Until recently, I completely overlooked Keowee-Toxaway State Park. So, this year (2023) I decided to take a trip up there and check out a few of the trails. Who knew such an amazing place to camp and explore was right under my nose?! I hope you enjoy this short trip video. I also hope you check out a few of the the trail journals from my other adventures.
Music featured in this video: "Brand New Day" by Sky Toes, "Old Friend" by The Lakes, "Gently" by Sky Gienger, and "Anywhere You Want To Go" by Justin Lee.
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
Keowee-Toxaway State Park - Overnight Trip
Hike Overview
Type of hike: Out-and- Back
Trails hiked: Natural Bridge trail and Raven Rocks trail.
Time span: 2 days 1 night
Total Est. Mileage: 4 miles
Trail Journal
Until now, Keowee-Toxaway State Park has gone under my radar as a place to hike. I visited once before, but I didn't take the time to really explore all that it had to offer. Back in 2019, Jordan and I stopped by to get our Ultimate Outsider stamp and paddle around in the kayak for a couple hours. We arrived to find visitor center closed and parking lot completely deserted. Assuming the park was nothing but a weathered old building and a canoe launch, we completely overlooked the campground and hiking trails! It's true Keowee-Toxaway is small compared to parks like Croft and Caesars Head, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. So, this year (2023) I decided to take a trip up there and check out a few of the trails.
Day One
With the park office only being open for two hours a day, I wondered "What if no one is around to write my parking pass when I get there?" So the morning before my trip, I decided to give the park a call. The ranger who picked up assured me the office would be open longer on certain days a week since they hired people for the whole season. I guess Keowee-Toxaway doesn't get a lot of funding, leaving it often understaffed. Having no entrance fee probably doesn't help either.
When I got there, the doors were open and a state park vehicle was sitting in the lot just as she said. After checking me in and writing my pass, the ranger behind the desk took out a map and a marker. "Carry only what you need, and nothing else. It's about two miles" She traced a path on the map. "Here's the best way to get there." What she was tying to say was: The trailside sites here are not the same as the walk-in sites offered at other parks. This was backpack camping; And exactly the thing I was looking forward to! Unfortunately, not everyone who reserves those sites comes prepared for that kind of experience. She told me about a recent visitor who ventured out expecting a short leisurely walk and needed the rangers to come out and rescue her when she couldn't haul the excessive camp furniture she brought along. Thankfully, they would not be getting an SOS call for me. I brought along only the essentials and two canine companions to help share the load.
I opened the back hatch of the SUV to find Barrett and Nora anxiously sniffing and wagging their tails on the other side. This was my first time taking both dogs backpacking by myself. I'll admit, I was a little nervous about how it would go. I always told myself I couldn't handle taking the two of them on an overnight trip without my husband. I guess I realized sooner or later I would have to learn to. With Jordan out of town for the week for work, this was a good opportunity to try. I probably should have come to this realization prior to being 5 1/2 months pregnant. But that's just how it goes sometimes. With all these things in mind, I figured the trails at Keowee-Toxaway would be a good fit. We could definitely handle this 2 mile hike!
As I fumbled with the buckles on the dogs' packs, the sun beat down hard on my back. It was the end of September, but it felt like the middle of July! I hurried to toss my own pack on so we could take cover under the shade by the kiosk. I stuffed the map the ranger gave me into the side pocket of my pack as we started down the path. The way was fairly straightforward. Take Natural Bridge trail and then Raven Rock trail.
It had been a while since I hiked in the Foothills. Passing by the many waterfalls and overhanging rocks along the side of the trail filled me with nostalgia for remote treks through Mountain Bridge Wilderness, rewarding summits at Table Rock, and relaxing evenings camped beside the Chattooga River. Funny how a trail you've never traveled before can feel so familiar.
The trail lead us through green forest, over wood footbridges, and along winding switchbacks. I had to stop to catch my breathe a few times on the steeper inclines, but overall the hike wasn't very strenuous. The terrain never felt too tough or too easy. It offered just the right level of challenge. I was pleasantly surprised by how well Barrett and Nora listened along the way. When they were younger, you couldn’t give one a command without the other thinking they were supposed to follow it too. However, now when I told Barrett to stay so Nora and I could catch up, he did. And when I told Nora to keep moving so Barrett and I could get passed an obstacle, she did. All that time spent training one-on-one on the trail seems to have really paid off!
Shortly after turning onto Raven Rock, the trail made its ascent along the side of McKinney Mountain. Thankfully, it was short-lived and the twisting turns of the switchbacks helped ease the climb a bit. Over the next quarter mile, the trail took a steep dive toward the overlook. The view of the lake was nothing short of amazing. Down below, I could see a couple of kayakers paddling across the water.
We finally reached the trailside campsites. Unfortunately, the sounds of nature were instantly drowned out by blaring music and shouting coming from a boat anchored nearby. I started to unpack wondering how I was going to enjoying a relaxing evening with all this chaos going on. To my relief, they took the party elsewhere after about 15 minutes. This was the pattern over the next few hours. Another boat would come, hang out in that spot for a bit, and then move on. My concern about not having any solitude went away after I realized how temporary the disturbances would be. I enjoyed plenty of peace and quiet in between boaters coming and going. Funny enough, Barrett and Nora didn't seem to mind all the racket at all. What really wigged them out was the wake crashing on the bank after the boats roared away.
