James Island County Park

We stayed at James Island County Park from March 30 – April 13, 2025. We were in site 105, a spacious back-in site with full hook-ups, a picnic table and fire pit. The campground staff were friendly and helpful throughout our stay. The campground offers full-service RV sites and plenty of amenities including a laundry facility, clean restrooms, showers, a dump station, a camp store with propane, ice, and firewood available for purchase. The park is pet friendly and has a dog park and plenty of open meadows to enjoy a walk with your pets. The park offers a great range of activities for all ages: miles of paved walking, biking & skating trails, saltwater fishing and crabbing areas, playground and picnic areas, Bicycle, kayak, pedal boat, and paddleboard rentals, a seasonal Splash Zone waterpark, outdoor climbing wall and adventure features, disc golf course, and wildlife viewing & peaceful lake areas to take in nature and watch the beautiful sunsets. There are plenty of nearby attractions to check out as well. We enjoyed exploring the history and culture in downtown Charleston, the USS Yorktown Aircraft museum, Rainbow row, and various restaurants in the area. If you are looking to stay in the Charleston area, this is a great place to stay.

This is indeed a gorgeous park with tons of great trails! Lots to do here. If you are camping however, expect LOTS of noise in the early morning. Around 7am here come carts of all types rushing in. Worst the time we were here they were removing some vegetation and plants from around the area, so a huge bulldozer, ground shaker, and lots of hollering persisted from 7am til about noon mid week. I can understand this is the off season, but man can't we start around 8am?? This was pretty consistent with all the zooming golf carts all week, hollering between them. Bathrooms are clean and in decent shape I will say that. Need to explore some more when we have more time. Maybe it was just a busy week?

This is our favorite campground. We just got home today after a nice 9 nights camping there. The staff are so friendly. The sites are good size. The bicycle/walking trails are great! Wildlife abounds! Raccoons, squirrels, various birds, jumping fish and alligators of all size. Wooden swings located throughout the trails with scenic views. Paddle boats, paddle boards and canoes to rent. Water park in the summer. Dog park where dogs can run free and chase balls in the water. Fishing is available in lake and water ways. Bingo, ice cream night and more. Full hookups and close to lots of stuff in Charleston. Highly recommend!

We had a perfect stay, no complaints! Showers were modern & clean, the laundry was outside under a porch but had rocking chairs & a swing to enjoy. It's was really quiet at night!

We absolutely loved spending the week of 4th of July at James Island County Park. We tent camped (it was HOT), but we had fans made it work. The park was very clean and the staff were very friendly. We loved the water park and splash zone. It was a great way to beat the heat. The dog park is huge and they always have different events going on. I only wish we lived closer!

Yearly holiday camping weekend with great friends. Celebrated my BFF's grandson's 1st birthday! Lights were amazing as always!!

Nice, calm county park and very beginner-friendly. Entry is cheap ($2 just to walk), and the trails are clearly marked with colors and checkpoints, so it’s easy to find your way without stress. It feels more like a well-kept garden or nature reserve than wild jungle, which I actually liked. Some buildings and ponds were closed when I visited (late Jan), but the park itself was clean, safe, and peaceful. Bathrooms, water refill spots, benches, and trash bins are easy to find. The climbing wall was a highlight — fun, affordable, and the staff were friendly and trustworthy. Overall a great place if you want nature without feeling lost or overwhelmed. Would definitely go again.

Love this place! We go here all the time! Their have it all! Thank you James island for being so awesome!

james island county park celebrates christmas. jolly good time enjoyed by families and the omg beautiful fascinated children, who actually gave our singers a "10"!!!! starting the season with blessings!!

Fun fact - James Island County Park is home to the only lead climbing wall in Charleston. And an even cooler fun fact - that climbing wall is completely outdoors! My husband and I have recently gotten into rock climbing, and we decided to bring our gear along with us on a trip to Charleston. We did some research, and found this hidden gem of a spot, located inside the Outdoor Zone of the beautiful James Island County Park. A climbing pass will run you $15, and it's an extra $8 if you need shoes and a harness. Online reservations are recommended, but you can walk-up as well. Note that you also have to pay a fee of $2 a person to get into the park itself. Our group of four was scheduled for a 5-7 PM climb on a Thursday, and we practically had the space to ourselves, except for the on-site climbing team. Lucas was helpful, and gave us a quick walk-thru of the space and their on-site rules. They use the figure-eight knot rather than carabiners for their belay routes, but they have several auto-belays of varying difficulties! When you get to the top of the main wall, it's a surreal experience. You are literally the same height as the trees! I'd happily return the next time I'm in the area, and highly recommend the James Island climbing wall to anyone who's looking for something fun and active to do outdoors!

