Boating

It’s all about access.

Boating on Lake Greenwood

The state parks alongside major bodies of water have boat ramps and other access points for your water recreation.

If you don’t have your own boat, you can rent jonboats, canoes and kayaks at several state parks with small lakes and ponds.

So bring your boat or other watercraft and prepare to have fun on South Carolina's waterways via your state parks!

Marinas

Tired of taking your boat in and out of the water. Calhoun Falls and Dreher Island State Recreation Areas offer marina slip rentals. The slips come conveniently equipped with water, electricity and in-water refueling.

Contact Calhoun Falls at 864-447-8267 or Dreher Island at 803-364-4152 for more information on these rentals.

Attention Boaters

Parts of South Carolina are experiencing a moderate drought. Check water levels at your favorite lake before boating. Look for stumps and exposed vegetation and use extreme caution.

Things to See While Boating on SC Lakes

There is a variety of wildlife and natural features that inhabit the lakes of South Carolina. Some of them include waterfalls, and many species of birds, including the osprey that nest on Lake Russell.

Boating Safety

Here are some general boating safety tips:

Have a plan
Tell someone where you are going and what time you will be returning
Carry extra clothing, in case of rain or extreme weather
Make sure your boat is in good operating condition
Carry a cell phone
Check fuel and battery status before leaving the shore

For more information on boating safety, make sure to check out the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boating Safety site.

The parks listed below all offer boating opportunities!

Boat Rentals

Many of our parks offer rentals of kayaks, canoes, and jon boats for your enjoyment! For availability and rental fees, contact one of the parks below that offer these rentals:

Aiken
Andrew Jackson
Barnwell
Cheraw
Chester
Croft
Goodale
Hickory Knob
Kings Mountain
Lake Warren
Little Pee Dee
Oconee
Paris Mountain
Poinsett
Santee
Sesquicentennial
Table Rock
Woods Bay

