Scenic park with a fishing lake, featuring trails, campsites, a rental cabin & a boat launch.
Hours not specified
What clients say about Keowee-Toxaway State Park in Sunset (SC)
The trails were scenic and beautiful in some areas very narrow. Gave you the experience of feeling like you were out in the middle of nowhere walking by the lake was spectacular. There is a seated area on rocks to take a small lunch with you would not be a bad idea…. However, the trails are POORLY marked and trail names. DO NOT match the post maps at the trailhead which sucks when you’re coming out here with a plan to hike, with a distance as a goal.. good thing we had trackers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Epic but BE PREPARED (TaxoWaway / Keowee-Toxaway State Park)
If you’re thinking about hiking at Keowee Toxaway State Park or taking on the Palmetto Trail section nearby, let me just go ahead and prepare you: this hike is EPIC – but it’s not a casual stroll.
The scenery is insane… waterfalls, bridges, winding forest paths, and beautiful overlooks. It feels like you’re walking through untouched Carolina wilderness. BUT you definitely need to go in prepared, especially if you’re bringing kids.
Here’s what most people don’t realize:
🥾 1. The Palmetto Trail is MASSIVE
The entire Palmetto Trail stretches over 500 miles across South Carolina, from the mountains near the NC border all the way to the coast.
That means the sections around Keowee-Toxaway can be longer, more rugged, and more confusing than people expect.
It’s very easy to underestimate distance and daylight. We were out there for hours and didn’t make it back before dark.
🐻 2. YES—There are black bears
This is legit black bear territory. You don’t always see them, but they absolutely see you.
Stay aware of your surroundings, make noise, and keep food sealed.
Don’t hike alone if you can avoid it. And remember: black bears aren’t usually aggressive, but you still need to know how to react if one shows up.
⚠️ 3. It can be dangerous if you’re unprepared
Between steep terrain, slippery areas, long distances, and little to no cell service in some spots… this trail demands respect.
Bring:
Plenty of water
Snacks
A charged phone + portable charger
A map (don’t rely 100% on GPS)
Good shoes
Layers for sudden temperature changes
Emergency basics
This is NOT the hike for a cute outfit and no supplies.
👨👩👧👦 4. Kids can absolutely do it but it’s a challenge
My kids are troopers and made it, but it pushed all of us.
Just know what you’re getting into if you bring little ones.
🌄 5. Worth it? 100%
Despite the challenges, this trail was one of the most unforgettable hikes I’ve ever done.
If you want adventure, wild beauty, and a true South Carolina mountain experience, this is it.
Just do yourself a favor: go prepared.
This isn’t a simple “park and walk for 20 minutes” type of place.
It’s wild, it’s real, and it’s unforgettable.
(My apologies for the random photos)
I really like the park. Trails are good. Pretty amazing how much damage was done by the 2024 hurricane. But, that is the case for All the parks up here.
A small but WONDERFUL park. Thecwatercwas cool but not cold. The days were warm but not hot. Red, yellow, green, pink, and even royal blue mushrooms popped out overnight. Not a fly, mosquito, wasp, or ant to bother us.
Perfect place for a weekend getaway. Spent the day kayaking on Keowee and hung out at our camp spot in the afternoon. Nothing like a nice cooked camp breakfast while listening to birds chirp. It was also cool to hang out in the beach area and watch the sun go down.
We lived here for three days, and the entire time we were bothered by bears. During the day, a bear came too close to our barbecue, and once, while we were out on the boat, bears dragged a huge food container into the woods. At night, it was also very scary and impossible to get out of the car to use the restroom because a bear was just sitting at the table near the tent, even though all the food was hidden. We didn't feel safe due to the bear invasion, and strangely, there wasn't a single warning sign that bears might be present here! On the positive side: the restroom was very clean and had air conditioning!
Wonderful state park- featuring hiking, waterfalls, campground and lake access! We had a fantastic time with friends camping and enjoying nature for the holiday weekend. Bathrooms were clean and staff helpful. Thank you SC state park!
Enjoyed the natural bridge blue marked loop trail and going part of the way on the red marked raven trail to see the lake. Absolutely beautiful falls, lake, boulders, and native wildflowers/trees.
Still some toppled down trees through out the trails but it didn’t take away from my experience. Park staff were amazing and pointed out some helpful information. Good trail I feel for first timers.
My dog and I did the 1.3 mile trail. Was great!!! However if I stayed in SC doing trails I would definitely have to get in better shape. The beauty of this place keeps you going to see more.
We absolutely loved our weekend camping at Keowee-Toxaway State Park! We had a RV site with a beautiful sunset view. Fall colors were also beautiful.
The campground was easy to find.
