Jones Gap State Park
The Middle Saluda gorge and the heart of Mountain Bridge Wilderness — trailside camping only, no vehicle sites.
- Greenville County, SC
- Nearest town: Slater-Marietta
- 1,980 ft
Coordinates
- Lat
- 35.12199
- Lng
- -82.58012
No van camping
There is camping here, but only walk-in, backcountry or boat-in sites. You cannot sleep in a van at the trailhead.
At a glance
The basics
What to expect
State park
Reservable sites, paved or well-graded roads, bathhouses in season.
- County
- Greenville County
- State
- South Carolina
- Nearest town
- Slater-Marietta
- Elevation
- 1,980 ft
- Max vehicle length
- Not verified
The place
About Jones Gap State Park
The Middle Saluda was the first river in South Carolina designated as a state scenic river, and Jones Gap follows it up a steep, boulder-filled gorge on the route of an old toll road built in the 1840s. The trail network here links into Caesars Head and the wider Mountain Bridge Wilderness, giving the Upstate its most serious hiking: long climbs, waterfalls like Rainbow Falls and Jones Gap Falls, and rhododendron tunnels that close over the path. The gorge holds moisture and cool air, and the plant life reflects it.
For van drivers
Getting a van in and out
The camping here is trailside and hike-in, so there is no sleeping in a van at the trailhead. Use the park for the day and stay at Table Rock or in Greenville. The access road up from US 276 is narrow, winding and steep with limited parking at the top, and it is not a place to take a long wheelbase casually — arrive early, because the lot is small and fills. Cell signal in the gorge is nonexistent.
Written for a high-roof van, not a pickup. Surfaces and clearances change with the weather and with the season’s roadwork — the official page below is the last word.
On the ground
Facilities & fees
Not verified means nobody has confirmed it — treat it as unknown, never as a no. 8 of the 8 below are still unconfirmed.
- Restrooms
- Not verified
- Drinking water
- Not verified
- Showers
- Not verified
- Dump station
- Not verified
- Hookups
- Not verified
- Campfires
- Not verified
- Dogs allowed
- Not verified
- Reservations
- Not verified
- Max vehicle length
- Not verified — check with the park
- Season
- Not verified — check with the park
- Fees
- Not verified — check with the park
The last word on all of this is southcarolinaparks.com(opens in a new tab).
Where it is
Coordinates & directions
Decimal degrees
- Latitude
- 35.121985
- Longitude
- -82.580125
35.1220° N · 82.5801° W
No map tiles here on purpose. Half of these places have no signal at the gate, so coordinates you can save offline beat a map that needs one. Drop them into your phone before you turn off the pavement.
Nearest gas and groceries: Slater-Marietta
Before you go
Official sources
Fees, site counts, length limits and closures change season to season. Everything we have not confirmed ourselves is marked Not verified above rather than guessed at — and where we do have a number, the operator’s own page still wins.
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