Really nice campground in the middle of the city (almost) if you are visiting Chas is just a short drive to downtown Chas. Also a short drive to McLeod Plantation. Full hoockups in all sites. The Park gets busy during the Holidays for the lights display and it is the added bonus to be able to walk around and see the art

Visited back in the summer for their Reggae Nights Summer Concert Series. It was the best time! There were multiple food trucks and vendors to choose from. Reggae artists (local and not) performed throughout the event. The area is huge! People bring lawn chairs and blankets to hang out. Dogs are allowed, but I'm pretty sure the need to be on a leash. I'll be back next year!

We love the walking paths for evening walks with our dog. Well manicured and good signage. Would be great for family walks as well

Beautiful county park with a lot of different things to do. I went only for the playground for the little one and it was fairly large and enough to do for various age ranges. They have a dog park, nature trail, camping and more. For two of us it was $4 to get in. The people at the gate were helpful and explained everything. It's the best park in the area for miles.

What a great park! The dog park is probably one of the best we've been to with some shade, a ton of open space and beaches for the dogs to play and swim in. Yes you have to keep an eye out for gators, but there's a hose off station and all over the park are drinking water stations. The paths and playgrounds are all super nice. Plenty of scattered restrooms and overall very well kept spaces! I wish we had one back home.

Nice quiet park with lots of trails and things to do. They have a boat dock and a little store. They have camping areas and cabins to rent. It's a nice place for 1 to hundreds of people.

Such a great park. I've been here a few times for the dog park and I love how big it is and the access to the water. The loop around the pond is a nice paved walk. I've also been for the Christmas lights and I recommend this park to everyone!

My family rented out the Stono pavilion for my graduation party and it was beautiful. There are plenty of large picnic tables to accomodate large groups up to 200 people. Unfortunately it rained during my entire party so I don't have any pictures but it was still a great time!

Campground is great and park is good for biking. Camped here many times. Campsites get messy with rain though. Fine recycled concrete pads are fine until it rains but it's camping... Great location, gates locked at night. People leaving dogs in campers to bark all day and bother others is ridiculous, but everybody has their spoiled dogs these days.

I was in the area and kept hearing about the light display. So after dinner I decided to check it out. It was an excellent light display. I drove through twice and it wasn't super crowded during the week. I like the area to get s'mores use the facilities and do a little shopping. Definitely check it out if you are a holiday light fan.

I love taking my dog to the dog park here! It's only $2 a person if you don't have a pass. The dog park is huge and has a small dog area too. There's a lake for them to swim in and there's bags to pick up their waste. It def gets busy on the weekend but is pretty chill during the week.

There is a lot to do at James Island County Park, but the wife and I enjoy the approximant 4.6 miles of walking trails. Unlike Wannamaker county park where 1/2 of the trails are paved and the other half are narrow dirt paths, the trails at James Island County Park, are wide and paved. A large portion of the green trail runs along sweeping marsh views. The mostly wooded Orange and Blue trails meander around the rest of the park. If I had any complaint is the need for more restrooms and an occasion sign to the nearest one. There is also a really nice fishing pier perfect for shallow saltwater fishing and crabbing. While there are other Charleston county parks that offer walking trails, James Island county park will be our go-to spot.

This review is in regard to the dog park specifically, although there are many other phenomenal aspects of the park as a whole: Perhaps one of the best dog parks in the Charleston area for its wide open fields, the diversity of dogs that attend, and, of course, the large lakes for dogs to swim! Make sure you're prepared with $2 per person per entry (due to it being contained within a larger county park) and some bug spray, especially given the no-see-ums and mosquitos that like to hang by the water. I suggest you wear something you're willing to get messy as there are lots of wet and sandy dogs!

We attended Bo's Roast today and the Edisto Hall. What a great event and venue. There were 18 different chili contestants.... Yes we tried all 18! They had plenty of oysters, hotdogs, beer and popcorn. The was the second year we have attended and plan to make it an annual outing for us! Great event for a great cause.

