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Submission
**All camping is primitive. Please plan accordingly.**
Area closed to visitors during scheduled hunts. The area is open for other allowable activities during daylight hours.
The Cape Trail is closed annually from November 1st through February 8th due to hunting related activities.
From McClellanville travel North on SC Hwy 17 toward Georgetown. Approximately 3 miles out of McClellanville, turn right onto South Santee Road. Travel for about 3 miles and then turn right onto Santee Gun Club Road adjacent to the St. James Community Center which is a dirt road that leads into Santee Coastal reserve. Proceed 2.5 miles to kiosk for more information.
Free
I thought it was just beautiful, lots of hiking and biking... Pack out what you bring in..the place was clean..very impressed... probably won't go back again until winter the mosquitoes were vicious...
An extremely interesting place overall. Still massive amounts of mosquitos despite it ostensibly being winter. Also, I would suggest being very cautious about the Big Well trail. There are more large gators there than I think I've seen anywhere else, and I've been to several marshes. Large enough that they would probably be tempted to eat anything smaller than an adult, and even then I wouldn't test them. On my last visit, I watched a gator about as large as me swim up to the side of the trail I was about to approach (the one below is from my more recent trip, and it's a bit smaller). So yeah, if you have a dog or children stay away from Big Well. And if you can't run faster than five miles an hour, I would probably suggest the same.
an absolutely stunning boardwalk over the swamplands leading to an open view of the swamp. lesson learned: keep your dog on leash, even if you are the ONLY person in the whole reserve. i came on a rainy day and my dog knew it was water under us. but, by the time it reached the end of the boardwalk, she forgot and thought the open swamp, covered in green, was her field of dreams. scary. my arm was barely able to scoop her up by looping a finger under her collar.
other notes: i ran into the park ranger on my way in and he was very friendly and helpful. other reviews tell you to wear bug spray. i will go a step further and say to put it on before you even go there! they weren't a problem on the boardwalk but where you park, you will be eaten up in seconds. i originally planned to sleep here for the night, but after the mosquitos getting me, we RAN back into the vehicle and took off. itch itch itch.
Spent a night here in February and arrived late. Ten primitive spots and most were taken, but we picked #10 and woke up to some really beautiful surroundings and a great sunrise. There was an info board at one end of the campground loop with a drop box to self-register. Would have stayed more nights, but T-Mobile service was non-existent here, so we had to move on for work.
Cute little free campground maybe 8 to 10 sites. Fire rings end tables at almost every site except the middle. Sites are spaced apart can still see your neighbors but not right on top of each other. Pull up the kiosk fill out the card and you're registered, first come first served. Plenty of beautiful hiking trails available also
