Tolbert Travels

On the first weekend of May, we tent-camped for 2 nights at Oconee State Park with our 3yr old and 4-month-old. We booked it spontaneously when a deal through the SC State Parks service popped up & the weather just happened to work out perfectly (only rained 1x all weekend and for only about 10 minutes). We had a blast and would highly recommend checking out this SC State Park!

Oconee State Park is located in Mountain Rest, SC, and includes features such as a mini golf course (only one in the SC State Parks system!), boat rentals (pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards, and jon boats), fishing, swimming, hiking, and you can even get 2 stamps at the park store along with some ice cream. This was our children’s first visit to Oconee State Park, so they each got their park pass stamp, plus the stamp for Oconee Station State Historic Site. This park offers camp sites and cabins for rent. Check-in for park cabins is 4pm, and check-out is 10am, while check-in for campsites is 2pm and check-out is noon. We loved sleeping in our CORE Instant Tent for the second time and especially appreciate the LED lights feature (multiple brightness settings). I no longer have to hang up Christmas lights inside our tent, haha. Below is a photo of their fancy ice box outside of the park store & a photo of the playground. There are swings next to the playground as well (E’s favorite thing!).

Our weekend itinerary:

Friday: Drove to the park after work, ate Pub subs on the way, and set up camp in the dark (Tip: bathe kids before leaving your house, so they can go straight from the car to the tent if you are gonna arrive late like us!) *We just checked in the next morning. There is no gate code or anything to worry about, like at other state parks.

Saturday: Hiked about 2 miles out & back to Licklog Falls and Pigpen Falls, visited the Walhalla State Fish Hatchery & picnicked along the creek, explored Stumphouse Tunnel & Isaqueena Falls, and played around the campground (Kristoff and I had a blast playing tetherball!). Elias loved roasting s’mores around the campfire before bed. I think Licklog Falls would be a fantastic place in the summer for families to spend a few hours at, as it has a nice little swimming area for littles.

Fun Facts: Stumphouse Tunnel was dug using hand tools prior to the Civil War, but was never completed due to time/costs. Approximately 1/4 mile of the tunnel is open to the public, and the tunnel maintains a constant temperature of 50 degrees year-round. Also, a legend accompanies Isaqueena Falls, which tells the story of a Native American woman who betrays her tribe to protect a white settlement and then fakes her death at the falls. I tried to explain it to Elias, and it was funny to hear the questions he asked. “She fell off the falls?” “Where did she go?” “Wanted to get her?”

Tip: After walking into Stumphouse tunnel, climb up the side of the mountain and follow the trail back above the same tunnel. You’ll come to a chainlink fence circled around a huge hole that goes down into the tunnel. It’s a fun, rigorous, short hike that lets you see just how far back distance wise the tunnel goes. It costs $5 to get into Stumphouse Park, and this can be paid using cash or card (we chose credit to get the points). They now have a fancy pay station booth.

Note: The fish hatchery is open daily from 8AM – 4PM. It is FREE and really neat to see all of the different-sized fish. They will be released for recreational purposes. We were there around 1pm and got to see the fish being fed, which was neat.

Sunday: After packing up camp, we drove to Oconee Station State Historic Site since we had already gotten the stamp from the park office. I read online that if you don’t make it to Oconee State Park, you can also get the Ultimate Outsider stamp from the trailhead at Station Cove Falls. Oconee Station, a stone blockhouse used as an outpost by the S.C. State Militia from about 1792 to 1799, and the William Richards House are the only two structures that remain today. The amazing tree below was so cool!

After we left the historic site, we drove to Clemson for lunch at Osaka Express and showed Elias around campus a little. We then got home right at the end of naptime (around 3pm). It was a weekend we will never forget, and I’m so grateful for the time spent outdoors together.