Below Dam South Carolina

Below Dam South Carolina Recreation Area is a popular park just below J. Strom Thurmond Lake Dam along the Savannah River. The park is located on Power Plant Road just off South Carolina State Highway 221 near the Visitor Center, and the Savannah River offers excellent fishing and boating. The 70,000 acre Thurmond Lake provides some of the best fishing, hunting and water sports in the southeastern United States. Anglers fish for largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish and striped bass, and the large lake offers endless boating, water skiing, jet skiing, canoeing and swimming opportunities. Below Dam is a wooded day-use area with several group picnic shelters, one of which has electrical hookups. Other amenities include flush toilets, drinking water, a boat ramp, fishing pier, hiking trail and playground. There is no swimming at this park. Hot, humid summers and mild, pleasant winters characterize this heavily wooded area on the shore of Thurmond Lake. A mixed pine and hardwood forest covers the site, providing summer shade and fall color, and the elevation is 235 feet above sea level. Wildlife is abundant around the lake, and visitors regularly see southern bald eagles, osprey, migratory waterfowl, wild turkeys and whitetail deer. Numerous parks and recreation areas lie around Thurmond Lake, providing additional boating, swimming, hunting and hiking. Nearby cities house museums, art galleries, zoos, restaurants and shopping areas, and the Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters Golf Tournament annually the first week of April.