Keowee-Toxaway State Park

Keowee-Toxaway State Park is located in Pickens County, South Carolina, along Lake Keowee. The lands used to be owned by Duke Power. There is a 3-bedroom cabin for 10 people with a private dock that you can rent. There are also 24 campsites: 10 for RVs or tents, and 14 for tents only. Five picnic shelters are available for group gatherings and there are a couple of hiking trails. The Raven Rock trail is 3.1 miles and the Natural Bridge trail is 1.4 miles. There used to be a trail with four interpretive kiosks that highlight the Cherokees. Once they closed the trail, they moved the artifacts to the Cherokee Museum in Walhalla. There is a short half-mile trail to Lake Keowee, and you can fish there. At the lake, you will find boating access.

The Jocassee Gorges Visitor Center is located here and is the gateway to the Jocassee Gorges.

The words Keowee and Toxaway are Cherokee words meaning “place of the mulberry” and “place of thunder.” Before this area was settled by European Americans, the Cherokees hunted the area and built their towns along the river. Keowee Villages was the capital of the Lower Cherokee Towns in 1539. It was a large settlement that went about 10 miles along the river.

As more and more European Americans arrived and settled in the area, the Cherokee left the area by 1785. The area developed into farms and eventually developed into an area for the textile industry.

The area is rich in plant and animal species. Along with numerous species of fish in the lake and rivers, there are turkey, deer, and black bear.

Picture: https://internetbrothers.org/2017/12/09/natural-bridge-and-raven-rock-trails-keowee-toxaway-state-park-south-carolina/