Park Ranger Emily Nicholson

With Lake Norton filled with water after years of low levels, Park Manager Emily Nicholson has an exciting spring and summer ahead of her at Little Pee Dee State Park. After holding a summer internship at South Cove County Park, Ranger Emily began working as a ranger full time at the South Cove located in Seneca, South Carolina in August of 2013. “I have always loved to be outdoors and once I started my internship, I knew being in the parks is what I wanted to do,” Ranger Emily said.

At the age of 28, Ranger Emily has already worked at Oconee and Santee state parks and has climbed the ranks to be the Park Manager of Little Pee Dee State Park.  “As a park ranger, we do a little bit of everything. My day can consist of being in the office working on paperwork, fixing water leaks, putting on programs for kids, or walking in the campground with my dog talking to campers,” she said. For Emily, the past seven years have been very memorable and she recounts the funny times she had dressing up as the Easter Bunny because she was the “new ranger” and square dancing in an inflatable princess costume at Oconee State Park. “Out of all the parks, Oconee State Park was the most fun to work at. I grew up going to the park as a kid and have so many memories running around there. Having the opportunity to work at the park was great because I got to be a part of helping make memories for other kids and families that visited the park,” she said.

When asked to sum up her job in one phrase, Ranger Emily said, “Go with the flow. One thing I’ve learned in the park service is that we are an ever-changing environment and we need the ability to make decisions on the fly. You could have your day or week all planned out but then you end up spending a day fixing an unexpected water leak.” Overall, Ranger Emily says being a park ranger is very satisfying and she enjoys meeting people from out of state and out of the country and hearing their travel stories of what drew them to South Carolina State Parks. Thank you Ranger Emily for all you do for the South Carolina State Park Service!  We appreciate all your hard work.