Wow, is all I have to say. NOW, getting there is another matter. We were two miles away and it took us an hour and a half to get in. The traffic is crazy and you don't see a cop till about a quarter of a mile away from the entrance. People were rude and would rush in off the side streets if you left the slightest opening. Which you should allow one car to move in front and like a zipper effect letting the side street vehicles in. But some were rude and almost caused an accident. We were visiting and had nothing to do so we weather the line. Thought about parking along a side street and walking but it was COLD outside. Make sure you have a full tank of gas. The police officer said "yes, it's crazy but it moves and it gets bigger each year"! Once you get in the traffic does moves. It never seems to end which was a little confusing. We thought we were leaving at one point and ended up in a parking lot. The young boys directing traffic were not really paying attention so you just had to go with the flow. We never thought we would be able to find a parking spot but we did and were able to walk around to see the kids ride the carousal, rock climb, visit Santa and roast marshmallows. There was a sand sculpture and schools made large Christmas cards. Very talented. The cost is $25 per car up to 15 people. Very reasonable. You order your ticket through the app. or pay $5 extra dollars at the gate. If you have not been get prepared; make sure you have a jacket and gloves, have gone to the bathroom and have a full tank of gas. Get in line and wait to see three miles of a beautiful exhibit of almost 2 million Christmas lights. Merry Christmas 12/20/21

Went to play at the playground this afternoon. Some of the equipment could use updating and the park could definitely use more shade. I am sure during the summer most of the equipment is unusable because it's too hot. But I do appreciate that they have a variety of play equipment, with some equipment for small kids and then some challenging equipment for older kids too. Another note, bring bug spray. The no see ums are already biting so bad!

This review just relates to the Holiday Festival of Lights at the park, which begins at 5:30pm and closes at 10 or 11pm. The three-mile drive loop to view the lights was okay, but I've definitely seen better in other parts of the country. For me, too many of the light scenes and characters are stationary; they need more movement / action / blinking lights. For $20 per car ($15 if you bring a food donation), I expected more. The display I saw in Atlanta a few years ago, for the same price, had so much more than this one. Santa's Village and Winter Wonderland were a waste for me. Not much in the way of food or to see, just a lot of commercialization trying to get people to overpay for tree ornaments. Be prepared for stop-and-go traffic to get into the park, lots and lots of traffic. Bring your patience. In fact, bring someone else's too....you may need it. The parking lots can fill up too, so you may have to check all three.

Amazing value for $2. The dog park is separated into two sections, under 25 pounds and larger. There is plenty of space to play with other dogs or isolate yourself by one of the many benches or in the lake. Dog bags are supplied throughout the whole park. However, terrible owners still don't pick up their dogs mess. I don't fault the park, but the owners. Come on people, the bags are FREE!!! Lots of beautiful and friendly dogs. We had a blast and will be back!

If you want to see Christmas lights, first you'll want to wait until December. Next you'll want to go to JICP and drive around with your best buddy because these lights are awesome.

This is one of my favorite parks in Charleston - they have 3 incredible paved trails good for biking, roller skates and/or walking. THE best dog park my pups ever been to - they have a smaller park separated for smaller pups so they do not feel overwhelmed hangin with the big dogs. The larger park leaves ample space for running and has water access for the dogs to jump in and cool off on those hot days! they have an outdoor ropes course and bike rentals on site! In addition they park does a spectacular Christmas Light Show and host events throughout the summer!

This park has everything! Great location to Charleston, mount pleasant area, and Sullivan's island. You could stay at this park and enjoy things for a whole week. Nice people. Beautiful tree wooded area around the RVs. Book early to get a nice spot.

Beautiful dog park. Probably the best in Charleston. There's a big open area and a small lake for the dogs to cool off. The park has many other features as well, like camping. I haven't tried the campsite but it looks like a nice place for a short getaway or a staycation.

Good looking park with nice workers, enjoy blading outside every now and again but would only recommend a small portion of trails to ride on since the paths aren't very well maintained (the bumps on paths aren't marked with paint) (sand or debris covers areas here and there) (Careful crossing roads since it can be extremely rocky, along with a good chuck of older paths that can make someone's legs go numb from the vibration of riding them) (More maps around the park would be beneficial considering paths split and are lengthy at times)

The SMALL dog area is full of SNOOTY paw parents that obviously go there everyday and know each other. They are rude and disrespectful to all newcomers. The BIG Dog area is AMAIZING and huge! My dogs absolutely loved it!!! The paw parents were amazing and polite and all dogs were playful. Thanks to to big dog area we will definitely be back!

We found James Island County Park on the Internet and decided to try it. What a great place to camp! We had a beautiful site for our camper with space to call our own. The place was well maintained and their are a lot of activities without leaving the park. We kayaked and explored the vast area, all the while conveniently a short drive from downtown Charleston!

