Poinsett

Mark Owens

Park Manager

Welcome! My name is Mark Owens and I am the manager at Poinsett State Park. I'm often asked why I became a park ranger. Truth is, my grandfather always wanted to be a park ranger, but became a doctor instead. He was an excellent hunter and fisherman and had a love for nature. It was through our hikes and scouting adventures that I too developed that love for the outdoors. I became an Assistant Ranger at Santee State Park in 2014 and haven't looked back since.

My favorite spot at Poinsett is the coquina boardwalk on the Coquina Trail. It is a boardwalk that was put in with help from a Recreation and Trails Program Grant in 2022. Its sounds of water flowing and animals in natural harmony have a special reverence about them.

I think a first-time visitor should walk the 1.4-mile loop of the Coquina Trail. It takes you up some of the elevation that has earned the park the name “Mountains of the Midlands.” The trail winds its way past the grist mill ruins, the CCC-built Coquina Shelter, Spanish moss-covered mountain laurels and through a tulip poplar and cypress swamp area before making its way back to the park office.

**Our Ultimate Outsider stamp is located at the park kiosk outside of the park office, as well as at the information table inside of the Tea Room.

In the High Hills of Santee, where the South Carolina Sandhills of the Midlands region meet the coastal plain region, you’ll find Poinsett State Park.  Called the "mountains of the midlands," this mixed ecosystem yields a high degree of biodiversity and some of the most unique natural sightings in the park system, especially along the Palmetto trail which winds through the Manchester State Forest.

The High Hills of Santee are dotted with the hiking and biking trails that wind through the park–some of which connect to the Palmetto Trail that leads hikers through the Manchester State Forest.  Poinsett’s 10-acre lake makes for a serene setting, and can be used for fishing and johnboat rentals. The park also offers campsites, a fishing pond, a coquina bathhouse built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, pre-revolutionary grist mill ruins and rustic cabins.