Whetstone Horse Camp

Reviewed by SCguide1 on August 15, 2009

(4 out of 4 members found this review useful.)
Whetstone Horse Camp is geared up strictly for equestrian use but there is no problem for a non-horse camper to enjoy the place during mid-week in the summer. I would, however, avoid Whetstone as a non-horse camper during weekends. For horseback riders and campers, Whetstone is a must-visit place anytime.

For “out-of-town” horse campers making plans to visit Whetstone, I highly recommend making a reservation for one of the sites in the upper loop. Those sites are very nice. Site #15 looked to be the best. Nice and level, and spacious yet well shaded. A water spigot is close and a clean vault toilet is right across the loop road. Site #15 is also right on a horse path that will lead riders to the various routes along 28 miles of trails.

Earls Ford on the Chattooga River is only a 1.3 mile drive from the campground, plus a 5 minute walk from the trail head. This makes Whetstone a good place to base-camp for non-horse folks. Floating the river, fishing from the bank, or hiking/biking (and sharing with horseback riders) the trails is a great way to spend time in this area.

I stayed at Whetstone 4 nights recently and had a great time. I set up camp in the lower loop and had that loop all to my own the entire week. There was only one person camping in the upper section of the campground. The place was quiet for sure.

I used my camp to ‘base’ for exploration of the Chattooga River and that worked out very well.

One word of caution: the campground was ‘buggy’. Common black house flies were numerous during the warmth of day. For that reason, and that reason alone, I would not recommend hanging around camp all day. I tried that, and didn’t like it…and flies usually don’t bother me at all! When it cooled down around dusk, the flies went away and the evenings were very pleasant.

If I were to revisit Whetstone Horse Camp as a non-horse camper, I would also reserve a site in the upper loop, and I would target my visit for mid-week.
SEPTEMBER 2009 UPDATE: Whetstone will be closing this winter for restoration. Call the Andrew Pickens Rangers for details.

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