A fave of mine is Lake Marion in South Carolina. I-95 crosses right over it. For camping near Lake Marion, I like Santee State Park (take the first exit south of Lake Marion, as I recall, and follow the signs). There are some waterfront tent sites on a bluff, plus waterfront cottages. Santee State Park: 1-803-854-2408. You can launch from the State Park or any number of private (not free) launch ramps on the north or south side of the lake near I-95. Good to have choices, since the lake can be windy and has quite a fetch, so you can pick a sheltered launch site if you wish. But if conditions allow, I like launching from the beach at Santee National Wildlife Refuge (take the first exit north of Lake Marion, follow signs to the Bluff Unit -- there are 3 other NWR units scattered around the north shore of the lake; I haven't sampled them). From the NWR, you don't have to paddle so far to get to the fun (imho) stuff as you do from the State Park. The fun (imho) stuff being: paddling among cypresses and turtles and herons and anhingas. There are rumored to be alligators, but I've never spotted any there. Santee NWR also encompasses the Santee Indian Mound and the site of a Revolutionary War fort. Santee NWR: 1-803-478-2217 (good to call first; some areas are closed during nesting seasons). This is a great topic, Carey! An I-95 paddling guide. Thanks for starting it off! Ann *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Sep 15 2003 - 06:34:13 PDT
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