Lake Keowee in South Carolina

Trip Overview

I decided that, cold weather be damned, I was going to hit the water on a crisp morning before dawn and Lake Keowee was the lake for it.

I put in at 6 am at the Duke Energy Employee Recreation Area (one of many benefits of working for DE) and with only a headlamp set out for the upper lake area.

The paddle from the boat landing to the Hwy 130 bridge was uneventful until the local fishing tourney flotilla tore through at way more than idle speed. There must have been 10 boats in 30 seconds come through the tiny choke point and at zero dark thirty gave me a bit of a wake up call.

I continued paddling to the nuclear station discharge area and made a speed run for one of two tiny islands a little bit north. After a brief pitstop on what I called White Thai Island and a small bite to eat I continued north for another mile or so before turning around and heading back.

Light rain and some chop made my trip back interesting but it also essentially eliminated any boat traffic. All in all it was an excellent way to spend a December morning.

Fees:

You need to be a Duke Energy employee to use the access I put in at.

Directions:

N/A due to restricted boat access for the public.

Further up Hwy 183 is a public access point called Warpath Rd

Launches:

Off Hwy 183 is a public access point called Warpath Rd