Planning a Lake Jocassee Camping Trip

Thwap! Splash! The canoe rocked side to side and almost flipped as we floated in an isolated cove on Lake Jocassee, SC.

Our puppy was up on the gunwales of the canoe. One, two, three paws at a time. How was that even possible? She jumped back and forth, whining, and pawing at the water.

It’s not every day that a beaver tells you to get lost by slapping its tail on the water.

We stayed dry this time, and in front of us were the beautiful cascades of Laurel Creek falling into the clear water of Lake Jocassee.

There wasn’t another person or boat in sight. The only sounds were the surprisingly loud beaver, the rushing waterfall, and our pitiful pup trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

That was our first overnight canoe camping trip with our puppy. We weren’t confident about navigating the rapids on the rivers of Western North Carolina. So we thought, let’s start easy with a trip on a lake.

It turned out that there weren’t many options for overnight flatwater canoe trips in Western North Carolina. Most of the lakes are surrounded by privately owned land and don’t allow camping. A few State Parks and National Parks have lake access with camping in developed campgrounds, but many parks don’t allow dogs. We were searching for something a little more off the beaten path.

The trick? We launched our canoe at Devils Lake State Park, South Carolina, and paddled to Gorges State Park in North Carolina. That’s right. We canoed across state lines to avoid the crowds and camp for free.

Lake Jocassee is the northernmost lake in a series of reservoirs that span the entire width of South Carolina, from North Carolina to Georgia. While most southern lakes turn a muddy brown color from clay eroding into the water, Lake Jocassee has crystal blue water and an empty shoreline hiding waterfalls splashing into the lake from granite cliffs.

There is a small pocket of development and a dam on the southern edge of the lake. But paddle north, and there is nothing but trees and mountains. It feels like a remote lake in a wild region of Canada, except it is much warmer!

Every adventure has its unique stories, and most of those stories are better suited to a barstool than a blog post, but here are a few things that we can tell you. If you canoe with a puppy near a waterfall, you are likely to get wet. Squirrels walking on dry leaves at night sound like bears. Regardless of what you or your dog thinks, squirrels and bears are not the same things. Paddling with the wind is WAY more fun than paddling against the wind. Good dogs and new adventures are the best.

Lake Jocassee Camping

Go beyond Devils Fork State Park camping by canoeing or kayaking Lake Jocassee to Gorges State Park for a truly unique camping experience.

We started Adventure Nerds to support adventurers and help all people find and plan adventures. Our first time kayaking Lake Jocassee was many years ago, and we went on another trip in 2021. The result was our first adventure Guide Notes.

Check it out, and let us know what you think! Lake Jocassee Paddling Adventure Guide Notes