Best Equestrian Camping in South Carolina

It was difficult for me to find Woods Ferry, but after talking with a park official, I finally got there. It is off the beaten path, so it is quiet. Apparently, there had been a lot of rain recently, and the area showed it. Woods Ferry is a campground mainly for campers who have horses. There are corrals at many of the campsites, so there are also a lot of horseflies. Horseflies and the actual site itself are my two main concerns. Selecting my campsite was my mistake. It was sloped, but there are a few others that were not sloped. There is running water and a pit toilet. Otherwise, you will have to take everything else in that you need. 

Since South Carolina is hot during this time of year, I was a bit uncomfortable, especially since I was on a slope.

There is a separate section for group camping. However, I think it caters to groups of horse campers, as there are corrals at the campsites. 

Overall, it’s not too bad for those who camp in an RV or a travel trailer, but it’s not ideal for tent campers.

We spent 2 nights in one of the cabins in this beautiful state park during a road trip through South Carolina. And let me say, 2 nights was not enough! The cabin itself was very well kept. There was air conditioning, 2 bedrooms, 1 full kitchen, 1 full bathroom, and a fire place. We stopped at a Walmart in one of the towns before the park to stock up on food.

There are multiple cabins scattered around the lake but they are a good distance apart from each other so you won't be disturbed by your neighbors. There was a fire ring and picnic in front of the cabin where we made smores after dinner and a cute screened porch with rocking chairs where we had coffee and breakfast on every morning. The cabin was right next to the small lake, which had a short trail going around it. We saw people fishing and I believe you can rent canoes as well in the park.

You definitely need more than 2 days to explore this cute little park. There are multiple hiking trails near by and definitely a lot of wild life. But it was definitely a peaceful and quiet park perfect for a relaxing weekend away.

Pros The pond was beautiful, nice walking trail for beginners, would never consider this a hiking park. Location was close to Colombia and all it offers. Bathhouse was acceptable but nothing to brag about. Toilets were three flushers is you cared about the next guy.

Cons Guessing I may have had the worst site (41) but walking through there were others similar. Site 41 is a pull through lot which declines quickly upon entry and is marred by deep ra9n crevices. You then incline to the area you should probably land as there is an obvious flat spot. Unfortunately in you stop there, your camper door will open on the neighboring fire ring which is the only fire ring on the back side of the neighboring spot in in the fore ground of yours. Asinine. I had to manipulate my camper for an hour to a spot level enough yet not in my neighbor's fire and dealt with a large tree and had to tie back branches to extend my awning. Uggg

Effing covid. The state of South Carolina, the City of Columbia don't have mask mandates. But this state park requires a mask to pee in the urinal. The boss says the county still mandates it.

I gave this campground four stars, but only for RVs and travel trailers. I would not give it four stars for tent campers. Tent campers would have a hard time finding a suitable site that would not be too rocky. When I checked in, the lady was nice enough to find a site with grass behind the gravel so I could set up my tent. She didn’t warn me that it was sloped. With that said, it is a campground in a beautiful setting. The lake and the sitting area beside the lake are both beautiful. There is a paved walkway down to the lake to a sitting area and a dock. The bath house was air conditioned, almost too much. It is a shock to the system moving from the intense South Carolina heat into the bath house. However, it was a nice break from the heat. Be aware that when you take a shower, you may have to wait a few minutes for the hot water to start. When I first turned it on, I wondered if there was any hot water. Eventually it came, and it was HOT, so I had to adjust it quickly. Also, take your own hand soap with you. There are paper towels but no soap. There are several trails, and you can rent boats, peddle boats, canoes, and kayaks. There is also a disc golf course. If I had known beforehand, I would have taken my own discs. That’s my fault for not doing the research. My favorite part of this camping experience was waking up early in the morning and sitting by the lake. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture a photo of the ducks taking off and flying in a perfect v-formation, but it was so peaceful there. Overall, this is a great campground to get away from civilization.

This private campground has four hookup spots for RVs, as well as tent camping spots. You can reserve an RV space and for $35/night, you get a shaded, grassy spot to park with water and power (the dump station is just down the driveway).

The highlight for us was the ability to ride horses. They provided us with two names of instructors, one of whom graciously squeezed us into her schedule and gave our girls a two-hour riding lesson in their covered arena. They also have trail rides to the beach available.

We don’t have our own horses, but if we did, it seems like this place is set up to accommodate that easily.

There are roadside fruit and veggie stands you pass on the way in that are worth a stop.

We absolutely love H Cooper Black campground. If you have horses they have campsites with corrals at your back door that you can also rent. Many horse trails for riding as well. They have several ponds that can be reserved if you have retriever dogs to train. They host many retriever tests on the weekend and they are fun to watch. The campground has full hookups and they have made lots of improvements the last few years and most are level and shaded. Two bathhouses close by that are always clean. If you are a horse or dog lover this is a great place to camp!