It would be an understatement to say going to Charleston with two dogs is an adventure. But that is all I can say about it. Learning how to schedule when and where you eat, grab coffee, take pictures is a lot. But I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Having O.T. and Ella Wren with us made the trip nonstop fun. We knew they needed some time off the leash, to run full force and wear their 10 year old selves out. Upon our Yelp search, this was the first place to pop up. And I soon found out why. This Park is massive. There are campsites, a climbing wall, water park, and much more. But we came for the dog park (obviously). We started with the "small dog" side first (under 25 pounds). Plenty of space, some benches for the humans to sit dog, of course poop bags and trash cans, and lots of grassy area. What scared me though (listen, I'm new to the doggy world) is there wasn't a perimeter fence. There was one keeping them in, but along the creek and woods...wide open. Since one of my two is a small beagle, I was taking no chances with her primal instincts returning. We decided to venture over to the "big dog" side. The area is much larger and it is actually bordered on one side by a lake (which some of the dogs were thoroughly enjoying). It was a great space and we found the humans (aka owners) to be friendly and also watchful of their dog's behavior. That isn't always the case so we were appreciative for that. I will be marking this on my Charleston collection for sure.

Wowwwooof! Awesome place for all fur kids! Tons of open space, clean, lots of parking, doggy beaches and water to drink and swim in. Water fountain/wash area with a short hose in larger area. Poop bag dispensers and garbage cans at the gated/stall entrance. Just plain awesome. Two areas: one for small dogs (25lbs or less) and the other area is for bigger dogs. Although when we got there, the small dog area (which is smaller in size) was empty so we ventured into the larger area, where there were dogs of every size to play with. The water and beach areas seemed to have different vibes: far left was a bit calmer, center beach was very action-packed and populated and far right was a bit less active than center. Bipeds are all really friendly and the overall energy is so happy. How could it not be? There's dogs everywhere! Only negatives: Small dog area has fence gaps where small dogs can easily slip out/under. Wish there was a water fountain/wash area in this smaller space too. Also, the dog wash station sits in part concrete and part mud. A larger concrete platform would make sense.

Went here for the first time with the Charleston Frenchie Meet. The dog park has a large and.small dog section which is nice. The entry to the small dog section is double gated to add extra security to ensure you fur baby doesn't get away. Everyone was super friendly, most of the dogs played well together and they were all exhausted once play was over. Definitely excited to go back.for the next meet

I love this place. I feel like it's a great deal with lots of fun activities for all kinds of age groups and interests. Come to walk the trails, sit by the water, play with your dog in the dog park... I'm so glad we got the Gold Pass, definitely worth it!

This place holds special memories. It's a great place to go to enjoy the outdoors...I love the camping.

I love taking my dog here! Everyone is always great about social distancing but being friendly. The dogs are always great too there's never any fights. I highly suggest the dog park if your dog is high energy there's tons of space to run around.

It's a nice place for the winter lights. Has a few shops and the rest resembling a neo-festival type of place. Good to visit if the weather is nice.

Huge #ThankYouThursday to James Island County Park for everything you do. It's only right that I post a picture of my pup Merlin as this is her favorite place in Charleston! She loves running around the park and going swimming. She knows we are coming to her favorite place as we come down the drive. She begins to vigorously wiggle and Yelp to see her friends. We come here almost every weekend and always feel welcomed. Everyone at the park does a great job of welcoming guests and keeping it beautiful. This is truly an oasis in Charleston!!

It's not like Charleston is a massive city like New York with sky scrapers but it's still amazing to me that this little gem exists and is only a few miles from the historic downtown Part of the city. This park is very well maintained. Clean, organized, well staffed. Great area. There's a ton to do: there is a dog park with a little beach on a lake. That same lake has boating and kayaking. My favorite part is the rock climbing wall. This is no ordinary Rockwall like you would see at a carnival or at an amusement park. This is a rock wall that even experienced climbers can have fun on. There are some challenging routes all color coordinated. The wall is high too! All top rope. Employees are available to belay. There's also a Bouldering wall but it's not the best. A few slack lines are set up too. This is very fun place for an adventurous day of physical activity.

Before I began to frequent the dog park portion of James Island County Park, I'd heard folks speak of it quite fondly within different circles of friends. Needless to say that after gladly forking over the $1.00 enterance fee I knew I was to remain a permanent fixture along with my faithful companion. So expansive is the dog park area, my hyper social pup could play for an hour and not sniff the same dog twice. I long for the day to come when my new dog can enjoy this special place. It's a calming area to my system, quite serene for both human and cainine alike. The dogs are not limited to the fenced in portion of the dog run and are free to roam the majority of the parks areas while leashed. Coushy hard foam sits beneath the kiddy playground area creating a unspoken calmness for those with daring little ones. Continue to the open fields to toss a football around to work up an appetite and/or thurst. One can continue on to the picnic area to set up camp for some home brought snacks. Renting a cycle boat is great fun as you and your crew mates make your way to open water as you head upstream within a beautiful natural stream. Viewing the dog park from the middle of the lake upon arrival feels like a modest success if your the only peddler asvwas the case. Just reserve enough in your energy tank to leg cycle it back to base, hop out and take the short walk back to the spacious parking area. Everything within the James Island Park is so well run and extremely clean, to the tune of never coming across as much as a randomly strewn wrapper gum wrapper.

