Free Camping in South Carolina: Backcountry & Dispersed

How free backcountry camping works here

The Forest Service calls it dispersed camping: primitive camping outside developed campgrounds, like backpacking or canoe camping. No toilets, no tables, no water tap. In both national forests, camp at least 50 feet from water and trails and half a mile from any road or parking lot. Stays are limited to 14 days. It's free. The Andrew Pickens district needs no permit. The Enoree, Long Cane and Francis Marion districts need a free dispersed camping permit from the Forest Service permits page. Add your contact details and your entry and exit points (road names or GPS coordinates), sign it electronically, and email it to that district at least five business days ahead, or by noon on the Monday before a weekend trip. Print the approved permit and carry it.

The mountains: Andrew Pickens Ranger District

No permit needed, and the general forest rules above apply. The Chattooga Wild and Scenic River corridor has its own rule: camp anywhere not closed by signs, more than a quarter mile from a road and more than 50 feet from a trail, a stream or the river. In the Ellicott Rock Wilderness, hike at least a quarter mile in from the trailhead before you camp. Both areas have group size limits, so check before you bring a crowd. Our Chattooga River Trail & Camping guide has the route. Hunting season: this year's deer hunts on Forest Service land in Oconee County run October 1 to January 1, plus hog hunts with dogs January 2 to 9 and March 20 to 27. District office, Mountain Rest: 864-638-9568.

The Piedmont: Enoree Ranger District

Free permit required. The big backpacking route is the Palmetto Trail's 37.8-mile Enoree Passage, with camping at Sedalia and Brick House campgrounds. Forest Service bridge and boardwalk repairs still close parts of the passage, so check the Palmetto Trail closures page first. Hunting season: deer archery opens September 15, and still-gun hunts run October 12 to January 1. District office, Whitmire: 803-276-4810.

Deer country: Long Cane Ranger District

Free permit required. Hurricane Helene did widespread damage here, and while hunt camps, Parsons Mountain and Lick Fork Lake have reopened, some Forest Service pages still show closure notices. Call before you plan a route. Hunting season: the Forest Service says the forest around its Morrow Bridge and Midway hunt camps is among the most desirable hunting areas in the Upstate. Deer archery opens September 15, and still-gun hunts run October 12 to January 1. District office, Edgefield: 803-624-9471.

The coast: Francis Marion National Forest

Flat, sandy, buggy, and underrated for an overnight. Free permit required. The best backpacking is the Palmetto Trail's 47.6-mile Swamp Fox Passage, much of it on old railroad logging trams. Primitive campsites sit between mile markers 9 and 10, near markers 18, 25 and 30, and at the Lake Moultrie end. Cane Gully campsite is closed until further notice, and the Halfway Creek trailhead parking area is no longer a camping spot. Water is the catch. The only source on the passage is the ranger station on Steed Creek Road, about 1.2 miles west of the trail crossing between markers 13 and 14. After heavy rain, parts of the trail can be under water. Canoe campers need the same permit. Hunting season: archery opens September 15, still-gun hunts run October 12 to January 1, and some units have dog drive hunts. District office, Huger: 843-336-2200.

The classic: the Foothills Trail

Seventy-seven miles and the state's signature backpacking trip. The Foothills Trail Conservancy lists its designated campsites in its guidebook, trail map and the FarOut app. There's no camping inside Oconee and Table Rock State Parks or along the Whitewater corridor between Highway 281 and the Bad Creek Access. Inside the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River boundary, stay 50 feet from the trail and the river. Every group, day or overnight, fills out a registration card at a kiosk at Table Rock, Oconee, or Frozen Creek at Gorges State Park. Parking costs $6 a day at Table Rock, $5 at Oconee and $2 at Whitewater Falls. Bears are active along the whole trail, so carry a canister or hang your food. Hunting is permitted in most areas around it, so wear bright colors in season. Some campsites still need repairs, so check the Conservancy's trail conditions page and our Foothills Trail guide before you go.

