Barnwell State Park is one of 16 state parks established by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. With approximately 307 acres, the park contains two ponds, a campground, a large picnic and recreation area, five cabins and a meeting center. It also protects many acres of forest and wetlands that provide folks with an excellent escape to nature. The park is located in the Sandhills Ecoregion, and the ponds are impoundments of Toby Creek. The park is in the Savannah River Watershed and should have very interesting biota, both aquatic and terrestrial.
The park contains two 1.5-mile nature trails. The Dogwood Nature Trail winds around one of the lakes and cuts through sandhill wetlands and seeps that deliver water to the ponds, and by steep mesic slopes dominated by mature hardwoods. There is a pier that is accessed from the trail that provides good views of the pond. The pond has been drained for months creating a wetland meadow effect. If you feel like a little extra walking, the Fern Hill Trail connects to the Dogwood Trail and will take you through a xeric upland forested area that crosses through a mature longleaf pine/oak forest that contains impressive longleaf pine trees that provide excellent habitat for woodpeckers, warblers and all three of the nuthatches that occur in South Carolina. Further down the trail is a drop in elevation where longleaf pines are replaced by loblolly pines and hardwood trees dominate canopy species. This area was heavily impacted by a tornado in 2017 that created large openings in the canopy resulting in thickets with a good diversity of plant species. There is potential for going off trail to investigate the nearshore habitats of the second pond which is used as a fishing pond.
Barnwell State Park offers above averaging camping facilities if you are interested in an overnight stay. There are other recreation opportunities in the area for wildlife and plant viewing, including Edisto State Park and the Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve. There are several good restaurants in Barnwell where folks can have an early dinner and discuss the sightings of the day. If you plan to extend your trip to two or more days and prefer not to camp you may be able to find accommodation in Barnwell.
~Ron Ahle
DIRECTIONS:
To get to Barnwell State Park, drive approximately 2.7 miles south of Blacksville, SC on SC-Hwy 3 to the entrance into the park on the right side of the road. The address is 223 State Park Road. The meeting place will be the main parking lot which is reached by going right at the first fork in the road. There are amenities such as water and bathrooms offered at this location.
Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Blackville, Meetups in Blackville.
