We stopped at the Army Corp of Engineering (COE) Campground in Modoc, SC last year for just one night. It was a well placed way point with reasonably priced campsites on our journey north. That one night made us realize we had to come back. Nearly every site had a view or access to Strom Thurmond Lake. And we needed to bring kayaks.
This year we planned ahead and actually made a reservation for a week. Mr Ram did the best he could from his recollections of sites and notes he made here. Our site, #15 had beautiful views and was secluded from other camp sites.
However the access to the water was down a steep bank. And it had large rocks at the access to the water.
Mrs Ram was doubtful and hoped we could swap with another site, #24, that had easier access to the water. The woman in the office said we could probably move us to that site in the morning. However overnight the no-show camper for #24 finally canceled his reservation and someone else scooped it up.
We managed to get the kayaks from our site down to the water using a rope. There was enough room on those rocks to store them. That’s where they stayed there for our week long visit.
We both struggled at first getting in and out of the kayaks from those rocks. Mrs Ram slipped the first few times and probably had a few choice words for Mr Ram’s site selection. However with practice both of us found ways to get in and out of the kayaks without hurting ourselves. For six days we paddled along the coast of Strom Thurmond Lake.
Who was Strom Thurmond you may ask? He was a senator who represented South Carolina for 48 years. He was the only senator to reach the age of 100 while in the senate and was the longest serving senator up until 2006. Despite several controversial stands during his long career, Congress renamed Clark Lake to Strom Thurmond Lake in 1988.
And the lake is HUGE. From the Clark Dam it reaches 40 miles up the Savannah River and 26 miles up the Little River with 1,200 miles of shoreline. There are 7 COE campgrounds, 20 state and local Parks and 6 commercial marinas on the lake. With all of this, I suspect Mrs Ram will want to come back here again. Mr Ram may let her pick the campsite next year.