Poinsett State Park Campground

This is a lovely park but construction in progress at campground during our stay so heavy equipment running during weekdays

Cute little park we really enjoyed it!

So far we have enjoyed our stay. The sites all look clean, as well as the facilities. All other guests are very quiet. The hiking/biking trails are fun too.

Car camped here to see Congaree NP in the middle of a heatwave, unfortunately. Great news—my site had lots of trees, there’s a lake to swim in, and the showerhouse had A/C! I enjoyed how secluded and expansive this park is with wildlife, trails, and playgrounds. Long RVs and trailers may have trouble with the trees and turns of the campground.

We stayed here for our son’s first birthday, in campsite 30! It was beautiful and we felt like we had plenty of privacy. Our site had a trail attached to the back of it which was really nice for hiking and it was perfect distance from the bathroom! On the topic of the bathroom, the toilets were CLEAN! And I mean we were there for 24 hours and the bathroom was cleaned at least twice. Really nice, they might look a little scary on the outside though but don’t mind that any bit.

For people that love hammocks, site 29 (right next to ours) has a bunch of perfect hammock trees. If we go again we will try to stay in that spot! Great place to stay.

Picked this park to add a stop on our drive to NC, we didn’t hit the trails so I can’t review those. Site 45 was great, right by a clearing so we got the view of the gorgeous night sky. Some tree branches from two sites down came crashing on our first night and an entire tree split on a different area/ day. I didn’t feel very comfortable staying in a site under so many trees after that. (site 28) Park was cute but a lot of mosquitos, ants, bugs etc. and an Air Force training area nearby graced us the sound of heavy artillery late at night, a little disconcerting when you’re camping out in the woods. We cut the trip short. Staff was friendly and they sell firewood and a few other things at the store but not a lot, so stock up on necessities there’s nothing nearby. Roads were really heavy with potholes, so not the friendliest for rvs.

Stayed here for a few nights with a friend for spring break. The staff were very friendly and answered all the questions that we had. We were tent camping and the campsite was perfect! Had a picnic table, fire ring, plenty of space to pull the car in, level ground for the tent, and trees for hammocking. The bathroom facilities were very clean, and were right by the campsites. In terms of activities, there are plenty of hiking trails and a beautiful lake right in front of the visitor center. We rented a paddleboat and got to see some wildlife on the water (cranes, turtles, and even a couple little gators). Overall, this was a perfect state park, great for a quiet getaway.

(Side note: the bugs were practically nonexistent in March when we visited, but we were told that they can get bad in the summer months)

Large. Multiple trails. Secluded. Scenic. Rental/Activities. Waterways. Picnic areas. Kid playground. ***BUT...! if you are camping... there's no wifi or cell service in camping section!! Whether 'primitive' or tent/rv with power, it ALL seems a little primitive. Only difference is power connection sites and a bathhouse. I'm truly ok with semi-primitive, but no cell service or Wi-Fi (in camping area), as a female... this needs to be addressed for safety, at minimum. It was beautiful, but we had to leave, as safety is #1. *oh.... SITE 17.... is the worse, if you wanted a little seclusion. It's the only rv/tent site that is "in" the 'activity field' (there was a group of teens playing loud and rough football right next to us, even my daughter did NOT like it). Highly suggest day visits, not so much camping.

We tent camped for the weekend in mid October. The park was probably 80% full, but didn’t seem crowded. All the spaces were spread out and the sites were level. We stayed at site 30, so it was a close walk to the bathhouse, with plenty of space, picnic table, and fire ring. The bathhouse was in fair condition, but the hot water was limited. The mens bathroom definitely needed to be cleaned. There were lots of trails, a pond, and a park for thing to do. T-mobile service barely worked. Check out our review https://youtu.be/pL1zgad0rN0

Lotta really nice people, two brothers were there I have been traveling for a few months and really nice back in his room really clean.

Getting to the campground was a challenge with roads that are in desperate need of repair. They are starting to work on adding gravel to the sites but have a long way to go. It’s a quiet campground but zero amenities. You have to drive to the camp office and they’re only open a few hours a day. Groceries/gas are about a 20 minute drive.

II really like this park. It is very well maintained, showers are immaculate and the trails are very well marked. Since this park doesn't have a huge boating lake or the ocean I don't think it is as popular as other parks. I visited the park in mid June and it was less than 25% occupied. I chose this park because of the huge number of trails in the park and its proximity to the swamps on the Santee for kayaking. Other people come here because it's reasonably close to Congaree National Park which has few campsites. The small man-made lake also has a small swimming area which was nice also. It's also worth noting that this region is known for being a little cooler then the surrounding areas in the summer because of its slightly higher elevation than the surrounding area. Great Park. I'll be back.

The one bedroom cabins were secluded, rustic and completely charming. There is some hiking and a nice playground in this state park.

