Santee State Park — Attraction in St. Matthews

We love Lake Marion and the abundance of trees in this park, which we discovered on the internet. CoVid had kept us home in FL since March, and we were looking for a dark place to see stars and autumn leaves within a day’s drive last month. This seemed like the perfect place, since we could rent a cabin for a minimum of two nights at a reasonable price (less than a chain hotel without the bright lights and road noise) with a queen bed, cable TV and WiFi.

We stayed in Cabin 29 last month and Cabin 5 this month. Cabin 29 was almost at at the end of the road of all 30 cabins, surrounded by trees, with a view of the lake. Cabin 5 was the fifth cabin on one of two docks housing 5 cabins over the lake, with a view of the trees behind. We had direct access to our car in #29 and the parking lot with #5 (warning sign about vultures damaging cars in the lot had us worried, but we had no damage).

For star gazing and darkness, #29 was perfect. If we fished or went out on a boat, #5 would have been perfect. But we don’t and it wasn’t. When we return, we’ll request Cabin 30 (darkest of them all & away from everyone). Both cabins were perfect for relaxing - comfortable beds, equipped kitchens for cooking in (29 better equipped than 5), and quiet (but #5 had more foot traffic). Our first cabin was dark; second cabin had a lot of ambient light with lights on the pier, and outside the individual cabins (during our stay the occupants did not turn off their lights after 10PM as requested on note on the switches inside). That’s why it wasn’t perfect this time - light and noise.

While visiting in October, we hiked some of the trails, saw the sinkhole on one hike, saw deers at night when returning to our cabin after dinner, and relaxed. We did more relaxing on our second stay in November, and saw more deer. We have nothing but praise for the Rangers. Every one of the Rangers with whom we interacted on both stats was friendly and helpful. This is a great place to stay if you love communing with nature, but want your...

The other reviews are correct that this is a quiet relaxing campground during the week but know that on the weekends it is full of many people with kids, dogs, golf carts, and lot's of excitement enjoying the outdoors.

There are two campgrounds. One near the Park office and Camp store and Lakeshore campground which is about 4 miles from the Park office and is the most spacious of the two.

The bath house at Lakeshore was in excellent condition but it seemed to take forever for the shower to get warm and I didn't have to use the cold water at all.

There is a double lane boat ramp nearby Lakeshore with a sandy beach which is good for kayaks or shore fishing. The ramp at the camp store is not so good for kayaks but useable.

There is also a separate recreational area from the campgrounds with picnic shelters and restrooms.

BEWARE! The 4.2 mile road, State Park Road, leading into the Park from Santee is a SPEED TRAP! It's a favorite of the SC Highway Patrol. From the town of Santee it's a two lane road with mostly pine forest on each side which looks like it should be 45 - 55 Mph but is a 30 MPH zone and there are no speed limit signs posted in either direction letting drivers know the limit. It is a SPEED TRAP and nothing much kills a trip to the lake like a speeding ticket.

Tip- If you don't have a super insulated cooler but a regular one then you can extend the ice by covering it with a silver solar space blanket. Also the Park has abundant pine cones which make great kindling.

Have a great time at Santee State Park. I know I'll be back soon....

I’ve stayed in Santee twice on drives to Florida. When traveling I look for areas to take walks and run during the day. Reading reviews of this park, I didn’t expect much but thought it was worth a visit. This trip was late January so the park is empty. The evening we arrived at Santee, my wife and I drove through the park to get an idea of what was there. The sun was setting so we couldn’t take a long walk but got to enjoy the late day sun looking over Lake Marion from the easten end of the park by the boat ramp. It was a beautiful evening.

The next morning we went to the western end near the campground. We parked at Mountain Bike Trail head. From there we walked counter clockwise following the Blue Trail. It turned out to be about 7.5 miles of easy walking. We ran into a couple walking and a guy geocaching near the end of our walk. I can imagine it’s a very different experience in the summer when the park is busy. The first half of the walk was on a skinny trail so you would need to step off the trail whenever a bike needs to pass. I don’t think it would ever be so busy that it would take away from this beautiful walk.

This park has lots to offer anyone. The campground looks nice. The cabins look amazing. There are other short trails in the park. You can also shorten the Mountain Park Trail by turning at the White Trail or the Red Trail. As kayakers, a day paddling on Lake Marion would be enjoyable.

There is a $3 adult entrance fee even in the off season. Lower prices for children...