By:
Submission
FROM SHAW AFB: Travel north on Hwy. 441 to Fish Road (just past 5000 Area housing). Take left turn onto Fish Road and follow it until you reach the intersection of Fish Road and Hwy. 261. Go right onto Hwy. 261 and follow road until you reach the intersection of Hwy. 261 and Hwy. 521. Go left onto Hwy. 521 and continue north on Hwy. 521 through the town of Camden. On the other side of town take a left onto Hwy. 97 (Roses Dept. Store and Food Lion on the left and Seafood Hut restaurant on the right). Follow Hwy. 97 about 9 miles until you see the signs for Wateree Recreation Area, turn left onto Baron DeKalb Road and follow road around into the park. Alternate: Travel north on Hwy. 441 to Hwy. 521. Take left turn onto Hwy. 521 and follow the
I would just like to thank the men and women who work hard to help maintain this amazing facility. The last time I came here was 30 years ago as a kid. My family recently stayed in Cabin 16, one of their newer cabins, and it was beautiful. A convenient walk to the docks where I kept my boat moored, and the grounds was meticulously clean. If you bring a boat, be careful on the ramp as it’s shallower than I would like when launching. But that’s probably due to them drawing down the lake some. Thanks again.
**Forewarning, as of writing this, the lake level will be down until March of 2024 due to dam work. Its down a solid 4+ feet. NOT relevant to the below review, not their fault**
First off, the staff were amazing. Super friendly, and considering how clearly understaffed they are and probably super tight operating budget, they killed it! Zero complaints with them.
The issue lies in the overall park and cabins themselves. It looks and feels very run down now. The cabin we were in needed a ton of TLC/repairs, and I'm sure it wasn't just ours. Examples would be the entire screened in back porch didn't have a single window where the netting wasn't falling off, some spots significantly. Our bathroom had dry wall falling off the ceiling and the tub plumbing was super loose. There are more things, but too many to list.
Their main office is currently down due to a fire, but has been for a couple months from what I gathered, so they cant sell anything really, and are now into some of the major summer holidays with it still being down awaiting funding/contracts. The 20th FSS or MSG really needs to look into this, because Wateree is a public facing popular military location. We drove 10 hours ourselves. I know funding can be hard to get or allocate, but man its really in sad shape compared to what it use to be.
No lie... It reminded me of Crystal Lake going back there in those woods but once you reach the water it's beautiful! The cabin's beautiful the recreational building is beautiful!
Had a enjoyable time with family & friends. The accommodations were superior. Plan on going back in next few months.
We stayed back to back weekends.
Overall nice view, clean restrooms and friendly people. We will return some day.