James Island County Park is great any time of the year--for the Holiday Lights in the winter, for the dog park in the summer, or for walking/biking year round. DOG PARK: The dog park itself is huge and has a great water area. The dog can spread out easily. But, like in any dog park, there is at least one highly-aggressive dog and/or a horrible dog owner. Watch out for these dogs and their humans, and be sure your dog responds well to verbal commands. FESTIVAL: The festival continues to improve over the years. They keep some of the classic old lights while adding new ones, too. All outdoor areas in the village are dog-friendly. (The train, the souvenir shop, and the sweets shop do not allow dogs inside.) Check out the s'mores fire pit area and huge Christmas cards. If you're a parks member, you get 1 admission to the Festival of Lights free per year.

Festival of Lights Jogging trails 10 Rock Climbing walls Dog Park and Yappy Hours Green Festival and so much more. James Island Country Park offers so much from kayaking to dog walking to jogging to picnics. This is such a diverse county park with so many options. For $12.00 you can rock climb until the sun goes down. It is $1.00 a person unless you have an annual pass. This is truly a county park that has it going on. Big fan.

James Island County Park Dog Park on James Island is one of my favorite dog parks in the area as there is plenty of space for many dogs to run around and be free. I really like the space next to the water and all of the features that it has. This is one of the best features of James Island County Park and worth the visit.

We went to the park today specifically to play in the lake. Kayak rentals are only $3.50 per half hour or $5.50 per hour. A $5 deposit is also required and will be kept if the boat is not returned on time. The guy at the office was very helpful and called someone to assist down at the dock. He clarified that they did not rent them for multiple hours, but if I did not get back after an hour, he would just keep my deposit. We ended up being out for over two hours for only a $10.50 fee. It was perfect. The Festival of Lights is going on now, so the road near the office is closed to vehicular traffic. When coming through the main gate, go to the right and around to avoid the closure and diversion. The entrance fee is now $2 per person, but a Charleaton County Gold pass will get you unlimited access for a year. The pass includes special events, so it is definitely worth the money. There is a very active dog park, fishing dock, climbing wall, campground and cabins for rent. A little something for anyone! Kids love the water park during warm months, and the Festival of Lights in the cold months. It's situated in the heart of James Island off of the Stono River.

The whole family enjoyed a morning out at the dog park in the James Island County Park. Our girls had a blast seeing all the different dogs and our pup had the best time running in and out of the water chasing all the other dogs! We can't wait to go back! Make sure you bring a towel or two!

We absolutely loved James island! We stayed at the campground for a week and never had any issues!

We went during holiday lights. It was really beautiful but crowded. Traffic could have been handled better.

We loved the open area to play with our dog. We loved that the park had so many options for activities. We would love to come back to the campground and stay there. It was so nice and had so many options of camping and places for the kids to play.

Update: Splash zone is a great place to take the family. Lots of life guards and lots of fun things to do for the kids. My only concern is a new rule this year that the kids cannot go down the small slides with life preservers/ arm floats. The state it is to avoid damage to the slide, but I think this is an unsafe rule for children who can't swim well. Although the water at the slides is less than 1 foot deep, there is a depleted pool right next to it. I think this is dangerous. This is one of the best county parks we have been too. So many different things to do with the family

Park, Campground, dog park with swimming area for the dogs, adventure center, walking/biking trails, water park, playgrounds, fishing dock, green space galore for Ultimate Frisbee, disc golf, paddle board waterways, HFOL. This park has about everything to satisfy almost everyone. The location is fabulous too, minutes from downtown and the beach. Camp offers full hookups as well as a primitive area for tents. There are also cabins available. They also have conference centers and other areas for family or business events. iMy favorite park

I wish I lived closer to this park! There are so many activities that you can do outside here - water park, dog park, biking, running, or walking. I've been out here to run 5Ks, and also to support friends in the Charleston Sprint Tri Series. This is a great park with a lot to offer! Every so often they have special events like Yappy Hour and the Festival Of Lights. Check out the schedule on social media to find upcoming events. There is so much to do here, and the park is beautiful!

Really nice park, great experience staying here and exploring Charleston. The facilities are very well done and you have a lot options inside the park if you don't want to leave such as fishing, paddle board, kayaking, biking, walking.