Best camping site I think I ever booked!

Absolutely beautiful location! Directions were easy to follow. I followed my google maps until we got to hwy 60 and then used the given directions. It rained off and on the whole time we were there but it was ok. We made do. Sad there wasn’t any firewood already in the shelter, but there were plenty of fallen trees around we were able to cut up. The ground was soaked so I was glad I packed my rain boots. Really enjoyed walking the little trails and exploring the woods. It’s just so peaceful here. We didn’t have any issue with mosquitoes but there is a lot of flies and bees, and of course spiders but that’s to be expected with being in the woods. If you have AT&T cell service you’re out of luck (or a blessing) because it will not work here… but it does work once you go back out into the road some. The supplies left were very useful. The grilling tripod for the fire pit was a nice surprise. Plenty of napkins and paper towels left and even some toilet paper in the out house. Some bug spray and sun tan spray was also left but we didn’t use them since we had brought our own. We was able to get one of the vintage lanterns to work but the other one was damaged (glass cracked) and missing a piece so we cleaned it and left it be… didn’t want to damage it more.

Only negative I have is We did hear some people in the woods on one side… not sure if it’s someone’s house or another rental. Wasn’t loud but was noticeable when walking the trail and we did hear a car alarm at our tent. We also heard a lot of chainsaw noise that lasted for a bit… but it didn’t last too terribly long. Just something to make note of that the space isn’t completely noise free… but majority of the time it was. It did take away from the primitive and privacy of the location.

Ranger Review: Gregory Women's Jade 53 in Mayan Teal on the East Fork Trail

Trail/Campground Review:

The East Fork trail at the end of Burrells Ford is quite an easy trail!  It's 2.5 miles one way from either end of the Chattooga Picnic Area adjacent to the Walhalla Fish Hatchery and at the end of Burrells Ford and following the Chattooga River.  The terrain is at times muddy with the natural streams cutting through, rocky with the many river rock stones lieing around, and just good ol' natural dirt.  There were some hard spots from fallen trees we had to travel over, and at one moment i thought i would tip over by the weight of my bag - but everything stayed put!

The Burrells Ford has several different camping options… you can drive in and park and hike a small bit to a spot near the river (this parking lot has a community pit toilet), you could go past that to the trail head where you park on the side of the road and hike in to MANY hiking spots off the trail (just stay on established trails!), or you could follow the road through and find several pull off drive in camp sites along the road.

We choose the hike in and we didn't have to hike far before we found out perfect camping spot on the river.  After looking over the area we set up camp and got our fire started for the many meals we had packed in (one thing is for sure camp food is the best!!).  We tried our hand at some fishing but the fish just wasn't biting that day - maybe some other time.

A little backpacking tip for those looking for cheap DIY fire starters: cardboard egg crates, dryer lint, and candle wax. it's still the same concept as the toilet paper rolls stuffed with dryer lint, but you're using the egg crate as your holder. Granted it won't burn the same as the original but it's still great for starting fires!

It was just so perfectly peaceful!

Product Review:

As a ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test out new gear that I might find useful for my upcoming trip.  For my trip I purchased the Gregory Women's Jade 53 in Mayan Teal.  This bag couldn't have been more perfect!  It was just the right size in size XS/SM for me.  I'm 5'6" tall and probably about 140 pounds give or take.  I've provided a photo to show how it sits on me.

I loved how the whole inside of the bag is just one large opening that can be accessed from THREE different points= top, middle, and bottom.  A bonus feature I didn't know of until I started to pack is that there is a detachable shelf that will separate the bottom section from the rest of the bag but still remain accessible if needed. This came in handy as I was able to keep my shoes separate from my spare clothes. 

Another thing I really loved was the many pockets and straps and bungees that were easy to put stuff in and strap on.  Nothing fell off even as I was hitting branches!!

My husband is very jealous right now and is searching for his own very soon!!

Sumter national forest is so beautiful

Such a beautiful place to camp, fish and hike! They have hike in campsite in the park as well as the trail and even secluded drive-in campsites. Only downfall is that it's becoming a little too popular with teens (and/or immature adults). We've been there on a few occasions where there's been an issue of loud noises, illegal hunting, and bags of trash being left behind. please take care of our parks!

Falls creek trail hike

We did a short day hike to check out the camp sites and look at the waterfalls. We went on the weekend and was pretty late start so we did have to wait a good while to be let in the park - minor annoyance but it was OK. The trails and the park are so very well kept up! Was a beautiful day and hike. We are definitely coming back and looking into getting the year pass since it's so close to home.

August 2018 - OK park but Fire Ant infestation

It's a really great park. We stayed in the rustic tent site T8, and was quite surprised it had a water spicket (faucet) for easy water access. (Something we may have overlooked as a site feature, as it was our first visit). Our only complaint was the entire campsite was one large fire ant hill! We had to travel to the local dollar general to get ant spray to help with the infestation. We only camp rustic so we're used to bugs but this was insane. Every step we took or every place we sat would soon be swarmed with ants as that's what fire ants do. Once we sprayed the area we were finally able to safely enjoy our campsite. The view was wonderful! Besides the ants it was a fantastic campsite! (BTW I would not recommend hammock camping here as the ants were also on a lot of trees, ropes we had were covered when we took them down) Will provide photos I took off all the rustic sites: T3 - T8