It might have an odd name (there’s a Big Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee river in South Carolina), but this is a sweet little park. Mostly, it seems to get a lot of people who grew up in nearby Myrtle Beach area and a few vagabonds like me who are drawn to it being not really near anything cool or notable. It’s on a little lake, there are some good hiking trails, and it’s quiet and dark at night. What more could you ask for in a campground?
Pick carefully and you can get a waterfront site like mine. This was my view looking out the kitchen window. And I could lay in bed and watch the sunrise happen out my back window (see my Sunrise in Three Acts post).
Last time I was here, in 2018, the dam had broken and so the lake had disappeared. Without the lake, I didn’t think much of the place so I wanted to give it another chance after I heard the dam had been rebuilt. It was definitely one of my better ideas.
This is a small campground, and while it fills up on the weekend, it’s pretty quiet weekdays. Good trails, including one that I didn’t reach the end of and turned around at the 45 minute mark.
This might be a nice bolthole if you want to get away from it all or if you’re looking for a stopover just south of the NC/SC line. While it’s never going to be as popular as its sister state parks like Hunting Island, it’s a good little park and I’d stay here again anytime.
LITTLE PEE DEE (SOUTH CAROLINA STATE PARKS)
- Sites along the lake are the best, even if you can’t always launch a kayak from one. Site 9 is my favorite and the one pictured in this post. Reserve at South Carolina State Parks.
- Boat launch at the end of the road (literally).
- Services: electric/water with dump station. Two bath houses with showers. Trash bin at the dump.
- Solid T-Mobile. Decent Verizon. Weak ATT.
- Groceries: 20 minutes to the Walmart or IGA in Dillon. Same for gas.
It is to our own detriment that we underestimate the might of small and simple things.
Richelle E. Goodrich
A dark sky at night would draw me, plus the trails. Any tent camping there?
Oh, wow, that’s a small world coincidence!
My maternal grandparents eloped to the Pee Dee River area in 1923, so it was fun to read this post. Wish I knew more about that area and the story of their marriage.
This sounds so serene. I feel like I know exactly where it is too. Love the look of the trail. So inviting. It reminds me of Arroyo Seco, where the locals know about it and grow up going there, but it’s not widely known to the general public. Probably a good way to connect the local culture. Love the name too.