List of South Carolina state parks

Last updated

South Carolina
State Park Service
SC parks logo.jpg
Agency overview
Formed1933
Headquarters1205 Pendleton Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Annual budget$120 million (2008) [1]
Agency executive
  • Paul McCormack, State Park Director
Parent agencyS.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Website http://www.southcarolinaparks.com

The State of South Carolina has a group of protected areas managed by the South Carolina State Park Service (often abbreviated to Park Service). Formed in 1933 in conjunction with the formalization of the federal Civilian Conservation Corps program, the State Park Service is administered by the state's Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT). There are a total of 47 facilities that the State Park Service administers, protecting nearly 80,000 acres of sensitive, attractive, and/or historically significant lands in South Carolina. [2] The facilities fall under four types of classifications:

Cheraw State Park was the first park to be proposed within the system in 1934 with Myrtle Beach State Park becoming the first park to open in 1936. [3] Within six years, the State of South Carolina and the CCC opened 17 state parks. [4] Originally under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the Park Service has been a unit within the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism since its formation in 1967. Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort County is the most popular state park in South Carolina and among the most popular in the United States, attracting 1.2 million visitors per year.

Following the Nukegate scandal, Dominion Energy settled with the South Carolina tax agency on $165 million in unpaid taxes owed due to an unfinished nuclear project in Fairfield County. As part of that settlement, the state agency and Dominion Energy agreed that Dominion would offset approximately a third of the unpaid taxes by turning over more than 2,900 acres of land which will ultimately become six new state parks in the coming years. The first state park expected to open from the settlement is Pine Island on Lake Murray. [5]

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South Carolina State Parks (Hover mouse over pog to popup clickable link)
Park NameCounty or CountiesSizeYear AcquiredYear Opened
acresha
Aiken State Park Aiken1,06743219341936
Andrew Jackson State Park Lancaster36015019531957
Baker Creek State Park McCormick1,30552819671968
Barnwell State Park Barnwell30712419371939
Caesars Head State Park Greenville7,4673,02219761986
Calhoun Falls State Park Abbeville3181291982
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site Charleston1847419701970
Cheraw State Park Chesterfield7,3622,97919341939
Chester State Park Chester52321219351936
Colleton State Park Colleton351419381940
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site Dorchester32513219601960
Croft State Park Spartanburg7,0542,8551949
Devils Fork State Park Oconee62225219911991
Dreher Island State Park Newberry34814119701970
Edisto Beach State Park Colleton1,25550819351937
Givhans Ferry State Park Colleton, Dorchester98840019341937
Goodale State Park Kershaw96339019731973
H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area Chesterfield7,0002,80019942006
Hamilton Branch State Park McCormick73129619721972
Hampton Plantation State Historic Site Charleston3001201972
Hickory Knob State Resort Park McCormick1,09144219691973
Hunting Island State Park Beaufort5,0002,00019381941
Huntington Beach State Park Georgetown2,5001,00019601962
Jones Gap State Park Greenville3,9641,60419761985
Keowee-Toxaway State Park Pickens1,00040019701975
Kings Mountain State Park Cherokee, York6,8852,78619341936
Lake Greenwood State Park Greenwood91437019381940
Lake Hartwell State Park Oconee68028019761985
Lake Warren State Park Hampton44018019801990
Lake Wateree State Park Fairfield2389619821985
Landsford Canal State Park Chester, Lancaster44818119701973
Lee State Park Lee2,8391,14919351941
Little Pee Dee State Park Dillon83533819511955
May Forest State Park Charleston239.320212023
Musgrove Mill State Historic Site Laurens, Spartanburg, Union38015019752003
Myrtle Beach State Park Horry31212619351936
Oconee State Park Oconee1,16547119351937
Oconee Station State Historic Site Oconee2108519761994
Paris Mountain State Park Greenville1,54062019351937
Poinsett State Park Sumter1,01041019341936
Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site Aiken35014019731975
Rivers Bridge State Historic Site Bamberg39016019451945
Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site Union441819601961
Sadlers Creek State Park Anderson39516019661968
Santee State Park Orangeburg2,5001,00019421949
Sesquicentennial State Park Richland1,41957419371940
Table Rock State Park Pickens3,0831,24819351940
Woods Bay State Park Clarendon, Florence, Sumter1,59064019731973

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References

  1. https://www.census.gov/govs/state/0841scst.html SC Government Finances
  2. "1967 - Present: South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation &". Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013. Park Service History 1967-Present
  3. "1933 - 1942: South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation &". Archived from the original on August 28, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007. Park Service History 1933-1942
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) South Carolina Facts
  5. Hincks, Leah (March 19, 2023). "SC's smallest state park born from state's biggest business bust". Post and Courier. Retrieved March 20, 2023.