This campground is very remote. I believe it has a camp store, but they close very early and were never open. Many of the sites do not have much privacy. We had to deal with neighbors coming in and setting up camp 12 feet from us at 3:30 in the morning with no regards to other campers. The bugs were pretty intense, even in late April. Little red spider looking bugs were everywhere in our car for days after we left there. There were caterpillar cocoons stuck to our tablecloth and tent that had to be picked off. Trying to play cards or eat after dark was near impossible with the mosquitos, flies, and gnats. The bathrooms are dated but functional. They were clean in the evening but when used in the morning, they were coated in bugs. Highlight of the stay here was seeing an armadillo driving into the park.

This park is great having large sites and great trails for mountain biking.

Camped here mid-April and had a blast. The hiking trails are well marked, and feature some interesting views and slightly more challenging climbs. We rented a canoe and a kayak and paddled around on the pond. Lots of other campers over the weekend, but thinned out by Sunday evening.

The camp sites seemed to vary a bit in size/shape and were fairly close together. Ours was a pretty good size and we had a nice open area next to the sand to set up our tent. Lots of trees to hang your hammocks.

This probably varies with the time of year but beware of the bugs. We had some ant issues at first, and ended up with redbugs all over our tent, and there were SO MANY CATERPILLARS.

Bath house was clean, but try to get your showers in early because the hot water can get a bit scarce on nights when lots of people are camping.

This camp site was a wonderful little base camp for our 4 night trip in the region to visit Congaree. Our site was clean and large. 36 was recommended and I can see why, good privacy while also some close to everything. Loved that every site had their own water pump but really wished they had a wash station. The lack of a wash station made doing dishes for 8 a nightmare at times. Bathrooms where C+ on our scale. They where not the cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen but they where good enough. Park was quiet at night and the trails in the park where more plentiful than Congaree for us!

Clean bathrooms. Nice setting. Great hiking and Mtn biking on site. It is kind of off the beaten path but we did stop at a gas station fairly close by with a little restaurant in the back that was all a retro backwoods trippy kind of place. The sites are semi private, we especially liked the ones that back up to a large field.

Poinsett State Park near Wedgefield, SC. is a bit remote, but worth the effort. This is a good base to visit Congaree National Park which is a little less than an hour away. Most of the sites are dirt but are fairly level. As others have mentioned, the state road getting back to this Park is pretty rough, but nothing that will break your rig on the way in. We stayed two nights in December and enjoyed our stay while we visited Congaree. Everything seemed to be clean and maintained. The hiking trails are very nice. The main attractions here are relaxing, camping, and hiking.

We stayed here for our visit to Congaree (about 45 min away). The road getting in is a little rough and it’s surprisingly far into the park, and I would highly recommend getting there in daylight hours, but it was still pretty easy to find our spot and set up quickly. The sites are covered in moss-dripping trees and the park is really beautiful. The bathrooms were clean and well kept and our camp hosts David and Beth were so kind and helpful. Remember your firewood! It’s a bit hard to get a hold of the Rangers to purchase any. We loved our stay!

The pros: Poinsett State Park has some of the best hiking and biking trails in the Palmetto State. You could spend multiple days camping here and have a chance to hike different trails every day.

The cons: It's not easy to get in here with anything bigger than a full size pickup. The park road is very narrow and uneven with lots of large pot holes. The road to the campground is a little better, but also very narrow. It would be difficult to pull off to let another vehicle pass without fear of ending up off the road or hitting a tree.

We enjoyed the variety of hiking options here. It would be great if the state parks service could direct some funding to repairing and widening the roads and repairing some of the trails that were damaged in the 2015 flood that are now impassible.

It looks nothing like South Carolina as you enter the gates. After half a dozen ups and downs and right turns you find yourself in a clearing and a large parking lot, a lake and a ranger station. Around the clearing are more than a dozen trails for hiking or MTB. It's a "mountain" in the low country.

Entry road very rough. This is an older campground that needs work. Shower house very clean. Campground host nice. Not many campers because of a cold weather which is why we did not check out the park.

Lots of nice, well marked trails. Be careful; there are also unmarked trails. Great showers.

This was a timely escape for us just as COVID was spreading in the states. Unfortunately this prevented us from being able to rent kayaks. But the hiking was great! The camp sites were on the smaller side but opened up to a large field area where the kids and dog could run around and play. Shower and bathrooms were tidy and spacious too.

I stayed at this park because the one in Congaree was full and I’m very glad I did! It took a good 45 minutes to get to Congaree but it was a pleasant drive. I walked on some of the trails in the campground but didn’t touch most of them. I definitely need to come back with a bike! I stayed at tent site 36 and felt like I still had enough privacy from the sites beside me. The bathrooms were well taken care of.

Our family of five was able to do hiking, boating, and geocaching! We love this place so much :-)