Some links on our site may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Oconee State Park camping means 110 water-and-electric sites, 24 full-hookup sites and 15 walk-in tent sites, per South Carolina State Parks. Every reservation carries a two-night minimum. Day admission is $5 an adult. The park sits in the Blue Ridge foothills at Mountain Rest, South Carolina, on 1,165 acres. The Civilian Conservation Corps laid it out in the 1930s. It has two small lakes: one for swimming, and one at the campground for fishing.
I first camped here as a kid. It is still the park I picture when somebody says “state park.” One lake had the dock and the fishing and, back then, a baseball diamond beside it. The other lake was for swimming. It had a platform out in the water that you swam to and jumped off. We were there over a Fourth of July once. Some of that has surely changed since, so everything below is checked against the park’s own pages rather than my memory.
Quick facts
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Address | 624 State Park Road, Mountain Rest, SC 29664 — 864-638-5353 |
| Admission | $5 adult; $3.25 SC senior; $3 child 6–15; free age 5 and under |
| Hours | Sun–Thu 7 a.m.–7 p.m., Fri–Sat 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily during daylight saving time |
| Camping | 110 standard sites (water, electric), 24 full hookup, 15 walk-in tent sites; two-night minimum |
| Cabins | 19 CCC-built cabins; no one-night stays; three-night minimum on weekends March–November |
| Lakes | Two — 20 acres and 12 acres; swimming in a designated area from Memorial Day weekend; fishing pier on Campground Lake |
| Trails | Seven, from a half-mile loop to the southern trailhead of the 77-mile Foothills Trail |
Where Is Oconee State Park?
The park is in the far northwest corner of South Carolina, in Oconee County. North Carolina and Georgia are both a few miles away. The address is 624 State Park Road in Mountain Rest. The park office answers at 864-638-5353. This is the Upcountry, the hilly end of the state, with Sumter National Forest close by.
Don’t confuse it with Lake Oconee. That is a big reservoir in Georgia, and it has nothing to do with this park. Oconee State Park’s water is two small lakes of its own, inside the park boundary.
It pairs naturally with the rest of this corner of the mountains. Pretty Place chapel and the Rainbow Falls hike are up the road toward Caesars Head. Asheville is north of here on the same run of mountains. For a mountain road trip out of this region, Oconee is the cheap, quiet base at the southern end.
Oconee State Park Campground
There are three kinds of site, per the park’s camping page. The 110 standard sites have water and electric hookups and a picnic table. Another 24 are full hookup, which adds sewer. That is the difference that matters if you’re in an RV for more than a couple of nights. Then there are 15 designated tent sites, walk-in, each with a fire ring and a picnic table. Book those if you want trees around you instead of a neighbor’s awning.
Every site is close to a restroom with hot showers. Check-in is 2 p.m. and check-out is noon. The park requires a minimum of two nights on every camping reservation. Anything booked less than a day ahead has to go through the park directly, not the online system.
Campground Lake sits right at the campground, with a fishing pier on it. The 18-hole carpet mini golf course is next door. That’s the layout from my childhood, and it still holds. Fishing lake and campsites together, swimming lake a walk away.
Pets are fine on a leash of six feet or less in most outdoor areas.
Oconee State Park Cabins
The 19 cabins were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. They’re the reason a lot of families come back year after year. Six are one-bedroom units. Twelve are two-bedroom, and five of those have a loft. Each one comes furnished, heated and air-conditioned, with linens. The kitchen has a refrigerator, stove, microwave, a Keurig and basic cooking gear. Outside there’s a screened porch, a charcoal grill, a picnic table and a fire ring. Inside there’s a fireplace, per the park’s lodging page.
The rules are the part people miss. One-night cabin stays aren’t accepted at all. From March through November, a weekend booking means all three nights, Friday through Sunday. Check-in is 4 p.m. and check-out is 10 a.m. Pets are allowed only in cabins 14 through 20. They can’t be left alone inside.
Nightly cabin rates aren’t printed on the park’s pages. They show up when you pick dates in the state reservation system. Cabin guests can also rent a boat for $75 for two days. That beats the day rate if you’ll use it both days.
Oconee State Park Swimming
Swimming opens Memorial Day weekend in a designated area on the park lake. The park’s own words are “swim at your own risk.” There are no lifeguards listed. It’s a small mountain lake, the kind where you go in fast and get used to it. On a July afternoon that’s the whole point.
When I was a kid, the swimming lake had a platform out in the water. You swam out, hauled yourself up, and jumped off, over and over, until somebody’s mother called you in. I can’t promise you it’s still there. Ask at the office when you check in. That platform was the best thing in the park for a ten-year-old.
