My husband and I are staying (late Sept, 2023) at the Club Wyndham-Sapphire Valley, and we were…read moregiven a "Sapphire Valley Master Association Amenity Card" for use of amenities while staying on-site. One of the amenities is access to Fairfield Lake, an 80 acre lake at 3,160' elevation in Sapphire, NC. The lake's length is 1 mile, and it is 35' at its deepest point. The amenity card also allows us to use the private beach, picnic tables, a grill, rest room, and to rent motor boats, canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, fishing poles, etc. at the boat house. There is also a Lake Trail around the lake, which is the private property of Camp Merrie-Woode. However, the trail is open to the public (at your own risk) for hiking purposes only during daylight hours from August 15th to May 15th, when camp is not in session. Dogs are allowed but must be on leashes. We saw two brochures, one of which stated that the trail is a 3.3 mile loop while another said that it's 3.8; my Fitbit recorded 3.55 miles. The trail is mostly flat, with an occasional incline or descent, and has a variety of trail surfaces (gravel, pine needles, small rocks, tree limbs, etc.). Besides the lake, there are a few highlights on the trail -- (1) Fairfield Falls. With a height of 25', the waterfall is created by the stream of the Trays Island Creek, a tributary of the Horsepasture River, which runs along the western side of the all Bald directly into Lake Fairfield. (2) Presley Pass. The Iron Bridge across the stream above the waterfall was built by Camp Merrie-Woode caretaker, James Presley, in the mid-1950s. (3) Intersection with the trailhead for the Old Bald Trail, a more strenuous 3 mile hike. The trail is mostly well-marked with small green-white tags. We walked clockwise, and got a bit confused relatively close to our ending point (after a paved road when the signs seemed to disappear).

We did the walk while in Sapphire for the week, and it was beautiful! Luckily, the camp was closed,…read moreso we are able to do the entire loop around the lake. It ends up being about 3.5 miles from end to end. There are some steep areas, and some areas are challenging to navigate due to the rocks, but it was worth it. There is even a waterfall you pass if you need another reason to check this out. The photos do not do justice to the beauty.

My family and I went for daily walks along one of the peninsula. The morning mist is beautiful…read more Each day the view is different. The water was relatively and we walked on the Georgia red clay shores. A quick 1.2 mile jaunt each day.

Beautiful park! Plenty of well marked trails, lush green forest and numerous parking lots. Kind…read morehikers, walkers and runners on the trail + plenty to explore. My only issue is WHY are there so much paid staff to issue parking tickets in a state park?!?!? They seemed to be a bit too eager on a beautiful Saturday morning to issue whatever was on those adhesive stickers . Otherwise, well worth the drive!

Drove here on a Wednesday mid morning to hike the Sulphur Springs trail. There's a $6 entry fee to…read moreenter the park which they clearly put to good use. The park is extremely well-maintained -- great paved roads, excellent trail markings, tons of shelters and picnic areas. There was still some hurricane damage, unfortunately. I parked in the Sulphur Sorings trailhead lot and did the approximately four mile loop. I then visited the park visitor center to get a state parks book and a stamp for Paris Mountain. There was a lake with lots of kids swimming. Overall a great park to visit. I'll definitely be back to hike more trails.

Three stars for the Lake Thickety Fishing Rodeo. I hope you take time to see my video of this…read moreevent. As I predicted; there were more people fishing than the public access area could handle. There were several game wardens onsite and a couple of deputies. What I was surprised about most was the cordiality between of the grownups . Strangers helping each other untangling crossed fishing lines. Grownups weren't allowed to fish but they could help their youngsters do so. I saw a lot of catfish being caught. No shocker there as the lake had been the day before stocked. To their credit the officials in charge were very helpful and mingled with the people fishing. Also to their credit the first 100 participants got a nice rod and reel combo I estimate to be a fifty dollar value each. Not begrudging any but that's where a lot of hard earned tax dollars got spent.

An easy going and fun 24 hour public lake access. Good for fishing, swimming, and boating/jet…read moreskiing!

Lake Murray Dam walkway, travel down Lake Murray Blvd will run into it…read more I come here to run occasionally as it is scenic, breezy, straight, and runners frequent. I just started parking on the Irmo side, parking to left of guard house is free. On a weekend I can see this lot filling up quickly it's not a lot of spaces free. I do think this side is more stretching friendly than the Lexington side. Speaking of Lexington side I always parked there with larger overflow lot but there was construction there last time that closed half the spaces. The walkway across dam is wide enough for about three people walking side by side but for runners it can get hard to pass the more populated. I've seen roller skaters out there, strollers, dog walkers although there is no grass only concrete so pick up the doo. The mileage is about 3.4 miles across and back; there isn't any man made shade except the short barrier wall between lake and walkway. If you come during the day will be in full sun so recommend morning or evening for shadier walks/runs. It's an easy run across, is windy certain spots so make sure hat is tight or you will lose it. Worth visiting.

Beautiful public park next to a dam - today's local adventure. My fur friend Cleo and I were out…read moreand about exploring neighboring cities and happened upon this smaller park area. The lake views are gorgeous! There's a small pier people fish from. Although windy, some people were picnicking in a couple spots. Geese and butterflies greeted us as we strolled by the water for a bit. Was a lovely, relaxing morning in local nature before the storm rolled in.

Friendly and quick service! We rented a pontoon boat and it was great. The boat was nice and clean…read moreand we had a great day on the lake! It was a little pricey to rent, but we would do it again.

We had a great time with easy on and easy off the lake. We will do this again! Thanks for a great…read moreday!