It isn't flat. Obviously, the sites are pretty flat. But if you need to go to the bathhouse, you're going to walk some hills. There is a small parking area at the bathhouse. It's a one way street though so you have to loop all the way back around to get back to your site.
Everyone was quiet during quiet hours. The rangers did rounds frequently on Friday when everyone was checking in, so if there was ever a problem, it was easy to stop him and get help.
Overall, a very pleasant experience. We'll definitely camp here again.
Beautiful state park with great RV sites (not for huge rigs). Beautiful trails with waterfalls and lake views. private beach areas, great boat launch and convenient location.
There’s only one cabin and we were fortunate enough to rent it for five days. Three bedrooms with 2 1/2 baths plus a Murphy bed downstairs in the living room. Plenty of space for eight adults with an unbelievable amount of outdoor living space. Top deck, lower deck deck leading down to the dock all had wonderful outdoor furniture, a beautiful fire ring and a very, very nice barbecue grill. The Ranger was super attentive , and I believe he said they were gonna be upgrading the dock soon. We will definitely be back.
Keowee-Toxaway is a small—quaint state park located in Sunset, SC. Great place to visit and get away from it all while enjoying the park amenities. Fishing, canoeing, hiking trails 🥾, kayaking, camping or just exploring🚶🏽♀️the area. Check out a bit of history of the park in the visitors center. Beautiful area and really enjoyed the park.
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#HappyPlaces❤️
#NeverStopExploring
We enjoyed a wonderful 4 days at this small state park. The campsites each had an asphalt parking pad, firepit, picnic table and the RV sites also had electric hookups and water. The campground is small with lots of mature trees. Make reservations early !
There’s a nice wide trail from the tent loop down to a small beach on the lake, next to the boat dock. Boats allowed are kayaks and canoes.
You can also hike several trails starting near the Visitors Center. Parking available there for day visitors
The trails are very well maintained, clean and easy to navigate. The views are great. This was a easy walk as my 3 year old walked it start to finish. There was benches to rest along the way.
Beautiful trail, went on a rainy day as you can see and it was still breathtaking. Lots of uphill and stairs but so much to see and lots of fun. Can't wait to go back.
Well-taken care of state park with several hiking trials. Saw several people out today exploring in the great weather. I did the short hike but you can make it longer by extending Natural Bridge trail to the Raven Rock loop trail. The trails are well maintained with awesome Park Rangers who are more than happy to give you advice and tell you about the area. Camping available and a new zip line course just opened this year.
January, 2022, site 5. A small campground, only 10 RV spots, 14 tent areas. #4 is probably the best site, it's a pull through with a view of the lake. The bathhouse is spartan, but clean and in good repair and warm. We had low water pressure at the site, although that may have been because of the frigid temperatures. There's a nice trail that runs mostly along a stream with small falls, very pleasant about 1.3 miles. There's another trail that heads off on a 5 mile hike that we haven't tried. Very pleasant!
Beautiful, and the staff were super friendly. It has some great hiking trails, but not easy and narrow. The picnic shelters are the nicest I have ever seen, but they are across the highway from the main park. We will be going back in the fall.
Beautiful 4 mile hike. It is not very strenuous since there is no steep incline and the lake view is breathtaking. Makes hiking worth it. We did encounter a wild boar which was a bit frightening since they can attack you, but it scurried away.
Very pretty trails and beautiful lake! The trails have beautiful waterfalls and we even found a bear bathing hole. The ranger is very nice and doesn't bother anybody. I left a day early due to a rude new camper that moved in next to me that had a screaming kid and they insisted on playing with it in front of my campsite instead of inside their own! But that's not the parks fault. I was really enjoying my stay until they came. The roads in the RV area definitely need to be redone and I don't know how in the world the large RVs manage those curves! Props to y'all for sure! I stayed in site 8 and due to the hill it was a little harder than usual to back in at an angle. Overall a very nice place though! I would definitely go back again.
The cleanest bath house I think I've ever seen😁 a lot of tent camping spots. The tent pads and areas are well maintained. The Rangers are nice and not all stalker like. It was nice to just sit in the woods and watch all the birds and squirrels do their birdie squirrelie things.
We enjoyed hiking the Natural Bridge Trail as a family of 9. We range in ages from mid forties and late teens to 4 yr old. We all survived and most enjoyed the whole hike (we added an extra loop toward the lake but turned back for time). The creekside hiking was the best and the kids enjoyed splashing in the water on a 90 deg. day. The trail was well marked and fallen trees removed. Beautiful Flora and fauna abound.
I was actually surprised by how pretty the hiking trail is at this park. It was very biodiverse for a shorter loop trail with lots of wildflowers, birds, and salamanders. It has some very beautiful Cascades and the natural bridge area was tranquil. Will come back for a trail run next time. Always drove by, glad I stopped for once.
