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Animals

Free Camping Collection

Established Camping

Santee Coastal Reserve

10 Reviews

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About

State Park

All camping is primitive. Please plan accordingly.

Area closed to visitors during scheduled hunts. The area is open for other allowable activities during daylight hours.

The Cape Trail is closed annually from November 1st through February 8th due to hunting related activities.

Fee Info

Free

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Location

Santee Coastal Reserve is located in South Carolina

Directions

From McClellanville travel North on SC Hwy 17 toward Georgetown. Approximately 3 miles out of McClellanville, turn right onto South Santee Road. Travel for about 3 miles and then turn right onto Santee Gun Club Road adjacent to the St. James Community Center which is a dirt road that leads into Santee Coastal reserve. Proceed 2.5 miles to kiosk for more information.

Coordinates

33.15408 N
79.36703 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Picnic Table
Phone Service
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites
Big Rig Friendly

Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.

PERMIT might be REQUIRED

We curate permit requirements across the US for our PRO members. Try PRO to see if Santee Coastal Reserve needs a permit.

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For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Nikolas R.

Scout

Reviewed Apr. 24, 2023

M O S Q U I T O E S

Area is quiet and pretty but you literally cannot step out of your van/car/camper/tent without getting eaten alive by the biggest mosquitoes I’ve ever seen! I opened my van door twice for about 5 seconds both times and over 100 mosquitoes had to have gotten in! I was up all night killing mosquitoes in my van. Will never go back

Month of VisitMay

Alicia B.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 20, 2023

Quiet

This is a quiet nice campground to get away from it all. If you love nature this is a wonderful place. BEWARE though, mosquitoes are in bazillions here and huge. Make sure you take your deterrent so they don’t carry you off or take all your blood.

Site8

Month of VisitApril

(7) View All

Andy K.

Legend

Reviewed Feb. 18, 2023

Additional review for Santee Coastal Reserve

Great free camping. I explored 3 of the trails today. The Marshland trail short 1.6 mile hike through some pleasant marshland and Cypress trees and bogs. It then opens up to the water are where there is an abundance of wildlife. I saw 3 alligators sunning. The Eldorado trail with the remains of the old plantation. All the trails are easy walking with flat terrain. A great campsite for folks wanting to bird watch or get back to nature

Month of VisitMarch

(25) View All

Andy K.

Legend

Reviewed Feb. 15, 2023

Beautiful location and quiet

What a great place, so quiet and pretty. All the oak trees covered in Spanish moss. Shame you can only stay 4 days. No bugs at this time of year. Some great hiking trails which all seem to be flat and easy going.

Site4

Month of VisitMarch

(53) View All

steve W.

Scout

Reviewed Jan. 10, 2023

Very Quiet

Spent 4 days in early January,23. Only 2-3 f the 8 sites were occupied. Extremely quiet except a few gunshots at dawn. Useable Verizon & T-Mobile. It’s down a couple miles of gravel road in really good condition.

Site6

Month of VisitFebruary

summer A.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 4, 2022

Amazing place for primitive camping/RVing.

This is right in a hunting area; which didn’t bother us. They had it set up very well and safe! Absolutely gorgeous and quite. We brought our fur son and had evening fires and really enjoyed it! McCellanville is a small southern town around the corner and they also have restaurants and whatnot. This camp ground also had a boat landing on the inter coastal waterway.

Site1

Month of VisitDecember

(4) View All

Sam S.

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 11, 2021

Great, But Man those Mosquitoes

Really really loved this campsite. I just wish the mosquitoes were less relentless. I can only imagine how bad they can be during the summer. Make sure to bring the entire arsenal of big deterrent when coming here, or pay the price! I’m talking bug spray, area repellent, long sleeves, bug netting for you face, and magical protection from your local witch.

Other than those buggers, this campsite was really lovely. I really enjoyed camping under the love oaks and watching the stars at night. There were also some nice trails nearby (note: the mosquitoes are horrendous on these trails and it is a little easy to get lost). It is very safe here with little traffic. I left my teardrop here one day while I made a day trip to Charleston and it was A okay.

Site8

Month of VisitJanuary

(7) View All

courtney

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 18, 2021

Awesome but bring bug spray

Gorgeous camp, great trails, easy to drive into, quiet even with a few other campers. Just gorgeous, but be prepared with lots of bug spray really only downside.

Sitesite 7

Month of VisitNovember

Kristin S.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 8, 2021

Beautiful Primitive Campground

Set up my pop up in #4. Large, beautiful private sites. Gorgeous trails within walking distance. Great opportunity to see wildlife. Lots of mosquitoes, but not miserably so. Short drive to the beach.

Kevin H.

Guide

Reviewed Mar. 30, 2021

Beautiful Spot for Primitive Camping and Wildlife Viewing

Santee Coastal Reserve is a hidden gem near the South Carolina coast offering eight, first come, first served primitive campsites in the Santee Coastal Reserve Wildlife Management Area.

The campsites are spacious and can easily accommodate multiple tents and/or RV's. This is primitive camping so there are no water or electrical hook-ups. We drove the short distance to the Elmwood Recreation Area to fill our water jugs. They do not sell firewood at the campground and we didn't see any for sale by local residents on our way in. Fortunately, we were able to gather a lot of downed wood around our campsite since it wasn't until the end of our stay that we found out that firewood, groceries, fishing, and other supplies were available at the Seewee Outpost, about 26 miles south of the reserve on highway 17.

Out of the eight sites, only about 4 or 5 were occupied at any given time and everyone was fairly quiet. Except for one camper who ran his RV generator for hours morning and night. Fortunately, they only stayed one night.

There are several hiking trails around the reserve where you can see various birds and spot alligators bathing in the sun. The only wildlife that we weren't happy to see were the gnats and mosquitos, which we weren't respecting so early in the season.

Overall, this is a beautiful campground and e look forward to visiting again.

Site#3

Month of VisitApril

(7) View All