Weekend Trip: Lake Jocassee & Gorges State Park

This outing is a paddle/hike/camp consisting of two different venues on different days. Please see the itinerary below. Upon registering, please comment whether you intend to join the paddle, hike or both.

Glimmering in the middle of the majestic mountains of northwestern South Carolina is the unearthly beautiful lake, Lake Jocassee. This magical lake has glistening tributaries that run deeply from the mountains and enchanting coves that end with unbelievable waterfalls. And not far north is the serenely beautiful Gorges State Park - nestled in the heart of North Carolina's rain forest. We did a version of this trip a few years ago (without the paddling) and I wanted to revitalize this year.

Day 1: Arrive at Devil's Fork Campground, paddle into our campsite, set up camp and catch the sunset. This is an easy 1-2 mile paddle from the boat launch at Devil’s Fork State Park to our campsite. If you do not own a kayak/canoe/SUP, I have two kayaks and a SUP that could potentially be borrowed - there are also several businesses nearby that will rent them out.

Day 2: Paddle around Lake Jocassee - we will paddle up the shoreline from our campsite and make our way into Wright Creek Falls (one of the most popular waterfalls that drops straight off the mountain and right into the lake - you can paddle behind it!) This is an easy 6-8 mile paddle, at a moderate pace (2.5mph) over flat waters.

Day 3: Pack up camp and head to Gorges State Park. Here we'll go on a moderate hike (8.3 miles, 1140ft of elevation gain, [About 2.7-3mph for pacing) and see three awe-inspiring waterfalls on the way, all the while basking in the glow of the autumn leaves. We will camp at Gorges State Park, at the Family Campground that night and will return to our homes the following morning.

Registrants are welcome to join for part or all of the outing! These campsites sell like crazy, so sites need to be booked ASAP. I have my own campsite booked currently and have room to share it with about 3 more occupants. I will update the comments when my campsite has reached its capacity - requiring anyone who wants to join to book their own campsite.