The Beaver crew headed up into the Golden Corner of the state this weekend to visit my (Benjamin’s) mom and step-dad, who live in Walhalla. There were three parks up in this area that we hadn’t visited yet, and so we–accompanied by my mom (whom the girls call Bunny)–set out on a beautiful spring day to see what we can find.
Our first stop of the morning was Devils Fork, located up on Lake Jocassee. Though I great up nearby, this was my first visit to this lake. Devils Fork is the only public access to the lake, and for the most part, the boat access is the primary draw to the park. There is a trail or two, one named for the Oconee Bell wildflower, which is an endangered flower that only blooms in early spring and is found near the trail. That flower can be seen in the park’s stamp. Since those flowers had already bloomed, we didn’t do that hike.
We primarily just took in the view located from the shore near where we parked. The Blue Ridge Mountains are so beautiful all around, and if we ever could make it up here with a motorized boat, we could go exploring to some of the waterfalls that are accessible from the water. The water itself is super clear, and many people learn to scuba dive here.
We had wanted to canoe, but the outfitter there at the park was charging $50 for two hours in a canoe…no thanks! (By comparison, the canoes at Sesquicentennial State Park in Columbia are only $10 for two hours.)
The funny (or not-funny, depending on who you ask) part of the day was when I asked the four girls to sit in some chairs overlooking the lake. They were talking to each other, and I asked them to stop for a picture. So I did. (Click below for that picture.)
Little did I know that the reason they were talking to each other was that both my mom and Tiffany ripped their pants on a screw that was sticking out from the side of each of their chairs. Tiffany, ever the prepared one, had brought changes of clothes for our girls…but neither she nor my mom had clothes for themselves! So, for the rest of the day, my mom was just strategically wearing her camera bag or tying a jacket around the hole in her pants. (Needless to say, the park store took the chairs down once we alerted them to the screws sticking out.)
We had a short visit here, but we hope to return again with a boat. There’s also a place called Jumping Off Rock Overlook that, while not a part of the state park, offers a beautiful view from above of the lake and its surroundings. We had a full card today, though, so we set off to our second park–Keowee-Toxaway.
Click below to see the ripped-pants picture, a tired Sage that didn’t sleep enough the night before, and two girls that can’t not touch a body of water.
Beavers in the Park 