Taking a trip down to southern South Carolina in a couple of weeks, and looking for advice or suggestions on places to paddle down that way. We are staying close to the coast (Beaufort area). Thanks for any suggestions y’all may have.
Kate
SC rivers
kate i paddle the lumbar/peedee river in SC. there are soooooo many place to explore on them and lots of places to pitch a tent for the night and your allowed to have camp fires. i was there this past nov. a little cold but lots of fun and then again this past march, I think that was the month. it all blends together some days. but the water was a lot higher on our last trip. less places to make camp. but the weather was good nights were good,. if your coming down this way paddle them rivers. i have several megs of pics from my last trip if you would like i can send them to ya just to give ya a look see as to what you can see down here… let me know. im not on here that often so you can email me at mahansc@bellsouth.net.
scott
Try the Edisto, it’s great!
Pick your poison
it really depends on what kind of paddling you enjoy kate. If you like the wildlife, the rivers are great. Waves? Go to Folly Beach. BTW I was there a last weekend wave playing by the light house, and encountered what must have been at least 15-20 dolphins playing in the same surf I was. One particularly friendly one literally came up for a breath between my paddle blade and my boat. I took a good extended day trip (18nm) out of McClellanville several weeks back. Look at the tide predictor and plan an easy out and back to the beach down five fathoms creek. Or once your at there head up the coast to Cape Romain. Personally I’d steer clear of Myrtle beach though. Way to much traffic. Put up a post after you go. I live in Columbia and love hearing about good paddling spots in SC.
beaufort has it all
lots of public access and a variety of water. beaufortkayaktours.com david and lisa are great or just come down and check it out. great paddling in this area
SC Paddling
I loved paddling in the Grand Strand area…waves one day, gators the next. I spent 3 months paddling everything Myrtle Beach had to offer.
Now I am in Columbia looking for the perfect water…any suggetions??
Paddling the South Carolina Coast
Just returned from the trip to South Carolina. Thanks for the suggestions. SC really does have it all. One day we were playing in the waves and checking out sand bars off of Hunting Island, the next we were paddling in the Wildlife Refuge. We paddled on the Combahoo River, part of the ACE Basin, and in one day saw osprey, bald eagle, blue heron, dolphins, alligators, lots of fish, and many other different species of birds. Oh yeah, we saw racoons too, but that was back at the campsite. You could spend years there and not see it all. Definetely recommend the area, there is something for everyone.
Come to Great Falls SC
Get Out | In love with the lake
The State - South Carolina
By JOEY HOLLEMAN
April 06, 2006
Paddling a kayak simply isn’t as much fun on a lake as it is on a river.
The scenery stays constant, big boats hit you with noise and waves and the wind can get nasty. I generally avoid paddling on lakes.
But recent news about the conservation of the banks and islands in the reservoirs near Great Falls prompted a lake trip, and I might have to reconsider my opinion.
The Cedar Creek Reservoir, with a mountain-like shoreline and several islands in its skinny channel, never gets boring. Some locals refer to the 800-acre lake as Stumpy Pond, and the dead cedars breaking the water’s surface scare away folks with big boats. Don’t want to tear up those expensive motors.
The wind probably can whip up on the lake, but I was lucky enough to pick a calm day. In fact, on the first 80-degree weekend of the spring, Cedar Creek Reservoir proved to be the perfect excursion.
Mea culpa here: I recommended Cedar Creek as a sweet place to paddle six years ago based entirely on a spin on the lake in a motorized boat. Only now do I realize how right I was.
I launched from the Debutary Creek landing, just off State Road268 in upper Fairfield County. One of the best aspects of Cedar Creek Reservoir six years ago was the lack of development on the banks. Even though two mansions have been built near the landing since then, the vast majority of the shoreline is undeveloped.
Even better, Crescent Resources has agreed to sell at a discount nearly 2,000 acres of the shoreline to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, and the land will be put in the Heritage Trust program. Crescent also has agreed, as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing of its Catawba River dams, to lease the reservoir’s islands to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for use as a state park.
The two state agencies should make it more inviting to recreate along the lake. But the truth is, it’s already welcoming. I didn’t see any signs warning people to stay off the islands. A rough-looking man who camped overnight on one, and didn’t want to be identified, said he went out often ‘to get away from the wife and kids.’
From Debutary Creek landing, paddle across the skinny finger of the lake and hug the rocky, wooded east bank. After passing the dam on the left, you’ll see another landing. Just across from that is Pickett Island. You can paddle around that island, stopping along the way at one of the dozen or so easy spots to pull up a canoe or kayak.
The island has no well-worn paths, but its underbrush was amazingly sparse in early April. I hiked the high ground for a while, flushing a wild turkey and lots of things I didn’t see that made slithery sounds. Probably best not to do this in sandals.
The colors of spring came alive on the lake shore: white dogwood blossoms, red maple seed pods and green leaves everywhere. The noise of the paddle prompted a cluster of what appeared to be 100 butterflies to flutter away from something on the bank that had lured them.
I hugged the other bank of the lake back to the landing for a round trip of about four miles of easy paddling. No offense to Lake Murray or even the fun upper reaches of Lake Marion, but I have a new favorite lake to paddle.
Cedar Creek Reservoir
– Last Updated: Sep-05-06 9:02 PM EST –
I am working on a camping area on the lake now that will be located on the rocky creek inlet to the river below the dearborn dam.Hope to see you all there soon.Email for more info