Keowee-Toxaway State Park

Keowee-Toxaway State Park
Plus Palmetto Trail, Eastatoe Passage
2019 Hiking week 16



This past Easter weekend, I was able to visit Keowee-Toxaway State Park. It is on Lake Keowee near the Eastatoe Creek. Last year, I was able to visit this park with my mom and we kayaked part of the lake and up the river. The lake kayaking was difficult but the river section was nice. 

This year, we stayed with my family at the cabin that is in the park. There’s only one cabin in this state park and it is on the lake. It’s a nice, two story cabin with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a double porch, and its own boat dock. The cabin was renovated in the past few years and I was impressed by it. I definitely would like to go back, especially for a weekend with some kayaks. Also, the park is free. It's nice to have free access to the lake.
Cabin

This past weekend, the weather was not cooperating for much outdoor activity. Friday we had some strong storms and Saturday was colder with off and on showers. Saturday morning, we braved the cold and rain and hiked part of the Palmetto Trail that goes through Keowee-Toxaway park. This section is called the Eastatoe Passage, and it covers almost 5 miles. We started at the park on the Natural Bridge trail. The Natural Bridge trail is a loop in the park that takes you over a natural stone bridge. We took the section that the Palmetto Trail follows, which was about half a mile. From there, the trail branches off and continues along Highway 11. Unfortunately, because of the heavy rains, we were not able to go as far along the trail as I had wanted. There is a section where the trail crosses a creek. I assume that normally, it is an easy walk over some rocks, but when we got there, the water was rushing and it didn’t look safe to cross.


I was disappointed that we couldn’t continue but we had other things to do that day so we decided to head back. 
Along the way, there were a lot of wildflowers and beautiful sights. Pink trillium, wild violets, fringed bluestar, and Carolina allspice. Sorry, I can't identify the pink flower in the middle. Also, we saw what we think is wild ginger (the heart shaped leaves). But we didn’t check underneath the plant to see if it had any of it’s “little brown jugs”. Nearby was also flowering doghobble. There were a lot of rhododendron and mountain laurel in the area, I think the hike would be really pretty in the next month or two. 



Even though we weren’t able to see as much as I wanted to, it was still a nice hike that I would like to return to. In the area, you can also visit Table Rock State Park, Devil’s Fork State Park (on Lake Jocassee), Oconee Station (also where Station Creek Falls are), and Oconee State Park. I tried to visit Devil’s Fork on Friday but with the heavy rain and flooding, part of the road has washed out. It seems like they now have a detour if you want to visit there. 

Where have you visited lately? 

Location: Keowee Toxaway State Park, 108 Residence Dr, Sunset, SC 29685, USA

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