SC State Park Croft State Park

We made our last visit to a South Carolina park today at Croft State Park in Spartanburg, SC so we have visited all 47 of them now. This park was originally Camp Croft and served as an Army training site during World War II and was turned into the park afterwards. The park has a huge trail system with nearly 45 miles of hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian trails and is part of a 7000 acre park. This includes the Palmetto Trail that crosses from Oconee State Park in the western corner of the state and 400+ miles later is at the coast of South Carolina. There is also a show ring for horses in the park and a good tip if staying here, the bathhouse there is brand new, with really large showers and not too far from one of the campground loops. Bocce court near the playground and as far as I know, this is the only park in SC with one. It is next to the playground. As with most state parks, this one has a large lake in it with row boats, kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddleboards for rent. At the lake you find a handicap accesible trail with several benches, a park swing and fishing pier.

For the campground, it is split into 2 separate loops. The first loop is close to the park office, playground and equestrian facilities. It has 25 sites and many of them are quite large to accommodate the horse trailers on the sites. This made for large pull through sites or back in sites where you could easily back your car in next to your Camp Inn. Gravel with picnic table and fire ring at each site. The park is mostly a mix of pine and hardwoods making most of it very shady including the campground. The second loop is closer to the lake and also has 25 sites. Sitting up a steep hill from the lake, the sites on your right as you drive in would have views of the lake. However the hill puts in the tree tops of the trees nearer to the shore, so don't expect grand views of the lake. These were the preferable sites on this loop, mostly pull through sites and nobody behind you. The sites on the inside of loop back up to the other side's sites sense the loop is pretty narrow. After you make the turn, getting into the sites on the outside there would be a little trick due to the hill they are on. In both loops you are fairly close to your neighboring sites. The first loop, sites 1-25 would have more sites I would like. You are far enough in that you do not hear any road noise while in the campground.

This park is convenient to both I-26 and I-85 in Spartanburg and is not too far from the city but once in the park you won't feel like you are close to the city. You are close to a lot of places for supplies if you need something. I am pretty familiar with the city because I went to college there. My alma mater is Wofford College and where the Carolina Panthers have training camp. Other nearby things to see are several American Revolutionary War sites. One, Musgrove Mill is a State Park historic site while the others are maintained by the National Park Service. The closest of these is the Cowpens Battlefield in Spartanburg County. The other two are each about an hour's drive from here, King's Mountain and Ninety Six.

If BMWs are your thing, this is where the US factory is located. You pass by it on I-85 and there is a museum there. It is popular so make reservations if you want to see this.

So if you are a Pink Floyd fan, there is a Spartanburg connection to the name of that band. Pink Anderson was a blues singer from here. Floyd Council was an NC bluesman and the names were combined. Old enough to remember the Marshall Tucker Band, there is where the come from too.

Local landmark places to eat (not healthy though) are the Beacon Drive In which still does curb service and has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. You will see you can get your "A-Plenty" it means they pile onion rings and fries on top of the sandwich. There signature sandwich is Chili Cheese A-Plenty which a Cheeseburger with Chili with rings and fries on it. Sugar-n-Spice is another one and it is owned by a Greek family. They have burgers and hot dogs, but they also make really good souvelaki. NuWay is a dive bar near downtown that has really good burgers. One other place would be Wade's which will be home cooked meals. If you want more than that, park downtown and there are some other options. There is a really good book store downtown with a coffee shop called Hub City. They publish some local writers.

Croft | South Carolina Parks Official Site

 

Yay! Forty-seven parks!
I will refer to your great reports for my SC travels.