Camping suggestions near Charleston SC

vcrt · 02-26-2011, 02:23 PM

Hi everyone,
My family will be camping near Charleston SC this June and wanted to get some recommendations for campgrounds. Steve (Tweety) I noticed a post from you about James Island County park and wanted to know if you had any site preferences? We prefer not to be near a dog area if there is one (nothing against dogs in particular, just owners who don't mind their barking as much as we do).
Thanks,
Rich

**Tweety** · 02-26-2011, 04:12 PM

James Island doesn't have designated dog sites, so you have to cross your fingers. We stayed on site #98 at James Island 12/2008. It is wooded and very private on one side but not so much on the other. If you want wooded and private, site #99 is great. Wifi works wonderfully as you're right by the pole. The more sunny sites in this area are the ones around the bath house.
This winter we were on site #8 which is shaded, but not as deeply, and very private on both sides. If you want more sun the pull throughs and handicapped sites are more open in this section. There seem to be more kids in the lower numbers - probably due to proximity to the game room. I would take ANY site at this park. While it looks like some of the sites back up to a road, there are plenty of trees between you and the road, so don't be wary of those. The amenities are just fabulous. The bike trails, climbing wall, pool, kayaking,...we didn't find anything we didn't like. Reservations are hard to come by around Christmas-when I called in march last year they only had 1 site left for our 8 night stay. I hear that people sometimes have to move to a different site to get enough nights in a row. I don't know how it is during June. Good luck, and enjoy!

vcrt · 02-26-2011, 08:15 PM

Thanks Steve!
I looked at this place on Google Maps and it's like a nice place to stay. Thanks for the site recommendations. The only hitch on this trip, is that for the second year in a row, we'll be missing the Buttonwood M&G. We'll miss you guys again this year, but with other family member's schedules to work around, it has to be this week.
Rich

vcrt · 02-28-2011, 08:30 AM

Hi Steve, we called James Island and they are all booked for the week we need.

Have you stayed anyplace else near there?
Thanks,
Rich

**Tweety** · 02-28-2011, 08:51 AM

We have not stayed anywhere else. If you don't mind moving mid week maybe they can accomodate you...ie. 3 nights on one site then 3-4 on a different site? I know they don't suggest that when you call, but I also know people do it.

vcrt · 02-28-2011, 09:27 AM

That's what we just did, Fri and Sat at Oak Plantation, then over to James Island. Actually, we're staying there for two nights also, then we're going to Dreher Island SP near where our Daughter lives in Columbia. Man, making these reservations is the toughest part of camping!
Thanks,
Rich

vcrt · 06-26-2011, 08:02 PM

I wanted to give an update. The four of us, (Wife, two daughters) stayed at Oak plantation for two nights found that to be like a large parking area laid out in a grid work of streets with some trees. It was nice, but not what we generally look for in a CG. We did enjoy a good bike ride one morning by turning right out of the park and then right again on Main rd. Also, there is a pretty new Publix store on main road that is just a few minutes away.
Then, we spent two nights at James Island. Very nice place, lots of trees to shield each site to a varying extent. The trails were great for bike rides, beautiful setting. Close to shopping for anything you might forget to bring. They have musical entertainment on the Friday nights, but we were there after that.
Our middle daughter who lives in Columbia had to go to work on Monday and our youngest daughter figured she'd have a better time staying at her sister's apt. than with us the rest of the week, so they left on Sunday night. We moved on the Dreher Island S.P. on Tuesday. That place was perfect for our tastes-site right on the lake with water and electric hookups (they even have W&E hookups on some lakeside tent sites), quiet, except for the birds chirping and the sound of the water hitting the shoreline. The flies were really annoying, but we kept a fair amount of control over the situation with our swatter. The several miles of paved roads around the park are great for bike rides and the town of Chapin is only a 15 minute drive by car. This place is great for any type of watercraft from a kayak to a large power boat.
Oh, and the people we met here were very friendly. We wish it was closer (took us about 10 hours to get back home) but if our daughter stays in Columbia, we'll have good reasons to go back another time.
Thanks for the help with this.
Rich