The Lake Trail, an easy 1.2-mile loop of dirt and grass, starts at the swimming area. It’s the right walk to take with wet hair while the towels dry. Canoes, kayaks and paddleboards rent seasonally for $10 an hour or $50 a day. Pedal boats rent year-round at $10 an hour. You have to be 16 to rent any of them.
Oconee State Park Trout Fishing
Both lakes hold bass, bream and catfish year-round. The fish that draws people in from farther away is trout. The park stocks it in the winter months, per its own things-to-do page. A valid South Carolina fishing license is required. The fishing pier sits on Campground Lake, so you can walk to it from your site with a rod and a cup of coffee.
If you didn’t bring gear, the park office loans rods and reels. That’s a quieter feature than it sounds. It means a kid who’s never fished can try it for the price of nothing. On a pier, on a stocked lake, with the campsite two minutes away.
Now the honest part. The better fishing, when I was there, wasn’t in either lake. It was a river a short drive north of the campground, under a bridge. I’m not going to pretend I remember which bridge or which road. Ask at the office. The staff know the water around here better than any guide you’ll find online.
Non-motorized fishing boats rent for $10 an hour or $50 a day in season. Take one if you’d rather work the lake from the water than from the pier.
Oconee State Park Trails
Seven trails leave from inside the park, per the park’s trails page. They’re more varied than a small park usually manages. The Lake Trail is the easy 1.2-mile loop at the swimming area. Wormy Chestnut is a half-mile loop through what was once a thriving chestnut grove. Old Waterwheel is a quiet, wooded 1.2-mile loop, steep in places, named for the park’s old CCC water wheel.
The Oconee Trail runs 2.3 miles and is unusual for a mountain hike because it has very little climb. Tamassee Knob is the opposite: a strenuous two-mile out-and-back up to the knob itself. Hidden Falls is 4.6 miles out and back and rated moderate. You reach it by following the Foothills Trail for about a mile, then branching off.
The one that matters to serious hikers is the Foothills Access Trail. It’s 1.2 miles, moderate to strenuous. It is also the southern trailhead of the Foothills Trail, South Carolina’s 77-mile wilderness route along the Blue Ridge escarpment. Through-hikers start or finish here. That’s why you’ll see people with full packs walking past the mini golf.
Oconee State Park Admission
Day admission is $5 for an adult and $3.25 for a South Carolina senior, per the park’s page. A child aged 6 to 15 is $3, and age 5 and under is free. That covers the lakes, the trails and the picnic areas. Mini golf is a separate $5 for adults and $3 for children 6 to 16. Children five and under play free.
Gates open at 7 a.m. every day. They close at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. During daylight saving time the park stays open until 9 p.m. every night. The office keeps 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
One planning note. Camping carries a two-night minimum, and weekend cabins from March through November carry a three-night one. So a “quick stop” here is a day visit or nothing. Plan the overnight properly, or plan to just swim and go.
Frequently asked questions about Oconee State Park
Is Oconee State Park Open?
Yes, year-round, from 7 a.m. daily. Closing is 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. During daylight saving time it is 9 p.m. nightly. The designated swimming area opens for the season on Memorial Day weekend.
What Lake Is Oconee State Park On?
None of the big ones. The park has two lakes of its own, 20 acres and 12 acres, per South Carolina State Parks. It is not on Lake Oconee, which is a reservoir in Georgia. It is not on Lake Keowee or Lake Jocassee either, though both are in this same corner of the state.
What County Is Oconee State Park In?
Oconee County, South Carolina, at Mountain Rest, in the state’s far northwest corner near the North Carolina and Georgia lines.
Does Oconee State Park have cabins?
Nineteen furnished, air-conditioned CCC-built cabins, booked through South Carolina State Parks’ reservation system. No one-night stays. Weekends from March through November carry a three-night Friday-to-Sunday minimum. Check-in is 4 p.m. and check-out is 10 a.m. Pets are permitted in cabins 14 to 20 only.
Where can you get a trail map for Oconee State Park?
The park’s trails page lists all seven trails with lengths and difficulty. Its office at 624 State Park Road hands out a printed map. The Foothills Access Trail at the park is the southern end of the 77-mile Foothills Trail.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the park, operator or provider before you go.
Published September 24, 2026.
Photo credits: (1) featured, A lake at Oconee State Park, South Carolina — Dallas Epperson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; (2) Oconee State Park, South Carolina — Dallas Epperson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.