SC State Park Givhans Ferry State Park

Camped here this week for 3 nights and enjoyed this Lowcountry park and the campground. The park is on the Edisto River which is the longest free flowing black water river in the US. The campground has 25 sites and the loop is a long skinny oval. Be on one of the outside sites, they are larger and you won't back up to any other campsites. The sites on the inside of the loop back directly to the sites on the opposite side. We were in site 11 which was the last one on the outside which gave us good privacy as we only had one campsite beside us. All sites are back-in and this one was easy as it was lined up pretty well with the road so really just backed straight. Campsites 12 and 25 would give you the same situation with only one site beside you. The part of South Carolina is flat and so was the campground. Our site was wide enough to park the camper and tow vehicle next to each other and we still had a huge area with the picnic table and fire ring. Bathhouse is heated if you are there in the winter months. Quiet during the week and louder on the weekend like most places.

The park was one that was built by the CCC. There is a nice area at the river where you can swim or just hang out by the water. It was nice place to swim on a hot day. They had tubes for rent down there too. The park has a nice day use area with picnic tables and a playground. There is a 1.5 mile trail along the river. There are four parks on the Edisto River and if you are a kayak/canoe you can paddle your way across half of the state. The four parks are Aiken, Colleton, Givhans Ferry, and Edisto Beach. There are plenty of places to put in for a short paddle and there are some outfitters in the area. We liked this area a lot and plan on coming back to the area to do this sometime in the area.

There is a convenience store located just outside the park with ice and anything else you might need. You are probaby 20 minutes east of I-95 and I-26. This is removed from the horrendous traffic of Charleston. The city is a peninsula so the growth all has to move west from the Holy City. The area where the park is very rural.

You are about 45-50 minutes away from Charleston and all the history, shopping and great food that the area has to offer. The park is just off SC Hwy 61 and as you take that into Charleston, you will come to many of the plantations that offer tours of the houses and grounds. You will get to that area in about 30 minutes or so. The closest beaches are either Edisto Island (50 minutes and little traffic) or Folly Beach (1 hour and a lot of traffic, but closer to the city). Never been to Charleston, you need to go to city to see the old homes in the area South of Broad Street, the City Market, and there is an almost end supply of great food of all prices. Military History - you have the Fort Sumter National Monument which includes both Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie. You take a boat out to Fort Sumter that you board next to SC Aquarium and you drive out to Sullivan's Island to get to Fort Moultrie. Ft. Sumter is mostly going to be Civil War while Ft. Moultrie will span from the American Revolution to WWII and this place explains why there is a Palmetto tree and a gorget on our state flag. No, it is not a Crescent moon over the tree although most in SC think so too. Gulllah culture is getting a lot of attention and you will see many locations with Sweetgrass baskets for sale, be prepared to sale you first born, they can be expensive. I would recommend a meal of Hopping John, shrimp and grits, a benne wafer or maybe Frogmore Stew instead.

Mt. Pleasant is the other city and on the opposite side of the Cooper River. Patriots Point with the retired USS Yorktown there to tour. Beaches near Mt. Pleasant are Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms. Folly Beach is south of Charleston.

Givhans Ferry | South Carolina Parks Official Site

 

Pics are of Site 11 at Givhans Ferry State park and some by the river.