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A big, hilly, woodsy park with lots to do, Kings
Mountain State Park has been a regional favorite for generations.
Built originally by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, Kings
Mountain has miles of trails, equestrian facilities, group camping
barracks, campgrounds, two fishing lakes with boat rentals and the
popular Living History Farm.
The farm is a realistic replica of a typical Piedmont farm from the
early to mid 1800s. Buildings include a house, barn and gin, and there
are gardens and animals, including cows, chickens and a bunch of
friendly cats.
Regularly scheduled special events at the park bring in local crowds and
the park also is adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, site
of a pivotal Revolutionary War battle.
Nestled in a floodplain forest along the designated
state scenic Lynches River, Lee State Natural Area has been serving
South Carolina since it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in
the 1930s.
Now conveniently located just off Interstate 20, visitors can camp,
fish, ride horses and hike and explore along the park’s nature trails.
Lee State Natural Area’s artesian springs, millpond and sandhills add to
its diversity as a natural setting. Deer, raccoons and red foxes are
among the permanent residents.
The park also features an environmental education center with exhibits
about its natural setting in Lee County, a library and historical
documents, including newspapers, from the days the park was built during
the Great Depression.
A unique combination of history and mixed ecosystems
makes Poinsett State Park a special place in the woods.
The rural Sumter County park’s setting in the High Hills of Santee where
the Midlands sandhills meets the coastal plains has given rise to such
unusual sights as mountain laurel festooned with Spanish moss.
The serene setting also offers camping, a fishing pond with coquina
bathhouse built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and
clean, rustic cabins high atop a hill where often the only sound is the
breeze through the trees.
The mix of steep hills and bluffs, pine and hardwood forests and
Lowcountry swamp also is home to a wide range of plant and animal life.
Hiking is a favorite activity at Poinsett, where its own extensive trail
system connects to the Palmetto Trail in adjacent Manchester State
Forest.
Natural beauty and great golf come together at Cheraw
State Park.
An 18-hole championship course winds its way through the long-leaf
pinelands of the traditional state park, a course that’s earned notice
from the Aubudon Society for the way it’s managed to preserve and
protect the habitat it shares with uncommon critters such as
red-cockaded woodpeckers and fox squirrels.
The park in South Carolina’s northeast corner also boasts Lake Juniper,
a 300-acre impoundment built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during
the Great Depression along with the park’s original cabins and picnic
facilities.
A boardwalk along the lake helps visitors enjoy the scenic setting, and
kayakers particularly enjoy silently scooting into the cypress wetlands
at the lake’s edge.
Croft State Natural Area is a big park with lots to
do.
A green retreat in the heart of fast-growing Spartanburg County, the
park offers more than 12 miles of biking and hiking trails, a
playground, picnicking and camping, as well as fishing and boating in
two lakes, including 150-acre Lake Craig.
Croft also is known around the region for its equestrian facilities. The
park regularly hosts shows in its arena and boasts more than 20 miles of
equestrian facilities and 55 stalls.
The diverse park was once an Army training base and covers nearly 12
miles of rolling, wooded terrain that also provides habitat for a wide
variety of flora and fauna just five miles from bustling downtown
Spartanburg.
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