Chester State Park - sign for Chester State Park, managed by the South Carolina State Park Service. The sign is black with white lettering and features the South Carolina State Park Service logo on the top left corner, which includes an image of a palmetto tree and crescent. It is mounted on a stone structure with green trees and grass in the background under a clear sky.

Chester State Park Field Report

First a Side Trip

Landsford Canal State Park Spider Lillies 2024 - river adorned with clusters of white water lilies with yellow centers, surrounded by lush green foliage. Sunlight dances on the water’s surface, highlighting the rocks peeking above. A dense treeline under a clear blue sky forms the backdrop, creating a sense of seclusion and peace. The image encapsulates the serene beauty of an aquatic ecosystem in full bloom.
Despite the vibrant beauty captured in this image, the 2024 display of spider lilies was somewhat subdued compared to previous years. Unusually heavy rainfall caused the Catawba River levels to rise, submerging the delicate lilies beneath its waters.

Today’s adventure began with a return visit to Landsford Canal to check in the status of the Spider Lilies. I don’t want to say too much about them because depending on when you read this, there could be a lot more lilies blooming or a lot less. For up to the most current info on the Spider Lilies, South Carolina State Parks has a webpage with current conditions. Be sure to check it out before visiting.

I’ll include a video of the Catawba River from the overlook, but the lilies were not as impressive as I’ve seen them before. It was hard getting good pictures because the morning sun was right in font of my camera, but I’ll include a couple pictures as well. Although the lilies weren’t all that impressive, it seems that the entire state had the same idea as I did. I’ve never seen Landsford as busy as it was, but I’ve always felt that the park deserved a lot more traffic than it gets.

On the way back from the lily observation deck, I stopped by the Bald Eagle nest. I had been told that there was at least one fledgling eagle still in the nest. Sure enough, there was one that would pop its head up every once in a while. Unfortunately the adults didn’t show up wile I was there, but I had seen some type of raptor flying over the river earlier. I’m not sure if it was one of the adult Bald Eagles or not, but I like to think it was.

On to Chester State Park

Chester State Park - sign for Chester State Park, managed by the South Carolina State Park Service. The sign is black with white lettering and features the South Carolina State Park Service logo on the top left corner, which includes an image of a palmetto tree and crescent. It is mounted on a stone structure with green trees and grass in the background under a clear sky.

After my brief stop at Landsford Canal, I made my way to nearby Chester State Park for my first visit. I found the park office/store right as the state park road splits leading to the camping area and to the day use/picnic area. My first impression looking at the map on the kiosk outside was that the park is on the smaller side. A good bit of the park’s acreage is taken up by the lake. There’s only one short hiking trail, but a rather large day use area. They also had smaller park maps available at the kiosk which was a real surprise, but as the park is fairly compact, I’m not sure it was needed. One thing I didn’t notice until stopping again as I was leaving was a Rivian car charger. It’s a bit far from the day use area to be of use, but campers might be able to make use of it.

Chester State Park Picnicking - a wooden pavilion with a gabled roof and picnic tables, located by a calm body of water reflecting the surrounding trees. The foreground is a well-maintained grassy area with patches of sunlight, and the background is a dense forest under a partly cloudy sky.

As I drove along the winding park road, the first thing I saw was Picnic Shelter #1. My first impression was that this would make a great spot for a family picnic or work related event. It’s far enough away from the main day use area and the campground to offer a bit of privacy. It overlooks the lake but is far enough away so that there is a nice buffer zone between the shelter and the lake with a little bit of shade. And there are restrooms not too far away that would more or less be used only by the folks in the shelter.

The grass has patchy areas and there’s only one small trash can in the shelter or anywhere nearby actually. However, after talking with a park-goer later, I was warned not to use the bathroom at this shelter because of snakes. So I’d say this still a great place for a small group picnic away from too many other people, just drive or walk to the main day area to use the bathroom, and plan on carrying your trash out with you.