Palmetto Trail passages

The Palmetto Trail is 416 miles into a planned 500, from Oconee County to the Intracoastal Waterway. Each passage page on its website says whether camping is allowed. Beyond Swamp Fox and Enoree: Lake Moultrie Passage, 26.7 miles on Santee Cooper land, has three primitive campsites and no fees: near the Highway 52 trailhead by mile post 9, around mile post 18, and a seasonal site on the Sandy Beach Spur. None has drinking water. Part of the passage is open to public deer hunting September 15 to October 15, and high-visibility clothing is recommended. On mountain passages like Eastatoe and Oconee, state park land means designated sites only. The Awendaw Passage allows no camping.

Jocassee Gorges

The Jim Timmerman Natural Resources Area at Jocassee Gorges is SCDNR land, and its rules boil down to three. On the Foothills Trail or Palmetto Trail, backpackers can camp anywhere within 100 feet of either side of the trail, any time of year, with no permit. Off the trails, backcountry camping needs a written SCDNR permit, applied for online well in advance, and is allowed only while the main roads are closed: January 16 to March 19 and May 11 to September 14. No fires, and no camping within 25 feet of a stream or lake. Designated campsites, many of them old hunt camps, are marked on the Jocassee Gorges map and the entrance kiosks. Hunting season: almost all of the Gorges is open to public hunting, and most main roads open for the big game seasons, March 20 to May 10 and September 15 to January 15. Details are on SCDNR's Jocassee Gorges page.

Congaree National Park

Congaree's backcountry is free, and you can hike or paddle in. You need a free permit: email the park at least 72 hours before your trip, because later requests aren't considered. The address is on the park's backcountry camping page, or call 803-776-4396. There are no designated sites. Camp at least 100 feet from Cedar Creek, Tom's Creek, Bates Old River and Wise Lake, and 300 feet from the next camp, with no more than 6 campers and 3 structures per site. No open fires, but backpacking stoves are fine. The park advises checking the river forecast first. The left bank of Cedar Creek between the Bannister Bridge and Cedar Creek canoe accesses is frontcountry, where camping is only at the Longleaf and Bluff campgrounds.

Kings Mountain National Military Park

Maybe the best first backpacking trip in the state. Garner Creek Backcountry Campsite is a 3-mile hike in, holds 10 to 12 people, and has no amenities. It's free, but you register at the park visitor center before you head out: first come, first served, no reservations. The visitor center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except some federal holidays. Stay up to seven days, and leave your car in the visitor center lot overnight for free. Fires go only in the fire ring, and no outside firewood. Cell service is spotty to nonexistent. Call 864-936-7921.

Full guide →

Hunting season: share the woods

The national forests, Jocassee Gorges and several Palmetto Trail passages are open to public hunting, and deer season on the national forests runs to January 1. Sunday is not a day off: hunting is allowed on Sundays from October 15 to January 31 for game in season. Spring turkey season brings the hunters back. SCDNR rules keep hunters off designated recreational trails on Forest Service and Santee Cooper land during deer and hog hunts, but not off the woods beside them. The Forest Service's trail safety tips say to wear at least one piece of hunter orange visible from all directions, cover your backpack in orange, and skip white or tan, since a flash of white can look like a deer's tail. Put your dog in orange too.

Backcountry camping for every body

Let's be straight: backcountry camping is the least accessible kind of camping there is. Everything here means carrying your gear over uneven, often muddy ground, with few or no restrooms, no water taps and patchy cell service. You can still sleep in these woods. Our First-Come list covers Forest Service campgrounds you can drive to. Congaree's Longleaf Campground has an accessible campsite, Site 1, on packed dirt and fine gravel routes, and the park calls its boardwalk its most accessible trail. See our Congaree Boardwalk Loop guide. For some bodies, paddling beats hauling a pack, and Congaree's backcountry can be reached by canoe or kayak. Our Accessibility Guide has more, and the offices above can answer specific questions.

Leave no trace, and know the fire rules

Fire rules change at every boundary. Congaree's backcountry: no open fires, stoves are fine. Jocassee Gorges off-trail permit camping: no fires. Foothills Trail: only in established fire rings at designated campsites, and never during a burn ban. Kings Mountain: the fire ring only, with no outside firewood. The national forests restrict fires when fire danger is high, so check the Forest Service alerts page before any trip. The rest is simple. Pack out every scrap. Treat all water, however clean it looks. Leave your site so the next backpacker can't tell you were there. Then plan the next trip from our Camping hub and Hiking hub. Now go outside and play. Half a mile from the car.

Free Backcountry Camping in South Carolina