South Carolina State Parks

The Upstate Region of South Carolina contains sprawling foothills, serene lakes, rushing rivers, and dramatic stone outcroppings. Parks along the Escarpment, the line at which the Blue Ridge Mountains abruptly drop down into the foothills, offer dramatic panoramas of the mountains and valleys that populate the region. Jones Gap, Caesars Head, Oconee, and Table Rock State Parks are all nestled amidst these striking landscapes. Meanwhile, Paris Mountain State Park is located on a monadnock, which refers to a mountain that stands alone, separate from any range.

Devils Fork State Park and Keowee-Toxaway & Lake Hartwell Natural Areas showcase the region's gorgeous lakes as they descend down from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Foothills through Lake Jocassee, Lake Keowee, and Lake Hartwell, respectively.

Other parks offer a window into the region's history. Kings Mountain State Park is located next to a Revolutionary War site, and holds lively history demonstrations every fall on the park's replica 1800s Piedmont farm. Oconee Station Historic Site also offers a look back in time to when its stone blockhouse was used as a military outpost in the late 1700s.

Parks in the Upstate Region:

Paris Mountain
Jones Gap
Caesars Head
Table Rock
Keowee-Toxaway
Devils Fork
Oconee Station
Oconee
Lake Hartwell
Kings Mountain