Lake James State Park — Attraction in Marion

We camped here during the solar eclipse because of its close proximity to the path of totality. I didn't expect much based on the price and past experiences with camping on park property; however, when we arrived I was pleasantly surprised. There was new, nice bathrooms and showers, and you could tell that the camping spots were new and well maintained.

However, my disappointment and two star rating came for this park during our second night stay, as we didn't even get to sleep on the camping spot we paid for!

The traffic from the solar eclipse was out of control (as many of you probably already know), and we didn't get back into the park till close to midnight. To our shock and surprise, the front entrance and exit was closed! You couldn't get in or out, and to reach the campsite from the entrance/exit is about a 2-3 mile walk. While I understand that the park may close, who in their right mind made the decision to literally BLOCK both the exit and entrance? Never mind those coming late, like we did, but god forbid someone were to hurt themselves chopping wood or falling into the fire. They literally wouldn't be able to get out of the park and to a hospital!

We ended up not being able to reach our belongings and had to find a hotel for the night, adding to our expenses. And while the camping spot may have only been $15.00, I would like my money back for the second night as we didn't even get to camp and ended at a motel.

The camping and the park was nice, but fair warning, don't arrive late or have an emergency, because you won't get in or out until...

The park needs repairs on the road. The campsites are very small. We stayed in tent sites 12 and 13. The footprint for the tent is 12×12, so carry a big tent and has a four-foot drop on one site. You have to set the tent facing the woods and not the lake if it is q2x12.

The site is heavily sloped with no level space for cooking or chairs. Even the provided table is slanted to the point things slide off.

Before and on you say anything. The first rule of picking a site is semi-flat, well-draining, and big enough for what you need. These sites are not that.

Then there is the poor design of the steps from the parking area to the path. The person has never studied hydrology or erosion control. The timbers have had the soil washed out from behind them because of the direction of the water flow. It is easier and safer to walk down next to the steps even with the steep angle.

The location is pretty, but it is close to the freeway and you can hear trucks all the time.

The fishing is sub-par. The scopes showed very few fish and you can't eat them any you catch due to mercury.

There are also deadfall trunks all around the site where storms have topped them and the remaining section is rotting just waiting to fall.

The pictures on the website are misleading as to what the sites look like.

We made the best of it and still had a good time.

I would not recommend the tent sites to anyone. Even the group of very nice young people next to us were laughing about things sliding downhill and needing to be careful how you...

Worst camping trip at the Catawba River area walk in campground. Arrived after check in to someone set up in my site. Let the camp host know and he was extremely rude to me so I had to take care of it myself. Stayed for two nights. While packing up, one hand full of gear and the other holding my dogs leashed, I was charged by one of the camp hosts off leash dogs. The rules on the sigh clearly say dogs must remain on leash at all times. I've been attacked by an off leash dog before and stressed that to the camp host and had to ask multiple times for him to come get the dog; which had to be dragged away by collar because he didn't have a leash. Instead of apologizing or asking if I was okay, he went into his RV and hid until I left. Such a terrible experience for me and I unfortunately left the campground much more stressed out than when I arrived. Needless to say, that will be my last trip there. Also, the bear box at my site was broke. Went to use the one at the night site over and it was broke too. I'm lucky no bears stopped by during my visit. I hate to write negative reviews, but I emailed Lake James State Park about my experience and haven't heard back. Update: they finally responded back and pretty much said I was lying according to their staff. Not sure why I would lie about something like this, especially since I never even asked for a refund. There's better lakes to camp at. Be sure to check out Lake Santeelah and Lake Jocassee. Both have better campgrounds and more...