shaded. Hiking, kayaking, fishing, RC sailboat club comes there. Large lake with a beach for doggies. Clean and spacious bath houses. Shuttle to downtown Charleston. Close to beaches. We had a ball.

Great shaded campground with great aminities

We camped here in mid September during a very hot week.  The staff was courteous, and the sites are mostly private.  The mosquitos were abundant the week we stayed in Site #6.  Restrooms and showers are modern and well maintained.  Lots of washers and dryers available.  The campsite was gravel and sand, with lots of large gravel stones that made it uncomfortable to walk around at times.  The site appeared to not be maintained often (lots of old leaves and weeds), but overall the park was clean.  Our site was close to the road that many county vehicles travelled, so it was not a quiet spot.  The park offers a shuttle to Charleston, a climbing wall, splash pool, many trails.  The dog park is huge with a great place for the dogs to swim.  The park store has most items you'd need while camping, and some souvenirs.  Overall it was a good experience, but I'd suggest a site more off the road if you want a quiet site.

Lots of Activities

super easy and quick check-in, we only stayed for one night due to the heat but we loved what we got to see of the park! super family + group oriented which was nice for me and my bf since its just us 2 and kids in the tents around us didnt really come back to the primative area until sundown, so we got to sit by the fire and relax! our dogs loved the beautiful trails. will definitely be back in cooler weather!