Devils Fork State Park SC 29676

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Charles Weibel

Devil's Fork State Park earns its four stars purely on the basis of its natural setting—it is genuinely a beautiful state park with high potential. However, the overall experience is severely hampered by clear maintenance and cleanup issues. ​The campsite we stayed in was nice and offered a peaceful stay, but the immediate infrastructure was a concern. We observed sections of pavement actively washing down the hill, and critically, the stairs to our unit opened directly into an eroded hole, forcing us to use a rock as a makeshift support. ​We loved the nice, direct trail leading from our site down to the lake. Unfortunately, this walk clearly highlighted a serious litter problem. This wasn't just typical trash like water bottles or discarded poop bags; we found large, shocking refuse, including an entire set of discarded car brake rotors polluting the path. This level of neglect is unacceptable for a state park. ​Beyond enjoying the lake, the park offers very little else to do. The primary hiking trail appears heavily damaged, likely due to a recent hurricane. While the raw natural beauty shines through, management needs to prioritize cleanup efforts and infrastructure repair to protect the park and its visitors.

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MIKE ANGELO

The Oconee Bell Nature Trail is a total disaster literally. Probably due to a recent hurricane or bad storm there’s fallen trees left and right and many were just cut with the chain saw and left there. There’s basically nothing to see on the approx 1,5 mile trail. Also if you don’t have a boat there’s nothing to do on this southern side of the lake as there are no other trails directly connected from the parking at the visitor center. The lake and the surroundings are probably very beautiful but we couldn’t enjoy them as we had small kids and couldn’t do the other many trails around the lake that are more difficult. I hope this honest review will help someone so they wouldn’t waste their time with the Oconee Bell Nature Trail as we did!

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Julie Vintage Bam

Beautiful campground…plenty of shady spots for summer heat. Books up fast so early reservations are key. Can’t beat the beautiful mountains and water, can be crowded on holidays though. Everything clean and friendly.