SC State Park Lee State Park

Spent 3 days at Lee State Park and really liked it a lot. Great Ranger in charge of the park and the campground host did a good job too. If you do meet the ranger, he is John Hancock. There are 2 loops with 25 sites in the front loop and all have electricity and water at site along with fire ring and picnic table. The other loop is an equestrian loop with 23 sites and there are corrals for the horses. These sites are bigger to accommodate the big haulers the horses are brought in. The loops are side by side and a few of the front loop sites back up to the corrals. No horses while we were there and you probably see them mostly in the spring and fall. Each loop has a bathhouse.

This park was built by the CCC and is very shady with large pines and hardwoods overhead. The sites are gravel but can be very sandy as well. This is the Sandhills region of South Carolina. Sites are large with plenty of room for your camper and tow vehicle. Site 4 would be the most private site and the one with the most shade. Sites 6 (our site) and Site 7 are really close together. The sites 20-25 are close together too and back up to a road that goes deeper into the park. With the large trees there is not any understory. Ice and firewood are available from the campground host who is in site 25.

The rest of the park is mostly forested like the campground. There are a lot of equestrian trails and a show ring, but there is one nature trail in there too. You can drive to the primitive camping area and walk down the Lynches River. There are also some artesian wells that still pump water and is potable. Near the park office, there are 3 small ponds and one has a small area roped off for swimming.

Camden has a couple of steeplechase races, one in the spring and one in the fall if you are into horse. The spring event is a helluva party, not sure anyone really goes for the race. If you are into military history, Camden was the sight of a major British victory in the American Revolution. And if you live near any place name Dekalb, the namesake of you city or county was killed in the battle is buried there. Depending on what direction you drove to Necedah, you may have gone through Dekalb, IL and there are 6 or 7 other Dekalbs out there.

This park is convenient to the Interstate as it is only about 2 miles off of I-20 and only about 20 minutes from the junction of I-20 and I-95 for anyone traveling back and forth from Florida. The nearest town is Bishopville and not too far way is Darlington, home to a NASCAR race track. The coast is about 1-1.5 hours away. Another nearby town, Camden, is home to a couple of horse steeplechase races during the year so you are in part of SC's horse country which explains the equestrian sites. They are running a summer special at 50% off the normal rate through Aug 15 with the code LEESUMMER50 which made it a real bargain for us.

Lee | South Carolina Parks Official Site