How the new SC budget would tackle a Lake Murray park’s traffic conundrum
Even as South Carolina’s newest state park is planning to open, the Legislature is setting new rules for how many people are able to go there.
A proviso in the recently passed state budget sets new requirements for accessing Pine Island on Lake Murray, currently slated to open to the public in October as the newest state park.
But after the new attraction’s lakeside neighbors raised concerns about traffic headed to the island on the mostly residential streets around the Yacht Cove area off North Lake Drive, state lawmakers responded with a budget proviso requiring the new park take reservations for its limited number of parking spaces before daytrippers hit the road.
“Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, the department shall restrict public access of Pine Island State Park to scheduled visitors only,” the proviso reads. “All visitors must have confirmed appointments, and such appointments shall be staggered to prevent overcrowding and ensure safety of the surrounding area.”
The Parks Service recently held an open house at the future park site to show the public how the park will operate, including how it planned to handle traffic. Parks officials said the plan is to limit entry at the park gate based on how many parking spaces are available on the island, similar to how the park service manages its beach parks. Nearby residents can also walk in or bicycle if they get a “park passport.”
But the same day as the open house last Wednesday, the Legislature approved the 2025-26 budget with the proviso attached. Now Pine Island will operate under a similar system to the Dominion Energy-owned Lake Murray Public Park on the other side of the dam. For the first time this year, the energy company is requiring visitors there to make a reservation ahead of time on Dominion’s website. Spaces there will be parceled out on a first-come, first-serve basis, and cash payments at the gate will no longer be accepted.
The Parks Service said it would follow the proviso if it is ultimately signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster.
“We are continuing to follow the budget through the legislative process, where it has now moved to the Governor’s desk,” a spokesperson for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism said in an email. “If Proviso 49.27 is signed into law through the 2025-2026 Appropriations Bill, we will follow the direction of the Governor and Legislature and will implement reserved parking beginning with our October 2025 soft opening.”
Other smaller parks like Jones Gap and Huntington Beach also take visitor reservations through the parks department website, as well as for camp sites and other facilities and event venues like the planned Sunset Hall that will replace Pine Island’s current clubhouse.
Pine Island was once an employee-only retreat operated by South Carolina Electric & Gas, the former owner of Lake Murray and its hydropower dam. The island was closed to visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Dominion Energy — which absorbed the struggling SCE&G in 2019 — eventually offered the island to the state as a potential future park in order to meet its tax liabilities from the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM.
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