This past weekend we planned a camping trip with some friends to visit
Richard B. Russell State Park. The park sits on the edge of
Lake Russell, a 26k+ acre lake with about 540 miles of undeveloped shoreline. The lake sits on the Savannah River on the border between Georgia and South Carolina. There are two camping options: Richard B. Russell State Park in Georgia or
Calhoun Falls State Park in South Carolina. We opted for Richard B Russell since it was closer.
The lake feels really private and quiet due to the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers keeps a 300 foot right of way around the lake that prevents any development on the lake shore. So unlike places like Lake Oconee or Lake Lanier where the shoreline is dotted with giant homes and docks, all you see is forests. This also translates to less wake when you're out on the water. I saw a lot of bass boats on the lake and for good reason and the state record Striper was caught on these waters. The only boats I saw that weren't bass boats were the ones at the campground docks. I even took our canoe out with the little ones for a bit since the water was so calm. Now granted, we were there the 4th weekend in September, which is probably not peak season.
The campground has 28 sites with water/electric hookups. There are also 20 cottages at the park. We were in site 22 with friends in 23 and 24 across the road from us. Our site was comfortable for our small camper and a tent. We were not far from the bathhouse. Note there is only a single bathhouse though for all 28 sites to share. It does have a laundry and showers. The campground has WiFi via access points scattered about. There was a nice group picnic shelter behind our site also. A few of the sites do overlook the lake but there's still a walk down to the beach/docks via various paths. Most folks beached their boats, though I saw a few pontoons tied up at a couple of the docks available. There is a boat ramp in the campground and a parking area for boat trailers so that you don't have to figure out how to cram that into your site with the camper. The one downside is that the road through the campground is a single large loop and is hilly. This makes it a bit challenging for kids with bikes/scooters to ride around. Combine that with some folks driving too fast to see over hill or around the curve and it makes the campground a bit less kid friendly than others we've been in.
There is a day use area that's not far via boat from the campground but does require about 5 mins via car. The day use area has covered pavilions, playgrounds in shade of trees, picnic areas, and a nice beach. (We were the only ones on the beach the morning we went.) The beach area was clean but there are no trees/shady areas near it. I saw two pavilions off to the sides that you could retreat to for shade. So bring a beach tent or umbrella if you need shelter from the sun. A short walk from the beach is a boat dock so if you want to use the boat to get there from the campground (it's about 2 mins via boat) you have a place to tie up. The beach and water were very clean and clear. The kids loved chasing minnows in the water.
Overall, we had a great weekend and the staff we interacted with were very nice and helpful. The kids had a fun time and really enjoyed playing in the lake. We don't always go with other families but it was nice to have 5 families and let the kids play together and roam between the sites. We all agreed it was definitely a place to come back to for a weekend.
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