Chester State Park Picnicking - a wooden pavilion with a gabled roof, open on all sides and supported by several columns. Inside the pavilion, there are additional picnic tables for visitors. Adjacent to the pavilion is a grill, ready for use. A chimney protrudes from the pavilion, suggesting the presence of a cozy fireplace. The pavilion is surrounded by tall pine trees providing dappled shade. A calm lake is partially visible in the background
Picnic Shelter #2 in the main day use section of the park.

From here I made my way to main day use area of the park. There are lots of picnic tables, 2 large picnic shelters, and some smaller shelters all on a lightly wooded lot beside the lake. The parking lot is large so parking shouldn’t be a problem.

The picnic shelters range from one built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression to a more modern large shelter near the bridge across the narrow part of the lake. There are also two restroom facilities – one that looks to date back to maybe the Depression, the other looks typical of the mid 70’s design that I’m sure you’d recognize if you’ve visited many SC State Parks.

Chester State Park - playground surrounded by towering pine trees under a clear blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The playground boasts multiple slides, including a large tube slide, and climbing structures, all set on a bed of wood chips. A wooden picnic table is situated on the grassy foreground, inviting visitors for a leisurely meal. The tranquil scene is bordered by a reflective body of water in the background

I strolled through the wooded lake shore past the shelters both large and small and the rather large playground area to find the parks signature feature. A bridge that runs across part of the lake. It doesn’t split the lake in half as I expected from some of the photos that I had seen, but instead cuts across one of the coves of the lake. Still really nice and leaves the main part of the lake open for boating. The middle of the bridge has a small seating area and a sign showing the common fish found in the lake.

Chester State Park Lake - a bridge extending across a section of a lake under a partly cloudy sky. A seating area is subtly visible in the middle of the bridge, providing a spot for visitors to pause and enjoy the surrounding natural beauty. In the foreground, a solitary black bench is nestled in a lush green grassy area

Speaking to someone else on the bridge, I learned that there isn’t a trail on the other side of the bride, so I didn’t bother following it to the other side. I was also told that the lake isn’t normally as muddy as on the day of my visit, but the color was due to the recent heavy rains.

Chester State Park Bridge - a wooden boardwalk extending straight into the distance, leading towards a dense treeline across a calm body of water. The sky above is a vibrant blue with minimal cloud cover. Sunlight casts shadows on the boardwalk, enhancing its texture and the pattern of the railing. To the left of the boardwalk, tall green reeds are visible at the water’s edge

After making my way back to the main area of the park, I decided to check out the nature trail. It runs from the boathouse at the far end of the day use area along the lake shore to Picnic Shelter #1, then on to the campground passing the cabins, and ends at the spillway. The trail is not particularly long and while it’s parallel to the lake, you mostly have an obstructed view due to trees.

When I reached Picnic Shelter #1, I decided to head back via the park road to check out the primitive camping area and disk golf course. This camping area would be nice for a group with three fire pits surrounded by picnic tables in a large open field. A wooden pavilion sits along the far edge of the field.

Chester State Park Group Camp - a wooden picnic table in the foreground, surrounded by a vibrant green grassy area. The background is filled with a dense collection of tall trees with lush foliage under a bright blue sky scattered with wispy white clouds. An open-air pavilion with a dark roof is partially visible on the right
The Organized Camp area with the pavilion and a fire pit visible on the left side of the clearing in the background.

The disk golf course according to the map is a little bit away from the group camp area through a small group of trees but due to its size one of the holes is right at the entrance to the group campground. That makes since since these campers would most likely be the ones using the course.

Chester State Park Lake - lakeside scene, where the lush green lawn in the foreground is home to a family of geese. Three adult geese and two goslings are seen leisurely grazing, embodying the peaceful coexistence of wildlife. The calm lake in the background mirrors the clear sky, adding to the tranquility of the scene. An empty bench sits in solitude

I decided to head back to the car and drive over to the main RV campground when I spotted a family of Canada Geese with two gosling in the lake, so I followed to get a couple pictures. When I finally made it back to the campground, I saw that it was much busier than I had expected, and since I don’t like walking around taking taking pictures and annoying people trying to enjoy themselves, I decided to call it a day.