James Island Campground - Charleston

[pbahlin]

We're staying at the James Island County Park Campground in Charleston, SC. Wow! This is a fabulous park, not cheap but an extraordinary value IMHO.

The campground is on the small (about 120 sites) side but for this time of year (mid October) it is probably only 60% full. It's immaculate and all the sites are quite large. You could put my rig on my site twice. It's wooded but not depressingly so, just enough to provide privacy between adjacent sites. What makes it doubly impressive are the grounds.

The campground is inside a 640 acre park that is covered with plantings, pond, climbing wall, spray scape, play scape, paved hiking/biking trails and enough grass to make a couple of golf courses.

For us, one of the neatest features is the dog park (probably 3/4 of an acre with pond and three doggie beaches). Our 'kids' exhaust themselves there, twice a day.

One of the things that has made a big impact on me in my travels is that the southern states seem to make really good use of their parks. In New England, my former home, state/county/municipal parks are either in decline or not used because they simply don't offer much to patrons. Many northern 'public' parks overcharge for lots that are too small, partial hook ups, hard to get into, and not level anyway. It's like they're all frozen in time (about 1950 for most).

[HughM]

We love James Island Campground. Hope you can be there between Thanksgiving and New Years. The 2-3 million light bulbs for the Christmas show is unreal. Vist Bubba Gumps and try the She Crab Soup. It's the only Bubba Gumps that we found that have it and it's fantasic.
Lots to do in Charleston.
Hugh

[swanny]

We also love James Is. park. lots of things to do. Charleston is an awesome place also. Don't forget the water park and the fishing pond and the dock for crabbing. The beach is a short drive also. Going back next summer.

kevin

[Clemson1881]

One downside to James Island. In warm weather the bugs are the worst I've ever encountered.

[pbahlin]

We lucked out on the light show. Seems they are finishing up the installation to get ready for the Festival of Lights in November and they are testing the lights tonight. We took the tour in the truck virtually alone in the park just after sundown.

Awesome display and some amazing work by the park crews. They deserve some real kudos.

[footloose]

We really enjoyed James Island Campground as well. Loved Charleston. So much history and things to see in that area. Funny how some States have really good parks and others don't. We find California, a really big State, doesn't have many really good parks to choose from. Yes, there are some, but for example, along Highway 5 they are few and far between. On our usual route from the San Jose area north to Oregon we have to drive many more miles than we would like.
Sharon

[chieflawdawg]

We are coming to JICP on Oct 29th for a week. Love the place. Try to get down at least once a year, usually Oct-Nov.

[LuckyNichol]

We went to James Island right after the MOC rally. Great for riding bikes and fun dog park. We have our favorite Charleston eating spots -- Melvin's Barbeque and Hyman's downtown Charleston. Went to Folly Island and had a drink at the Blu Bar part of the Holiday Inn hotel which looks out on the beach. Good burger at Rita's on Folly and also went to some restaurant on Bowen's Island that was rebuilt. Can't say the food was worth the hour + wait, but they ran out of Osyters. Most of the people there were taking pixs of the breath-taking sunset over the marsh.

[sreigle]

We've stayed there a couple of times, short stays. We enjoyed the park and would go back.

[Waynem]

When you stay there, make sure you go visit the Angel Oak Tree