Mile Creek County Park

We took our teardrop here at the end of October, hoping to catch the last of the fall colors. Turned out to be a great decision. The leaves had just begun to peak.

This campground is a county campground and we paid only $25/night. We had electric (30A) and water on site. Most sites are paved and back up to the water. Be aware: there are a lot of boaters who head out early (pre-dawn) to get on the water. The boats are loud as they rip past your site.

There are 3 showers/toilets spaced throughout the park, boat docks and hiking trails…great place to spend a few days. At night…very quiet. People respect the rules. Speaking of…county rules: no alcohol or firearms. There are 2 dump stations. The one at the front of the park also has a dumpster for trash: drive up and throw it over the guardrail into the dumpster.

Plenty to do in the area. The campground is close to NC and GA. We took off to the mountains and explored waterfalls. There are also plenty of small towns in the area and stores to stock up on items. We ended up at Lowe's one day to get firewood.

Incredibly fast 5G (T-mobile and Verizon) at our site. We will definitely head back here.

This campground gets five stars for the views but 2-3 stars for (lack of) some amenities and difficulty in making reservations. First, the views of Lake Keowee from almost every site are awesome! Some sites have cement driveways while others are gravel, seemingly at random. Most appeared level and a generous size. Some have more separation/privacy than others (for example, Sites 10-13 are very close together with virtually no separation between them). 

I had difficulty in making reservations at this campground because even though reservations are on Reserveamerica.com,  if you have ad blockers on your computer, you will NOT be able to make reservations. It took several tries before we figured this out! Also, there is a two-night minimum even during the week, and we only needed one night.

Other things that bring down my rating:

• No soap in the bathrooms! In this forever-lasting Covid environment, there should ALWAYS be soap dispensers in public bathrooms, period!

• Also, there is zero privacy in the shower stalls as hooks, benches and the dressing area are outside of the individual shower stalls and the showers are immediately to the left as soon as you enter the bathroom.

• The dumpster is not within any reasonable walking distance (more than a mile) from the campsites, and the dumpster is set up like an open pit – you throw the garbage over a fence into the open dumpster below.

• We had been looking forward to renting kayaks as the website indicated, however, the camp host informed us that they no longer did this but had neglected to change the website. While you can rent pontoon boats, we are more of the paddle sports type. 

Even though we had reserved two nights (as was required), we only stayed one. We enjoyed the views but without being able to rent kayaks, there was not much for us to do. For those who fish or own a boat (motorized or not), this might be a great place to stay!

We mainly confined our time to our site and Lake Keowee, so this review is only commenting on those observations and not other areas or accommodations within the park.

Pros

Water view

Site has water and electricity

Close to a beach area next to site

Enjoyed areas on the lake that could be easily reached with our kayaks from the beach area next to site.

Site is cement with curb. We think that helped deter a lot of ant and bug activity mentioned in other reviews; however, we had cool breeze most days also, which could have cut down on ant/bug presence.  The last day, the wind died down to nothing, making it warmer.  Ant and bug activity was definitely increasing before we left.

Cons

While bathrooms were close, there was no direct path and they were located uphill. from the site. You had to walk along the road.

This site caught the headlights of anyone traveling the road at night.

Odd shape of site reduced best use of square footage.

Lake traffic could be heavy at times, and we were not there during a weekend.

This campground sets on a peninsula into Lake Keowee and offers gorgeous views of the lake and mountains in the distance.  While possible for big rigs, it can be a challenge in some areas.  The sites are mostly in the 30-35 foot range and most are back in, fairly level and offer 30/20 electric and water.  Picnic tables and fire rings are on the sites, but unfortunately most of the sites do not offer a lot of usable area around the site.  A few sites near the boat ramp are unparalleled in their view of the lake and mountains and reservation planning is a must if these are wanted.  Being far out in the country the cell service isn't so good and according to where you are even over the air TV is spotty.  A nice boat ramp and swimming beach are available, as are bath houses centrally located.  The camp store was closed due to Covid when we stayed, but there are kayak and canoe rentals.  The dump station was easily accessed and very clean. There are cabins, but we did not look at them.  All in all, this is a very nice campground for families or couples wanting a getaway.

This is a second review after another week long stay at Mile Creek Campground. This time in a gravel spot #49.

Had 5G access entire time and easy to do business as digital nomads.

Have already spoken about how awesome this place is, but want to share inforabout site #49

This spot is the highest on the third "island" out from the mainland. It has epic 360 views. But, a lot of tree canopy and it is dirt/gravel. While the spot is very level, be very weary that the drive up to this spot is steep and curved, We barely made clearance with a 23' trailer that has a lift kit on it. This spot requires backup skills and the right equipment.

The tree canopy is nice, but when it rains, forest stuff sticks all over your rig, you'll be waxing off the debris and stains. Plus, you're solar is a no go here, but with electric and water hookups, solar not needed.

We also learned this is some really amazing mountain biking 25 minutes away in the Clemson Experimental Forest... the Isaqueena Trail system. Ranges from easy/intermediate to advanced when you get to the lower waterfall area in the southern part of the forest.

Having lived in South Carolina most my life, I haven't seen it all.. but have seen a lot of it. Mile Creek Campground is a string of 3 islands connect by narrow straights and surrounded by water. It's hard to get a spot here without great views of Lake Keowee and the Blueridge Mountains.

The spaces a are a mix of full concrete pads or gravel sites. We've stayed in several sites and while some are very close together (that RV park feeling), there are many which have lots of breathing room, and things feel more natural. The pics in this review are for site 51, which is on the "3rd island," which is the furthest out and offers the best views. This is a very level concrete spot and we only had to use the electric tongue jack on our trailer to level front to back. Got set up in under 5 minutes.

There is one oddity to some of the concrete sites. Because it's concrete, your fire pit is off to the side. And since most of the sites are raised, your fire pit may be level with the concrete pad, but you can't sit next to it as there is too much slope.

It's a county park and is well maintained. Bath houses are clean. With it having a public day use area with a nice boat dock, you can expect almost every morning @ 6am to hear the diehard fishing folks blasting out of the boat launch area. 

We have Verizon and our cell signal has always been 4 to 5 bars on the outside third island.

All sites have 30amp electric and water hookups. Dump station at the front of campground entrance up on a hill. BE AWARE, pulling into the dump station is easy, but the steeper exit will have longer RV's and Trailers dragging their bag end on the asphalt.

We've always felt safe and relaxed here. And though we prefer more dispersed camping with less neighbors, this is still one of the best and most affordable ($25 in off season) places in South Carolina to camp. 

We rarely give 5-stars, but due to the awesome views,  trees between the sites and being well wooded & surrounded by water... it really is a very nice place.

From what I can tell, all but two sites are back in. We had no problem backing in our 23'8" (total length) camper in.