South Carolina’s scores of fresh water lakes provide ample opportunity to enjoy a day in or on the water in the Palmetto State. Lakes Greenwood, Murray, Marion, Hartwell, Wateree, Keowee, Moultrie, Robinson; these and more are wonderful places to spend the day. But if you want a lake that’s sure to cure whatever ails your spirit, you’ll head to South Carolina’s Lake Jocassee.
This 7,500-acre, 300-foot-deep reservoir in the Upcountry is the perfect place to watch the sun rise (pictured) or set. Likewise, it's the perfect place to start — and end — any (and every) day.
The best way to experience Lake Jocassee is to get out on the water. The vistas and points of interest are breathtaking. The Blue Ridge Escarpment unfolds dramatically here in the Jocassee Gorges with mountaintops making sensational steep plunges down below the surface of Lake Jocassee.
The cold-water lake is fed by water pouring down the escarpment and into the lake. Waterfalls rage over cliffs and cascade down runs dropping crisp, cool water into the crystal clear lake. Explore the shores long enough and you'll find six or seven of them, many of which are ideal for stopping and swimming under.
Lagoons filled with iridescent blue water are commonplace on the lake and finding one to call your own or to share with a few others looking for the same experience is not difficult.
And you don't need your own powerboat to get around on the lake either. From the shores of Devils Fork State Park you can rent a canoe or kayak and paddle a short two miles over to a secret, white, sandstone beach (pictured), for instance.
If kayaks and canoes just aren't your thing, then the same company that leases those vessels at the state park also has pontoon boats you can reserve in advance.
As our title here claims, there’s almost nothing in life that a day spent on South Carolina’s Lake Jocassee can’t cure – at least for a little while. Have you discovered the serene and unfettered beauty of Lake Jocassee yet? Learn more about public access to the lake by visiting South Carolina State Parks.
Please note, if visiting during the warm season, it’s best to get to Devils Fork State Park very early in the day. Once the park is full, visitors may be referred to other nearby state parks which have not reached capacity for the day.
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