Givhans Ferry State Park

Stayed 8/11/2017 to 8/13/2017. This is the best value park if you want to visit Charleston. Yes it could take an hour or less to get down to the city, but the choice maybe will save you bucks. Its never easy to visit a vacation destination city. All closer campgrounds will be at least double the cost.

My reconnaissance of the campground was that there were very few RV’s today when i visited. The park was a little old and didn’t really appeal to many of my wants... But since i have booked it for 2 days in March , im willing to give it a run..... im interested to see how the fish are biting as my wife and i are recreational fishing people....

Nice small park. Stayed in one of the full-hookup sites, but not very private. The spots are level and are packed sand/dirt. One hour from Charleston and about 20-30min to the closest town for supplies, however there are two small convenience stores that are literally near the park gate. The park features a 1.5 nature trail, access to Edisto River, a small cemetery, a couple of limestone sinkholes (gated off) and a resident hawk. The large field in front of the nature trail (where the volleyball court is) seems to be this hawk's hunting ground. Bring a camera! We didn't use the showers, but they appear to be adequate. The state park staff is awesome! However, the campground host in #1, the Julian's from New York, was not professional. I returned home from grocery shopping and I have always been careful with my speed in campgrounds, however, pulling into the campground I was probably going a little faster than normal. Perhaps 8mph, instead of 5mph. I get out of my car and the host yells very unprofessional at me like I committed a murder. Or like he was scolding a child. I felt very put down by this individual. I politely said I was sorry. I really had NO IDEA I was going so "fast". The park is great, but this encounter left me with a bad memory. Hence, the 3-stars.

Also, with a booster I received 4-5 bars with T-Mobile. Verzion bar were boosted to 2.

we enjoyed our stay at the park. Had no issues with any of the facility. Shower was very hot and strong. Would not use the internet at the office as its much worse than just using your own hotspot. AT&T internet hotspot (we use a MOFY device) was good enough for NETFLIX but only because NETFLIX knows how to buffer when you have poor signal (one bar but functional). Our VERIZON phones barely worked the whole time with random coverage

Nearest laundry is towards Summerville, which is also the location of the nearest Redbox just across the street from the laundry.

We needed a place to stay and get away before we took on the city and we found some Open spots here. Over all it’s a good camp site but a little expensive for what we got.
Pros: it’s small and not crowded (February time) the park itself is nice and has a small playground for kids. Didn’t do the hiking trails but biked around. New picnic tables.

Cons: only two sites were full hook up. Sites were not really level. Had to double up on blocks. Sand probably washed away. Flooded areas around the camp site when it rains. Trash dumpster was reallly far away. Park is somewhat small and not much to explore. Very poor cell
Service. One bar sometimes.

One thing to note is they will
Close down for upgrades next year (2021) so all those cons might go away.
Cell will probably still be bad but it’s ok if you want to get away and have quiet time.

Over all it’s a good park but not as much to do as I hoped. Wouldn’t mind visiting again after they remodel.

This park is quiet and beautiful. Pleasantly surprised that a state park had full hook ups. Nice ranger who was helpful. The only regret was not finding the trails sooner to go on a walk.

Nice quiet campground about 45 minutes from historical Charleston. The park was very empty when we visited in June. The spots were gravel and very rocky with some large rocks. Decent space between sites and some bushes and tress to give a little privacy. Another plus was full hook ups. Not a norm for state parks! Was able to enjoy the outdoors and take walks daily. There's a trail too, but watch out for mosquitos! The two drawbacks were 1. The only place to drop your trash was at the entrance and it was the opposite end as the campground area and 2. With a booster was only able to hold a 1 bar signal and that was not consistent. If you want remote and no access to phone, then this may be the place for you!

We chose this park primarily for its proximity to Charleston. Drive into the historic part of the city was about an hour, and if you’re doing plantation tours along Ashley River Rd only 30 minutes. The park was nice and quiet. Recently updated to all full service sites. Sites were level, shaded, and there was a bit of screening between them. Park is small, only 25 or so sites. Camp hosts were friendly and greeted us upon arrival. There are actually two sets of camp hosts, so not sure why such a small park needed two. Cell service was almost nil. We could make calls and if the wind was blowing right an occasional text would get through. The park is very remote, and when we HAD to use the internet, it was a good 10-15 minute drive out of the park to find decent service. The trash situation needs addressed, though. The only receptacles are near the park entrance, down a little access road. Easy enough to drop off each morning as you’re heading out of the park, but you would have to make a drive down there to take them if you aren’t leaving the park. Plus, as you’re hooked up and leaving the park, no way to take the RV down the access road to dump them. So someone has to walk them down there while the RV is up on the main road blocking the park exit. Seems like an easy enough fix to add a dumpster near the campground, so not sure why this was the way it was. All in all, it’s a great value if you’re interested in visiting Charleston via RV.

Beautiful place nestled in the woods. The sites are level, packed sand, and appeared well cared for. Very clean! The sites are a bit close. It rained all three days, so we couldn’t do much!
Nice river walk. No cell reception! Spotty WiFi near the dock. Trash bins very far away from the campground.
This is an older campground, but would be a nice place to stay, and visit Charleston! 50min away.

The park staff were friendly and helpful but the park itself is too far from 95 and Charleston to be useful as a point to launch from or layover and there’s really nothing to do at the park for RV campers. One 1.5 mile trail loop, a river, The sites are way too close for enjoyment. I booked 2 nights but left after 1. A couple 2 sites over from me were loud, playing music, talking on speaker phone. Cell phone service is weak (Verizon) so bring a good book if you decide to stay. Also, no dumpsters that I could find.