Croft State Park, located near Spartanburg, South Carolina, offers hiking, camping, mountain biking, fishing, and boating. Lake Craig and Lake Johnson are the two major water basins.
This area was once homesteads and farmland which was converted into Camp Croft, an army basic training facility during World War II. The training camp shut down in 1947 and the state park opened two years later.
Croft State Park
2024 Price: $3 per person
There is a park office, but it is small and a sign on the door during my trip asked visitors to limit to one family group inside at a time. The parking area for the office is limited, fitting only 3 or 4 vehicles at a time.
Croft State Park Hiking Trails
There are several types of trails in the park – hiking, equestrian, biking, and multi-use trails. Of these trails, 2.5 miles are hiking-only trails. I hiked the Lake Craig Trail and Nature Trail on my first visit.
Lake Craig Trail
I started at Lake Craig. This 165-acre lake has hiking, fishing, and boating activities. There is a paved path along the shoreline with benches and swings for a relaxing moment.
For those craving an actual trail, the Lake Craig Trail starts at the far end of the parking lot. The easy 0.75-mile dirt trail winds through the woods. A few areas have spur paths down to the water for a closer look. I found a beautiful great blue heron and was able to snap a couple quick photos.
Also in the woods, a tiny Fowler’s toad hopped across my path.
From there the trail connects with an equestrian trail, the Foster Mill Loop. This sand path crosses an embankment along the water. It had stunning views of the lake!
Dozens of dragonflies and beautiful butterflies fluttered by. My favorite was a common buckeye butterfly. There were also red-tailed hawks, ospreys, and vultures in the air.
From the end of the embankment, I turned and made my way back to the parking area.
Nature Trail
Next, I jumped back into the car and drove past the office toward the stables. Because not all the trails have clear signage, know the Nature Trail is the third to the right. Its gravel parking area holds about four vehicles.
The 1.5-mile loop is listed as an easy difficulty trail on the park website, but I would consider it on the low side of moderate due to the inclines and stairs.
Shortly after starting, there was a spur trail down to Fairforest Creek. We’d recently had hurricane rains, so the water was almost orange with clay runoff. Tiger swallowtail butterflies danced near some fallen trees.
As I returned to the main dirt trail, I spooked a deer who immediately bounded away. The Nature Trail has good blazing/markers and crosses several wooden footbridges over streams.
As the loop split, I went counterclockwise (to the right). This kept me close to the creek. On this side of the loop, there are several benches overlooking the water.
Farther down the trail, there was an opening to Fairforest Creek directly on the path. I spent some time watching water cascade through the rocky shoals.
After the break for the creek, the trail ascends back into the woods. I spotted a baby fence lizard and dozens more tiny toads, both Fowler’s and American toads. Every few steps it felt like another one jumped away.
There were some overgrown areas on the back half of the trail that needed maintenance, but it was still workable.
A stair section climbs to the upper portion. Then I made my way back to the split and quickly finished the trail.
Note: For novice hikers, I recommend going clockwise (left) at the split instead. Both directions have steady inclines, but I think my route (right) was more difficult. From where you turn away from the creek, there is no bench until you are close to the split again.