Santee Coastal Reserve - DNR Campground | Established Campground

April 8th, 2024 by mickrezek

Great free DNR campground. No services-please pack garbage out! Great sites, a little buggy, but lots of wildlife! Two bars Verizon.

January 26th, 2024 by larayziegler

Amazing find! Clean, peaceful, direct access to some great trails. Highly recommend.

December 29th, 2023 by wkrisher

Road into the reserve was blocked off. Signs posted about a turkey shot. Ended up staying in the parking lot by the main road.

December 13th, 2023 by mickrezek

Beautiful campground with no services but has 8 flat sites with tables.

May 16th, 2023 by ssing45

The yellow flies are supposed to be the worst from April to June. It’s May. They are terrible. I have to take my dog for a walk but don’t want to leave the van. Other than that is is a beautiful campground.

April 12th, 2023 by ma.pastore89

amazing, beautiful, free. no toilets. but the mosquitos are horrible, trust the reviews 🤣

March 31st, 2023 by instagram.com/grwflwrs

Beautiful and quiet but the mosquitoes are horrible!

December 3rd, 2022 by msherrange

Beautiful place nice campground area beautiful sceneries great trails there are a lot of mosquitoes on the trails so the use of bug spray coil sticks etc. is recommended, very clean so let’s keep it that way, I felt very safe here!! 👍🏽

October 29th, 2022 by tylerknight92

Nice beautiful campground. Beware of the insane amount of mosquitoes. I couldn’t really enjoy it due to the swarms of large mosquitos. Slept overnight but next morning left as fast as possible due to getting bit so many times

April 8th, 2022 by newrootfamily

Rolled in around lunch time excited to set up camp for the weekend and relax. the moment we stepped out of the car we were swarmed by mosquitoes. We made lunch and ate in the camper then moved on, disappointed that we wouldn't be able to enjoy this absolutely beautiful/Free campground.

March 30th, 2022 by sierraindia87

Beautiful campground! The trees are so lovely!
I was the only one there (someone came but left after an hour) and then I left after a few hours as the bugs were so bad, even with strong bug spray. Mosquitos were staying out of my RV as I had peppermint candles burning inside but every time I stepped outside, I was swarmed and they were getting me through my clothing. Come prepared.. this campground is amazing and wish I could have stayed longer!

February 24th, 2022 by gots

Super nice Campsite but infested of mosquitoes. We saw a bunch of small gators.

February 7th, 2022 by howmuch4ribs

Beautiful campground with big trees, and peace and quiet at night. Fire pits and picnic tables and trails to hike. Stayed 3 nights and would definitely stay again

January 4th, 2022 by drewstone1995

Great place , down a long dirt road on the left (just follow the signs) fire pits with cooking grate , picnic tables as well. Not buggy for our stay. Beginning of January. Reccomend staying here and it's free!

October 31st, 2021 by davidasbill

Late October, Halloween night now, 3rd night of 4 intended, mosquitoes, spiders, raccoons. Keep trash locked away at night. 8 tent or van sites with fire rings. Stay in camp after dark, per rules.No water, electric, toilets, pack in and pack out, drive up to campsite, first come first served, sign in at kiosk at campground. Bring high quality repellent and citronella candles to enhance a comfortable stay. Fishing nearby, pier and boatramp, South Santee River, a tidal river where I saw stripers, catfish, Spanish mackerel, redfish (10+ pounder), all caught within a two hour period. Use plastic grubs with lead heads or frozen shrimp or fake shrimp. About 3 miles paved off of 17 then a few more miles on well maintained dirt. Ranger Station nearby campground. I heard there is part of the year that yellow flies are so bad that it's impossible to stay here. Hunting season, wear orange vests if walking the trails. Bring firewood if desired, and fire starter. Some twigs in camp but wet conditions could spoil that. Nearest store go South on 17 a few miles, Circle K (limited food) and another store same side of highway with hot food.

October 22nd, 2021 by kelsietravers

Stayed 2 nights in late October. Bugs were still very bad. We are from Minnesota where the bugs are also terrible, so we really underestimated how bad it would be. We cooked inside our camper and put on long pants and sleeves to go on walks and were fine though.

Overall really peaceful place to spend a couple days. Did a few trails through the woods and by the water. Highly recommend the big well trail by the river. Saw some gators which was fun!

October 13th, 2021 by formrteki

What a place! Bring bug spray, firewood, hiking shoes, and fishing gear. We will be back!

May 10th, 2021 by fadinghalo37

came here thinking it would be wonderful, I lasted 3 minutes before the giant bugs started eating me alive. I ran back to the truck screaming and flailing my arms...

in summer, the bugs are insane. drove across the 17 to a better spot.

May 1st, 2021 by parrish1963

This place is awesome! We arrived on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 2 PM and there were still four sites available. We chose site five and it is wonderful. There are a lot of hiking trails that we will do tomorrow and the next day.

