About: Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and is one of the largest recreation lakes in the Southeastern United States. It is located on the Savannah River seven miles below the point where the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. Extending 49 miles up the Tugaloo and 45 miles up the Seneca at normal pool elevation. The lake comprises nearly 56,000 acres of water with a shoreline of 962 miles. Interstate Highway 85 bisects Lake Hartwell. Besides the Lake Hartwell experience, the park offers a basketball court, publicly accessible boat ramp and hiking. Every type of camping enthusiast will find a site that suits their needs for camping on Lake Hartwell. The park is one of a few in the state to offer single room camper cabins.
Issaqueena Dam, located along the Keowee River past Clemson, has a scenic waterfall about 25 feet tall and 150 feet wide, carrying overflow from Lake Issaqueena into Lake Hartwell. Eighteen Mile Creek is a curvy and narrow waterway off the Seneca River at buoy marker S-42. The creek extends about five miles, ending in a big shallow area with an old bridge. It is a site of many birds and wildlife. Rock Quarry has many overhanging rocks, whose height seems to change with varying lake levels. Ghost Island, at its center high point, has 50 old grave headstones; some cannot be read. Some above-ground concrete vaults are marked, identifying the graves from the War of 1812 from as far back as 1700s. Andersonville Island, once the site of a port and resort town. It had a barge system with daily service to Savannah, Georgia. It survives today only as a large island, nearly 400 acres. It is the largest island on the lake, and is between two and three miles long. A paved road across the island is overgrown. Visitors can explore building ruins, artifacts, rare plants, and wildlife.
Hours: Sun up to sun down, daily. Park office: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., daily April-October, and 11 a.m. - noon and 4 - 5 p.m., daily November-March. Admission: $3 adults; $1.50 SC seniors; $1 children age 6-15; age 5 & younger free.
Link: https://southcarolinaparks.com/lake-hartwell
