Upstate SC Mountain Lakes: Swimming, Boats, Parks

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South Carolina's mountain and foothill lakes are in the Upstate. We list 14, with who runs each lake, where the public gets in (state parks, ramps, beaches), and whether swimming and boating are allowed, from the managing agency's own page.

Lakes14on this page
Regions1Upstate
Free1as the operator states
CheckedOct 262026

The Short Answer

Lake Jocassee is a 7,565 acre reservoir in Pickens and Oconee counties with a maximum depth of 351 feet; SCDNR lists it as owned and managed by Duke Energy. source
SC State Parks says Devils Fork State Park is the only public access point to Lake Jocassee. source
Lake Keowee is an 18,372 acre Duke Energy cooling reservoir for the Oconee Nuclear Station; SCDNR lists 9 boat ramps. source
Lake Hartwell (56,000 acres) and Lake Russell are U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes on the Savannah River along the Georgia line. source
Greenville Water says it spent its first 70+ years strictly maintaining Table Rock and North Saluda reservoirs to prevent damage from development and outside visitors; no public recreation page was found. source

Every Lakes on Our List

Search this list14 of 14

Name	Where	What	When	Cost	Good to know	Source
High Falls County Park (Lake Keowee)	Seneca Upstate	County park on Lake Keowee with a swimming area and two boat ramps.	Not listed	$3 park entry for cars; $5 fee for boats and trailers	Not listed	source
Lake Bowen	Inman Upstate	Spartanburg Water lake with Lake Bowen Park: two motorized boat ramps (permit required), a non-motorized ramp, fishing access and free first-come picnic shelters.	Park 6 a.m.-midnight; Wardens' Office Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.	Picnic shelters at no cost; boat permit amounts not on the page	Not listed	source
Lake Cunningham	Greer Upstate	Second Greer CPW lake; permits are sold at the Lake Robinson wardens' office; a shelter rents for $100 a day.	Sunrise to sunset year-round, except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day	Same permit fees as Lake Robinson; Shelter 3 $100	Not listed	source
Lake Hartwell State Park	Fair Play Upstate	State park on 56,000-acre Lake Hartwell with 2 boat ramps, a courtesy dock and a 140-foot fishing pier.	Park sun up to sun down daily; office 9-5 daily April-October, 11-noon and 4-5 daily November-March	$3 adults; $1.50 SC seniors; $1 children 6-15; 5 and under free	Not listed	source
Lake Jocassee at Devils Fork State Park	Salem Upstate	Mountain spring-fed lake reached through Devils Fork State Park, with 3 boat ramps in the park; some waterfalls that feed the lake can be reached only by boat.	Park hours: late spring to mid-fall 7am-9pm daily; late fall to mid-spring 7am-6pm daily Park 7am-9pm (late spring to mid-fall), 7am-6pm (late fall to mid-spring); office 9am-5pm daily	$8 adults; $5 SC seniors (65+); $4 children 6-15; 5 and under free; admission free on Tuesdays	Parking: No capacity number listed; the park posts on its site when it reaches parking capacity and warns of long entry lines 11am-4pm on weekends and holidays.	source
Lake Keowee at Keowee-Toxaway State Park	Sunset Upstate	A half-mile trail leads to Lake Keowee and the park has a canoe/kayak access point for non-motorized boats; 5.5 miles of trails.	9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, extended to 9 p.m. during Daylight Saving Time	Free	Access: Natural Bridge Trail is 1.3 miles (about 45 minutes)	source
Lake Oolenoy and Pinnacle Lake at Table Rock State Park	Pickens Upstate	Table Rock State Park has 36-acre Pinnacle Lake and 67-acre Lake Oolenoy, plus an old-fashioned swimming hole open in summer.	Swimming hole: summer season (2026 dates not published on the page) Su-Th 7 a.m.-7 p.m. (to 9 p.m. F and Sa); during Daylight Saving Time open until 9 p.m., 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday	$6 adults; $3.75 SC seniors (65+); $3.50 children 6-15; 5 and under free	Dogs: Leashed; not on the swim beach	source
Lake Placid at Paris Mountain State Park	Greenville Upstate	Park near downtown Greenville with a designated swimming area and a self-serve kayak kiosk by Lake Placid.	8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. daily	$6 adults; $3.75 SC seniors (65+); $3.50 children 6-15; 5 and under free	Access: Lake Placid Trail loop is under a mile	source
Lake Robinson	Greer Upstate	Greer CPW lake with a boat ramp, three fishing piers and rentable event sites; the lake wardens' office that sells permits is here.	Sunrise to sunset year-round, except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day; wardens' office Tue-Sat 8:00 am-4:45 pm (closed 12-1)	Fishing permit: SC resident annual $5; out of state annual $15 (plus state fishing license)	Not listed	source
Lake Russell at Calhoun Falls State Park	Calhoun Falls Upstate	318-acre park on Lake Russell with seasonal swimming, fishing and 36 rental boat slips in the marina.	6 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, extended to 9 p.m. during Daylight Saving Time; office 9-5 daily	$3 adults; $1.50 SC seniors; $1 children 6-15; 5 and younger free	Not listed	source
Oconee State Park lake	Mountain Rest Upstate	Park with a swimming lake and boat rentals (pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and jon boats); Lake Trail circles the lake.	Su-Th 7 a.m.-7 p.m., F-Sa 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily during Daylight Saving Time	$5 adults; $3.25 SC seniors; $3 children 6-15; 5 and under free	Not listed	source
South Cove County Park (Lake Keowee)	Seneca Upstate	County park on Lake Keowee with two boat ramps and a sand beach.	Not listed	$3 park entry fee; $5 for boats & trailers; annual park pass $25	Not listed	source
Table Rock Reservoir	Cleveland area Upstate	Greenville Water drinking-water reservoir; Greenville Water says it kept Table Rock and North Saluda closed to outside visitors for 70+ years. No public recreation access was found on an official page.	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	source
Twin Lakes Day Use Area (Hartwell Lake)	Pendleton Upstate	Corps of Engineers day-use area with a large sandy beach, two designated swim areas and a two-lane boat ramp.	Day use area open May 1 through September 4 (year not stated on the page); boat ramp year-round	$7 per vehicle	Not listed	source

