The only state resort park in SC is getting upgrades. Here’s what is planned

The state Parks Department has $1 million to spend on upgrading cabins and other facilities, including Hickory Knob, where several cabins were closed last fall.

The McCormick park on the shore of Lake Thurmond is South Carolina’s only resort park. It has an 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Jackson, who has designed more than 100 golf courses including the Cliffs at Glassy and Arrowhead in Myrtle Beach. The park was established in the 1970s.

Samantha Queen, spokesperson for South Carolina Parks said Recreation, said the cabins that were torn down were portable trailers and had exceeded their lifespan.

“It was no longer economically feasible or resource-efficient to maintain them,” she said. “Instead, we’ve been investing in the lodge rooms.”

There are 70 lodge rooms and six lodge-motel rooms. Hickory Knob has 44 campsites for tents, RVs and trailers.

In addition, the park has a restored French Huguenot house, built by settler Andre Guillebeau shortly after he arrived from New Bordeaux in August 1764 and moved to Hickory Knob in 1983.

Its listing on the National Register of Historic Places says, “Guillebeau House is a good example of Southern 18th-Century pioneer construction.”

They are also converting the former tackle shop into a two-bedroom, two-bath lakefront cabin, opening next year.

“It’s a remote park with free admission and plenty of amenities and recreation — fishing and boating on the 71,000-acre lake to hiking, biking, archery, skeet-shooting, and axe throwing.,” Queen said. “We’re continuing to explore new ways to attract visitors and locals to the lodge restaurant, golf course, overnight lodging, and recreational opportunities while managing the hurdles of its remote location and limited resources.”

The park is about 80 miles west of Columbia.

Beth Dickey, a retired journalism professor at the University of South Carolina and native of McCormick County, said she was pleased to know the state is making improvements to the park, where many of her high school reunions have been held and where she’s vacationed.

She was there for the groundbreaking.

“It’s really in the wilderness,” she said. “That’s the beauty of it.”

Dickey said she loved to hike the trails and has especially fond memories of the sunken seating area in front of the fireplace in the lobby. That’s where she and her high school friends catch up.

“It’s gotten a little shabby,” she said. “They really need to bring it back.”

None of the other state parks have portable-style cabins, Queen said, but some have cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression era program. They date back to the 1930s and are located at Cheraw, Edisto Beach, Givhans Ferry, Hunting Island, Myrtle Beach, Oconee, Poinsett, and Table Rock.

“Typically, when we need to make updates or repairs to cabins, we complete those as time and the reservation calendar allows, trying to avoid closures when possible,” she said.

Extensive updates have been made to the interior of the cabins at Cheraw and phased cabin renovations are underway at Santee.

This story was originally published July 13, 2024 at 6:00 AM.