Lake Hartwell State Park

We enjoyed our spring break at Lake Hartwell State Park. It is located conveniently off I-85 on the SC/GA state line. Because the park is so close to the interstate, the cell phone reception was great.

Half of the park was closed so we spent time exploring this side of the campground, viewing Lake Hartwell unobstructed. Our site was paved (see picture) and provided what we needed to enjoy our four-day vacation. The park has free Wi-Fi at the check in/Ranger station. This was about a half-mile from our site so we didn't have access to Wi-Fi at our site. That may not bother some readers but one of us is a disabled Veteran and sometimes he needs to relax with the Internet or TV. Our TV antenna only picked up six channels. Our neighbor said he picked up 18 channels.

We enjoyed walking around the park and wished we brought our recumbent trikes. We currently do not own kayaks but that would have been nice too since the water was easily accessible from our site.

Check-in was easy. We had no problems with this aspect. The bath house near our site was clean. We would visit again but would have liked to have either Wi-Fi throughout the campground or have rental options (for bikes, kayaks, etc.). These may have enhanced the experience.

Note: We stayed here in a tent. This is a really pretty, tree-filed park in a lake, very close to I-85, but not close enough to hear the highway noise. There are many sites that back up to the lake and several park-and-walk tent sites for primitive camping.

A nice quiet park. There are 2 loops in the park. A few sites are lake view but many are not. This state park is in need of some improvements. The roads had quite a few pot holes. A lot of dead branches in the trees and on the ground. The restrooms/showers had no parking area around them so anyone camped a distance from it had a pretty good hike to the showers. The electric outlet plug at my site was damaged, I brought it to the attention of the host but he seemed indifferent to the issue. I asked him if he checked the circuit breakers for being off for the people arriving, he said he didn't have time for that. In general I was not impressed with this state park and since there are a lot more places to camp I don't think I will return here. There was 13 OTA TV channels, Verizon coverage was good. When you setup make sure you can reach the hookups before you unhook from your TV since some of the service may not be close. A friend camped next to me had to move his RV to one side of the site because the water spigot was next to the pad and too close for him to put out his slide. Sites are not to far off of level so it was not a big problem to get leveled up.

Love this place. 2nd time here. Clean bathrooms, level site, good fishing. Not far from tons of trails.

We had the whole park too ourselves, we pulled in and the office was closed but. We made reservations through Reserve America and so we went to out spot, the road in are pretty rough and the sites are not really level. There is only water and 30 amp through the whole park but there is dump stations, the shower were very clean and the water is very good. It was off season so we would recommend it, there is plenty of room between sites and there's washer and dryer for $1.00 each. We'll be back, safe travels.

This park is clean and the staff is very friendly and helpful, but it is in dire need of some updates.

Looks like nothing has been done here since the 70’s. The sites are very close to one another and the driveways are narrow. On most sites, your campfire will be a few feet from your camper. Absolutely no privacy. If you are in a tent, you will likely have to set up on the driveway behind your car unless you reserve a walk to tent site. Sites are very small and many have steep drop offs. If you are bringing a boat, the ramp area looked like a nightmare for anything bigger than a Jon boat or canoe.

You can go down the road to one of the army Corp of Engineer campgrounds on Lake Hartwell and have 20 times more room, updated facilities, roads without giant potholes, and a better view. I am embarrassed that this is the best my state tax dollars can do. I would rather park in a Cracker Barrel parking lot than spend money here again.

We had a wonderful stay here. Site 51 is located close to the shower house and a trail leads to a sandy sparkly beach (mica). Site required no leveling blocks and was easily accessible for our 35ft Class A with a pull behind motorcycle and trailer. We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon on the small sandy shore in the shade which was very relaxing. The park is very hilly with some winding narrow roads. If you want shore front on your campsite, check out site 5. It is located right next to the boat ramp. Some other campsites have direct lake access for fishing or shoring your boat. Verizon cell service here is terrible and you will only get voice. T-mobile on the other hand was blazing fast!

Nice lakeside lots. Waking up to the sunrise over the lake was amazing. Close to Hartwell, GA and Clemson, SC. Best sites are 5,6,57,77.

Choose this park because it is close to family we are visiting. Our site was very private,heavily treed, overlooking a cove. Roads are hilly and winding but had no trouble with our 32 ft coach.

Stayed On Site 111. Bit of a ways away from the water; Definitely better to get the lower numbered sites if you want lake access. Others have shared need for repavement; Agreed! Site was level and SMALL. Mobile phone / hotspot service good. I usually come in Thursday night and work half the day Friday so fell signal is critical. Nice and quiet though . . . even on a holiday weekend. The park office sells firewood, ice and a few other goodies