May 1st, 2021 by celestialtravelers777

drove in at 6pm on Saturday and all the 7 camp spots were full. area is super beautiful but lots of bugs!

definitely if you want a spot, come early.

April 26th, 2021 by thedragonwagon.me

This place is amazing. The road is a little bumpy if you're in an RV. Eight (8) camping spots. Check in and write your info on a piece of paper and put in the box by spot #1. Free camping. Four day limit. Several trails. Dog friendly but beware of alligators. we heard them by the path. picnic tables. fire pits. big spots. quiet. Great Visible cell signal - 5G at times.

March 18th, 2021 by johndelaney2008

perfect for dry camping, lots of wildlife.

March 6th, 2021 by jesse.crossen

Pretty and quiet with a lot of walking trails. Note that maximum stay is 4 nights and all campsite markers have been removed from inside the ring, leaving only 5 official sites. I filtered water from the river at end of the road and it was fresh, light straw colored, and slightly tannic as you'd expect given the nearby swamps. Verizon coverage was good at two bars.

January 20th, 2021 by tschnk

This place is amazing ! Super beautiful, spacious campground with gorgeous live oaks and Spanish moss. Fire pit and picnic table at each site. A bunch of nice hiking trails around too and great for birders!

January 3rd, 2021 by matugatu4x4

Quiet place in the woods. Nice trails around. Every site has a camping table ans fire pit.

December 26th, 2020 by syuan86

Amazing free campsites. No water or bathrooms. Quiet (at least in December). Lots of down wood for small fire. Lots of hiking trails through the marsh (too cold to see alligators)

November 6th, 2020 by zahragoode23

cool free dry campground. it has picnic table and fire pit. you just need to fill out the form before hand. free stay up to 4 days. no trash so bring your trash with you on your way out

March 31st, 2020 by roamingabout.com

One of the few places still open during Covid19 (so far). A bit busy on the weekends but very quiet during the week. Beautiful here, and great walks/hikes. Bugs are as bad as everyone else notes. Saw a family of alligators with 3 babies. AT&T works fine here.

November 26th, 2019 by Brennan

Arrived right after dark.
Check in is right at entrance to campsite about 2.5 miles down a well maintained dirt road. Stars are beautiful and it is very quiet at night.
Be aware to walk on the trails you are required by law to wear international orange, specifically during hunting season - there are a lot of hunters so I wouldn’t risk walking without orange!

Remember to clean up after yourself, no trash, toilets, or running water!

November 26th, 2019 by Brennan

Arrived right after dark.
Check in is right at entrance to campsite about 2.5 miles down a well maintained dirt road. Stars are beautiful and it is very quiet at night.
Be aware to walk on the trails you are required by law to wear international orange, specifically during hunting season - there are a lot of hunters so I wouldn’t risk walking without orange!

Remember to clean up after yourself, no trash, toilets, or running water!

November 17th, 2019 by moxiepup1

Beautiful spacious campsites surrounded by huge Live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Nice flat sites. There are several interesting trails in the area. Very peaceful location. Great for birdwatching! I stayed 4 nights, wish it could have been more!

October 18th, 2019 by krlranch

We were here for 4 days. Totally FREE after filling out form. There were some Mosquitos but that’s what DEET is for. The trails are great we walked all of them. We don’t see any one in the camp ground or the trails very quit place. Please keep camp ground picked up we don’t want to Ruin this great free place.

August 30th, 2019 by The Tree Pilgrimage

Sweet campsite tucked in near the coast.
Easy, just fill out form at entrance and it’s free.
Arrived at 9:30 at night. Overrun with mosquitos so didn’t spend much time outside but very quiet night!

I was the only one there.
I imagine this is quite a gem of a place when it’s not buggy.

Lovely road out to the place too.

May 20th, 2019 by samuelpion

Awesome free spot! You can stay up to 4 Days, just take a permit before going in the campground fil it up and let it in the box before leaving. Firepits ans tables, 7 or 8 sites. Would recommend.

January 14th, 2019 by lrln

Awesome spot. There are several hikes. Beautiful trees. Really great free spot. We stayed two nights but you can stay for up to 4. No water. No toilet. Really quiet and dark.

December 23rd, 2018 by juulydoo

Very nice free spot. I would spend more time if i could. We where the only ones there. Would of been great to have some restrooms.

October 21st, 2018 by brubru

Nice place and quiet...we see alligator to in water dont worry....and we see à lot of mosquito....

April 18th, 2018 by piperflies

AMAZING place! So beautiful- friendly DNR employees, great biking/hiking and fantastic low country scenery! Free to camp!!

February 1st, 2018 by Wilde Weite Welt

Nice campground free of charge operated by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Campsites shaded by big Virginia Oak Trees. No facilities, very quiet and peaceful. Lots of mosquitos in Summer.

January 17th, 2018 by instagram.com/roaminginavan

Beautiful, established DNR campground with several spots. Completely free! Hiking trails through swaps with gators and wildlife. No facilities, no restroom, no trash cans. Pack it in, pack it out! Maximum stay is 4 days.