Barrett lounged around in the dirt while I finished setting up the tent, covering himself in all kinds of debris. Meanwhile, Nora paced back and forth around the lake. She stared intently over the edge, tilting her head from side to side every time the water made a sound. Worried she might jump down and hurt herself, I made Nora lay down by Barrett where I could keep a better eye on her.
I lofted up my sleeping bag and draped it across my pad. Then I took out the dogs' puffy blanket and arranged it on the other side. I knew this would be my only chance to appreciate the pristineness of our new family tent. So, I paused to take a mental picture of the nicely staged scene inside. Camping with two dogs (and soon a baby) it would not stay unsoiled for long.
After I got our remaining gear set up, Nora was finally free to satisfy her curiosity. I carefully helped her down the side of the slick red bank. She stood on the very edge with her nose hovering above the water. You'd think there was a 100 ft cliff in front of her. Barrett came barreling passed us, slipping and sliding on the way down. Nora finally decided to take the plunge and follow after him. They hopped and splashed around together until a jet ski came into view. I quickly herded them out of the lake and back up toward the campsite. No way I was letting them get drenched by all that murky stirred up water. We made it just before the wake reached us! The excitement from our emergency exit made the dogs even more rambunctious. They pounced and roughhoused around the fire ring while I tracked down the pack-towel. I broke up the brawl with one of their favorite phrases: "towel time!"
Dried off and tuckered out, it was about time for Barrett and Nora to eat. Our local grocery store recently started carrying packages of shredded beef. So instead of the usual chicken or tuna, they got to enjoy a new food topper on their kibble. While they chowed down, I fixed my own dinner: Zatarain's Jambalaya. Who needs a fancy $14 freeze dried meal when you can dehydrate left overs from a $3 box dinner? It's cheap, simple, and a good way to make sure no food goes to waste. To give it a little more nutritional value, I add a few extra veggies when preparing it at home. Then on the trail, I toss in some Summer sausage or packaged chicken for protein.
I kept hoping the temperature would drop a little. It never happened though. There was an abundance of wood stacked between two tree near the fire ring, but it was too hot to even entertain the idea of fire. My camp clothes went unused too. They just sat in a stuff sack the whole trip. So instead of curling up beside a roaring fire, I sat in my chair and watched the reflection from the moon on the water. The dogs sat close by trying to decipher the all new sounds that come out after dark.
When I had my fill of the nighttime scenery, I decided to round up Barrett and Nora and head for the tent. But not before toweling off everyone's feet! I did my best to dig the mud and red clay out from between their toes. I'm not sure how much good it did. They still left filthy pawprints on everything they touched. I tried to salvage my sleeping bag by bunching it up in the far corner of the tent where they couldn't get to it.
Within minutes of zipping up the front door, I started to sweat bullets. The dogs weren't too comfortable either. They were sprawled out panting with their tongues on the floor. When I was packing for this trip, the predicted low at night was 60°, but checking the forecast now it was still in the mid 70s. I opened up all three doors on the tent to let some air flow in. Although it felt hot as Hades most of the night, at least we had the soothing sounds of the lake to fall asleep to.
Day Two
It was around 7:30 when I rolled up the front door to let the dogs out. Aside from an occasional fish jumping out of the water, everything was so quiet and still. I situated myself in the doorway of the tent so I could enjoy both the peaceful scenery and comfort of my sleeping pad while I fixed breakfast. After taking a potty break, Barrett came back in and laid down behind me. Nora wandered around the front of the tent sniffing the brush before laying down in the dirt. Overall, backpacking with both dogs was nowhere near as intimidating as I thought it would be. I'm sure it would have been a different story two, maybe even one year ago. But they've had a lot more training and done a lot more maturing since some of our earliest adventures. I'm genuinely proud of how well Barrett and Nora did on this trip.
As the morning went on, activity on Lake Keowee resumed. Boats zoomed by and golfers strolled up and down the green in the distance. We didn't hang around our campsite much longer. I wanted to get on the trail and on our way home at a decent time. I also wanted to beat the afternoon heat. The high today was going to be in the 80s. So by 9 o'clock I had most of our gear packed up and stacked by the packs.
I won't recount the whole hike back, but rather than continuing on the Raven Rock loop we returned the way we came. I wanted to save that part for next time. Everything about this trip qualified as an adventure for the whole family down the road. Not only was the destination worthwhile, but the distance and level of difficulty to get there would be totally manageable with the baby. I'm really looking forward to exploring the rest of the trails here next year.
Know Before You Go
Keowee-Toxaway State Park is located in Sunset SC on a Northeast finger of Lake Keowee. There is no admission fee, but a parking pass is needed for visitors staying overnight. This park has just over 5 miles of hiking trails, a kayak/canoe launch, a campground that accommodates both tent and RV camping, and now a zipline! Keowee-Toxaway also offers 3 trailside campsites off the Raven Rock trail all of which can be reserved online. You will have to backpack 2 mile hike over moderate terrain to reach the trailside sites.
Technically there are 4 trailside campsites, but the fourth (TS-A) is considered a group site and can only be reserved by calling the park. The park website claims this site has room for up to 24 campers, but that seems like a huge overestimate! While this site is slightly larger than the others (TS-1, 2, and 3) there's no way it could comfortably accommodate that many people. Well, maybe if you pitched every tent corner to corner in perfect formation and stacked the hammocks in rows of five. Realistically, it could probably fit a 3 - 4 person tent, two or three 1 - 2 person tents, and a couple hammocks. So, between 10 and 12 campers. As for sites TS-1 through 3, the estimate of up to 6 campers is way more accurate.
Congratulations! You will be a wonderful mother.