Sumter County, SC

Including:

• Sumter » Find hotels in Sumter, SC
• Lake Marion
• Wateree River

Parks and recreation areas

• Cypress Park

  This park has a pond and a number of nice hiking trails. You can wander around here for a few hours. Several wooden platforms and swings overlook the pond. Walking, jogging, picnicking, and off-road bicycling are popular here.

• Dillon Park

  Julia Lester Dillon Park has a variety of sports facilities for soccer, football, softball, and golf. It also has an equestrian ring and a series of paved trails for walking or bicycling.

  Note: Despite its name, this park is located in Sumter, not in Dillon.

• Manchester State Forest

  Quite a few trails for hiking, mountain bicycling, and horseback riding run through this vast forest and the adjacent Poinsett State Park, including the scenic Wateree passage of the Palmetto Trail.

• Mill Creek Park

  This county park features a meeting area with a group of picnic tables overlooking a large pond. It is a popular place for getting access to the Palmetto Trail.

• Poinsett State Park

  This secluded area on the edge of the Wateree Swamp has some really unusual scenery, combining mountainous terrain with moss-draped trees of the swampland. If you're interested in hiking, horseback riding, or off-road bicycling, you will find plenty of trails in this state park and the adjacent Manchester State Forest, including the High Hills passage of the Palmetto Trail. There is even an equestrian camping area here. If you go here in the summer, be sure to bring plenty of bug spray.

• Sparkleberry Landing

  The upper portion of Lake Marion is known as Sparkleberry Swamp. It is filled with ash, tupelo, and bald cypress trees. A variety of wildlife abounds in this scenic area.

• Swan Lake -- Iris Gardens

  Sumter's Swan Lake and Iris Gardens combine twenty-five species of Japanese irises and swans in a natural setting. From late May into June is a great time to view the iris. The wetland area has a network of boardwalks running through it and a ³/₄-mile hiking trail. A large picnic shelter is available with a snack bar.

• W. T. Tolar Public Boat Landing

  This boat ramp is one of the few places which provides public access to the Wateree River. Plenty of paved parking is available here.

• Woods Bay State Park and Woods Bay Heritage Preserve

  Visit these two adjacent recreation areas to see and learn about the mysterious natural phenomena known as the Carolina Bays. Hiking trails and boardwalks lead you around the bay, where you will find plenty of interesting plants and animals. In addition, there is a nature center building with a number of displays and park rangers to assist you and to inform you.

  Note that Woods Bay State Park was once known as the “Woods Bay State Natural Area”.

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For more information about Sumter County, see https://www.sciway.net/cnty/sumter.html.

[012-11-14]