We journey into the lush landscape of the Table Rock State Park. This is total tree ? immersion. One may NOT receive a cell phone signal; albeit, this is one of the best state parks in SC. Table Rock State Park fits the bill for the natural beauty attributed to scenic Highway 11 which was the old Cherokee foot path to the towering mountain, which gives the park its name, serving as a backdrop for the 3,000 acre park and its facilities.
The Table Rock State Park hiking trails take hikers past mountain ⛰ streams and waterfalls to the tops of Pinnacle and Table Rock mountains. We hiked Carrick Creek trail and the 2 mile trail was outstanding with waterfalls and constant access to the flowing water. This trail is considered easy. Several years ago we camped here and hiked to the top of Table Rock. This is a strenuous hike so the park offers easy to challenging hikes and a swimming ? area with a high dive as a reward after a morning on the mountain.
The camp grounds were well maintained. There is traffic noise along many of the sites. We liked sites 40, 43, 44, or 45 and all the White Oak campgrounds. Washers & dyers are available at the camp store along with free Wi-Fi. Very poor cell phone ☎️ service within the campgrounds. It is worth a drive to the observation area via car ? for some great views of Table Rock and building the courage to climb ?♂️ that mountain.
Quick link to Table Rock State Park Website
One word of caution, it seams around 1 pm it is common for thunderstorms ⛈ to form over the mountain and the swimming area will be closed ?.
Pinnacle Lake is a nice cool dip after a day of hiking ? assuming there are NO storms.
One of South Carolina’s most unique and earliest wildflowers flower ? , the Oconee Bell, can be found blooming from mid-March to early April.
The Oconee Bell is a rare flower of the southern Appalachians found only in a few locations in the mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in moist wooded areas along streams. Although the flower has a very limited range in the wild, it grows well in gardens and is commercially available.
You can recognize the Oconee Bell by its white and yellow blossom with red stem and red-tinged leaves
Colonies of the Oconee Bells blooming in their entire splendor can be seen along the Oconee Bell Trail at Devils Fork State Park, a gateway to the Jocassee Gorges.
Homemade meditation ?♀️ video of the waterfalls and streams of Carrick Creek