![]() They did not seem to care that we had not done it yet and I’m not sure it would have mattered if we didn’t. On our way into to the campground we did our official check-in. There is public parking, a boat ramp, and a couple trails below the dam. Across the street is the access to Thurmond Dam. We saw some scuba divers unpacking after a dive. The visitors center was closed, but would have been a great spot for a picnic. We got lunch in town and drove over to Thurmond Lake Dam to check out the view we missed the night before in the dark. Thankfully there was a Lowes down the street that had some. At Walmart we found a different type of lead than we already had at home, but could not find any firewood. It’s a long drive into town to visit Walmart, more than 30 minutes. Two of the three items we can live without, but we knew we needed dog leads for the weekend and trip to the beach. We realized we forgot our dog leads, dog water bucket, and grill at home. We used our Thermacell unit to keep mosquitoes away. To the right of our site was a swampy area, but the bugs were not bad. In a drive around the park we saw a couple areas of picnic tables that were underwater. Thurmond Lake was high and areas of Hamilton Branch State Park were flooded. Site 198 did have a bit of a slope down to the water though. In this peninsula I would prefer to have our site (192) or site 198. It is a pull-thru site, but did not have access to the water. Our neighbors had family come in on Saturday on site 194. We did not swim while we were there since it was overcast and a little chilly. Both site 192 and 193 seemed great for bring in kayaks, boats, fishing, and swimming. Our neighbors had an even better view of the island across the lake. We had a great view of Thurmond Lake with a little path to the water. Once in the site we were level side to side, but the water hose just barely reached the hook-up at the back of the camper. Mike and Renee complimented my work as the navigator for getting the camper backed in. Our neighbor came outside to be a second spotter, which was a great help. ![]() We had to back up the camper with an S curve all the while avoiding the trees and staying on the driveway. The tricky part was getting the camper situated. There was no one to our right and we were far enough away from the road that people couldn’t see into our site. We shared the driveway with site 193, but had plenty of room and this set up offered a lot of privacy. ![]() When we arrived to the site we realized that many of them were set up with a ‘T’ driveway. They do not use these letters on signs within the park, only site numbers. Site 192 is located on the website in section C-D. On the door was a list of sites that were available in case anyone wanted to come in during the night. These sites are great for tent campers, not so great for people with RVs. It appears the backwards sites are the odd numbers, but do not hold me to that. He had to leave his truck in front the camper the entire weekend and would have to back out of the site when they left. Our camp neighbor, Mike, made their site a pull-thru in order to have their camper facing the correct direction. I was aware of this when booking, but I’m sure many people are disappointed when they arrive at their site. ![]() About half of the sites are backwards, living areas not facing the lake. Hamilton Branch State Park was built in 1972 and I’m not sure what the builder was thinking with the placement of the sites. I had seen multiple posts on facebook of gorgeous lakefront sites, but there is a downfall to this park. We specifically booked Hamilton Branch State Park because of its proximity to Hwy 20 and because it was halfway between home and Huntington Beach State Park. Half of the sites are not laid out for travel trailers and 5th wheels. Hamilton Branch State Park has 173 sites with water and electricity, but you must do your research when booking these sites. I’m not scared of heights, but I had a little bit of anxiety going over the Dam with the camper in tow. We crossed over Thurmond Lake Dam on the way into the park. It has beautiful waterfront sites on Thurmond Lake, off the Savannah River. Hamilton Branch State Park is located in Plum Branch, South Carolina on the Georgia line, just north of Augusta. McDowell Nature Preserve Campground (1).River Falls at the Gorge Campground (1).Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground (2). ![]()
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