Keowee-Toxaway State Park
A small park on Lake Keowee with Cherokee history interpreted along its trails, below the escarpment.
- Pickens County, SC
- Nearest town: Salem
- 945 ft
Coordinates
- Lat
- 34.92453
- Lng
- -82.88589
Van camping
You can drive in and sleep in your van here.
At a glance
The basics
What to expect
State park
Reservable sites, paved or well-graded roads, bathhouses in season.
- County
- Pickens County
- State
- South Carolina
- Nearest town
- Salem
- Elevation
- 945 ft
- Max vehicle length
- Not verified
The place
About Keowee-Toxaway State Park
Keowee-Toxaway occupies ground that was the heart of the Cherokee Lower Towns before the valley was flooded for the reservoir, and the park's interpretive trail tells that history directly. It is compact and quiet, with a Natural Bridge trail crossing a creek through rhododendron and a longer loop that climbs to overlooks above Lake Keowee. The lake is warmer and gentler than Jocassee next door, and SC 11 running past the gate is one of the better drives in the state, with the Blue Ridge wall on one side and pasture on the other.
For van drivers
Getting a van in and out
Paved access directly off SC 11 and a small developed campground, easy enough in most builds although the park's modest size means limited manoeuvring room. Salem and Pickens are close for basics, Seneca for more. Being small and on a scenic route, it fills on holiday weekends. Cell coverage is reasonable near the highway.
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
- 34.924533
- Longitude
- -82.885888
34.9245° N · 82.8859° 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: Salem
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.
Keep looking
Camp nearby
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