Parks That Offer Boating

	Location	Trip Planner
Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area sits astride several pine-covered points jutting into Lake Russell, one of the least-developed large reservoirs in South Carolina. Besides providing access to the big Savannah River lake, the park offers camping, picnicking, a tennis court, playground, seasonal swimming area and hiking. Picturesque views of the lake and surrounding forest are another highlight. Area anglers know well, too, that Lake Russell holds large numbers of bass, bream, catfish and crappie. And that’s no fish story.	Calhoun Falls	Add
Cheraw State Park NOTICE: The horse trail at Cheraw State Park is temporarily closed due to a large-scale forestry/resource management project in the surrounding areas. The trail is expected to open again sometime in May. Natural beauty and great golf come together at Cheraw State Park. An 18-hole championship course winds its way through the long-leaf pinelands of the traditional state park, a course that’s earned notice from the Aubudon Society for the way it’s managed to preserve and protect the habitat it shares with uncommon critters such as red-cockaded woodpeckers and fox squirrels. The park in South Carolina’s northeast corner also boasts Lake Juniper, a 300-acre impoundment built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression along with the park’s original cabins and picnic facilities. A boardwalk along the lake helps visitors enjoy the scenic setting, and kayakers particularly enjoy silently scooting into the cypress wetlands at the lake’s edge.	Cheraw	Add
Chester State Park Chester State Park has been a haven for hiking, picnicking, boating and fishing for the surrounding communities in the South Carolina Piedmont ever since it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Centrally located between Columbia and Charlotte, the park centers on a 160-acre lake, itself surrounded by a two-mile nature trail through the pine forest. A community building, camping, archery range and johnboat rentals and an unusually serene, placid setting close to town are among this traditional state park’s attractions.	Chester	Add
Croft State Natural Area Croft State Natural Area is a big park with lots to do. A green retreat in the heart of fast-growing Spartanburg County, the park offers more than 12 miles of biking and hiking trails, a playground, picnicking and camping, as well as fishing and boating in two lakes, including 150-acre Lake Craig. Croft also is known around the region for its equestrian facilities. The park regularly hosts shows in its arena and boasts more than 20 miles of equestrian facilities and 55 stalls. The diverse park was once an Army training base and covers nearly 12 miles of rolling, wooded terrain that also provides habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna just five miles from bustling downtown Spartanburg.	Spartanburg	Add
Devils Fork State Park Check Lake Levels Spot a loon or a rambling black bear. Fish for trout in a deep, clear mountain lake. Hike through the glorious spring bloom of rhododendrons. And do it in South Carolina. Devils Fork State Park provides the only public access to Lake Jocassee, a largely undeveloped 7,500-acre reservoir tucked deep into the Blue Ridge. Devils Fork is easily reached from S.C. 11, the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway. The park is popular with families, fishermen, scuba divers and boaters, who enjoy Jocassee’s uncrowded setting and spectacular scenery, such as waterfalls cascading into the lake off steep, wooded slopes. Full campground amenities and modern villas also are highlights of the park. So are hiking and nature trails that provide the opportunity to appreciate sights ranging from rare Oconee bell spring flowers to the fall color show, while bald eagles and peregrine falcons patrol the mountain skies.	Salem	Add
Dreher Island State Recreation Area Park Video Tour Out into the lake but not far from the city, Dreher Island State Recreation Area is a great place to get away from it all. Only about 30 miles from downtown Columbia on the shores of big Lake Murray – one of the best-known largemouth and striped bass fishing destinations in the South – the park consists of three islands linked to shore by a causeway and two bridges. In addition to woodsy hiking trails and lots of places to fish from shore, Dreher Island offers picnicking, camping and lakeside villas. A tackle shop and boat ramp also is available. The park has long been popular with recreational boaters and fishermen, and has been a launching spot for major national bass tournaments.	Prosperity	Add
Edisto Beach State Park An oceanfront campground on a palmetto-lined beach famed for its shelling is just one highlight of Edisto Beach State Park. Only an hour from Charleston, the park also offers another campground deep in the maritime forest full of live oaks and some of the state’s tallest palmetto trees, as well as a row of comfortable cabins nestled in the woods but with a front-row view of miles of pristine marshland. Edisto Beach State Park also offers the state’s longest system of handicapped-friendly hiking and biking trails, including one leading to a mysterious, 4,000-year-old shell midden alongside a secluded bend on a tidal creek. The park also has an environmental education center, a “green” building full of exhibits that highlight the natural history of Edisto Island and the surrounding ACE Basin, one of the nation’s largest preserved estuaries.	Edisto Island	Add
Goodale State Park Tall cypress trees that enchant the eye. A Civil War-era mill pond that abounds with wildlife. And a nature trail waiting to be explored. N.R. Goodale State Park near Camden is home to these attractions and hidden surprises, such as a 3-mile cypress canoe trail that takes paddlers quickly back into a world they didn’t know existed so near to town. A longtime community favorite, Goodale also offers shoreline fishing, canoe rentals, picnicking and hiking.	Camden	Add
Hamilton Branch State Recreation Area The boat ramps at Hamilton Branch have reopened, and water levels continue to rise. We also have a new courtesy dock for our visitors to use at our boat ramp. Contact the park for more information. Boaters and other outdoors enthusiasts can’t go wrong at Hamilton Branch State Recreation Area. Occupying a peninsula on 70,000-acre Strom Thurmond Lake in the heart of South Carolina’s western piedmont, the park displays the peaceful beauty of the Savannah River valley. All but two of the park’s spacious campsites are directly on the lake and Hamilton Branch’s shoreline makes it an ideal fishing spot. Ramps, picnicking and biking and hiking trails also are popular. The park’s rolling, wooded terrain supports a large variety of wildlife, including fox squirrels and deer. Hamilton Branch is also known for its wide variety of trees, including pines, dogwoods with their white blooms in early spring, oaks, hickory and sweetgum.	Plum Branch	Add
Hickory Knob State Resort Park Military & Law Enforcement Golf Discount What would you call a state park that offers 18 holes of lakeside championship golf, tennis, skeet shooting and archery, a swimming pool for lodge guests, full-service restaurant and meeting facilities and more than 70 lodge rooms? That would be Hickory Knob State Resort Park. The only full-service resort in the S.C. State Park Service, Hickory Knob rests on rolling, wooded shoreline alongside 70,000-acre Strom Thurmond Reservoir on the Savannah River: South Carolina’s “West Coast.” The park’s amenities also include a boat ramp, campgrounds and one of the state’s most popular mountain biking trails. Serene and tucked away, location is another plus for this destination, with picturesque, historic small towns such as Abbeville and Greenwood nearby and Augusta and Anderson (and Clemson) just an easy drive away.	McCormick	Add