Hours, dates and prices are copied from each operator’s own page on the date shown; check before you go.

Swimming

Oconee State Park has a swimming lake and an old-fashioned swimming hole. source
Paris Mountain State Park's designated swimming area is included with admission when open. source
Table Rock State Park has an old-fashioned swimming hole open during the summer season; pets are not allowed on the swim beach. source
Calhoun Falls State Park on Lake Russell lists seasonal swimming. source
High Falls County Park on Lake Keowee lists a swimming area. source
Twin Lakes on Hartwell Lake has two designated swim areas; the day use area is open May 1 through September 4. source
Devils Fork State Park lists no designated swimming area on Lake Jocassee. source

Boat Ramps and Rentals

Devils Fork State Park has 3 boat ramps to Lake Jocassee; SCDNR lists 4 ramps on the lake. source
SCDNR lists 9 boat ramps on Lake Keowee, 45 on Lake Hartwell and 16 on Lake Russell. source
Lake Hartwell State Park has 2 boat ramps and a courtesy dock. source
Oconee State Park rents pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and jon boats. source
Greer CPW boat permits for Lake Robinson and Lake Cunningham: daily $5, annual non-motorized $30, annual motorized (10 HP or less) $55. source
Lake Bowen's two motorized ramps require a Spartanburg Water permit, sold seasonally or daily and priced by horsepower and residence. source

Fishing

SC resident freshwater fishing license: $10 annual, $30 for 3 years, $5 for 14 days. source
Nonresident freshwater fishing license: $35 annual, $105 for 3 years, $11 for 14 days. source
SCDNR says the state record spotted bass, redeye bass, smallmouth bass, brown trout and rainbow trout were caught from Lake Jocassee. source
SCDNR says both states stock the Lake Russell headwaters and Hartwell tailrace with more than 30,000 trout a year, and the S.C. state record striped bass (63 pounds) came from Lake Russell in 2009. source
Greer CPW requires its own fishing permit ($5 SC resident annual, $15 out of state annual); bring your state fishing license. source

FAQ

How do you get onto Lake Jocassee?

SC State Parks says Devils Fork State Park is the only public access point to the lake; the park has 3 boat ramps. source

Can you swim or boat on Table Rock Reservoir?

No official page allowing recreation was found. Greenville Water says it kept Table Rock and North Saluda closed to outside visitors for its first 70+ years. source

Who runs Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee?

SCDNR lists both as owned and managed by Duke Energy. source

Where can you rent a boat on an Upstate lake?

Oconee State Park rents pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and jon boats; Paris Mountain State Park has a self-serve kayak kiosk at Lake Placid. source

How much is a South Carolina freshwater fishing license?

For residents, $10 a year; for nonresidents, $35 a year. Short-term 14-day licenses are $5 and $11. source

What We Could Not Confirm

Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.

Duke Energy's own pages for Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee public access areas: tried duke-energy.com/community/lakes/keowee and /jocassee (404); access-area names (Cane Creek, Fall Creek, Stamp Creek, Mile Creek, Warpath, Keowee Town, Double Springs, Bootleg) seen only in unofficial summary and old notices.
Swimming at Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee outside the parks listed: no official Duke Energy swim beach list found.
Lake Thurmond: left out as not a mountain/foothill lake; SC State Parks lists Baker Creek, Hamilton Branch and Hickory Knob on its shores (southcarolinaparks.com/see-and-do/lakes).
Lake Russell acreage: SCDNR's page says 26,650 acres in the text but 9,899.37 acres in its General Information box; SC State Parks also says 26,650. Use 26,650 with care.
Twin Lakes season dates May 1-September 4: the Recreation.gov page gives no year, so 2026 is not confirmed.
Lake Bowen boat permit dollar amounts are in a linked PDF that was not read; horsepower limits (statute) seen only in unofficial summary of scstatehouse.gov bill drafts.
Greer CPW swimming rule and horsepower cap: in a linked rules handbook not read; third-party sites say swimming is not allowed and motors are limited to 10 HP.
Lake Oolenoy and Pinnacle Lake boat rules or rentals: not on the Table Rock State Park page.
Oconee County's own fee schedule for High Falls and South Cove: figures come from Visit Oconee SC; the operator is not named on that page.

Sources

Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “Mountain Lakes in South Carolina”, itssouthcarolina.com/destinations/upstate/mountain-lakes/ (updated 2026-10-26). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.