Jocassee Family Adventure Camp is the ultimate summer bucket list item. Only an hour from Greenville, SC, the whole family can delight in the beauty of Lake Jocassee with Jocassee Wild Child. Here’s all you need to know to have the perfect summer day!
Thank you to Jocassee Wild Child and Jocassee Lake Tours for inviting us on the tour to do this review. All opinions are our own.
I’ve thought long and hard about how to write this story to capture the absolute euphoric delight of spending a day on Lake Jocassee with Jocassee Wild Child director and Naturalist Kerry McKenzie. It’s a difficult task only because I lack the words to tell you just how incredible this day was. Through my work with Kidding Around and my adventurous spirit, I get to do a lot of amazing things but this Family Adventure Camp topped them all.
If you’re looking for that special family summer adventure that you and your kids will treasure for years and years to come, this is one hundred percent it because it has swimming at our most beautiful treasure in the Upstate, jumping in waterfalls, learning about the history and rainforest that is Lake Jocassee, and visiting places so few people actually get to explore.
And if you are the adventurous one in your family and your partner isn’t, this is the tour for them. No hiking is involved and you don’t need to go jumping off boats to enjoy it, although they very well may want to do it. Everyone will have fun!
Here’s why this should be on your family’s summer bucket list.
Enjoying the amazing waterfalls
About Jocassee Wild Child
Jocassee Wild Child is a nonprofit geared towards kids that teaches them all about nature using the extraordinary ecosystem that is the Jocassee Gorges. Their vision is to “inspire youth and adults to make deep, lasting connections to wilderness areas, and to preserve, protect, and share beautiful wild areas like the Jocassee Gorges for generations to come.”
Kerry McKenzie is one of the guides at Jocassee Lake Tours and runs Jocassee Wild Child. She has a contagious passion for the Jocassee Gorges and helping kids especially to understand why they are so special and why they need to be protected. The environment there is very unique – one of only two temperate rainforests in the lower 48 states (the only other one is in Washington State) – and holds a huge variety of species of plants and flowers that are only found here. Many species of salamanders and birds also call this area home.
Learning about which leaves you can eat
Besides the environment, the history of the area is fascinating. The lake was made by flooding a town, which still stands underwater. Kerry has been on tours where people have found arrowheads and is able to correctly identify them and which Native American tribe they came from through a friend of hers, a Cherokee Chief, who lives in Spartanburg. So cool.
As the popularity of Lake Jocassee has grown, the need to understand why this place is so special and to do our part to protect it by leaving no trace and taking care of the environment also grows.
Exploring Places Not Many People Have Been
While lots of people visit Lake Jocassee, not many are able to get out there by boat. And those that are able to kayak or paddleboard often don’t have the endurance to make it out to the many waterfalls that pour into the lake just because they are so far away from the docks.
The beauty of Lake Jocassee, in part, lies in the simple fact that it is largely undeveloped. There are a few homes on the lake but that’s it. This leaves miles and miles of undisturbed shoreline with waterfalls and coves that are just waiting to be explored. And explore we did!
Jocassee Family Adventure Camp is largely directed by guests. Kerry has a wealth of interesting information to share and places to take her guests but if you want to go jump off the boat in the middle of the lake, then that’s what you’ll do! And we did that because it was a hot day when we went and the water felt amazing.
Small beach we stopped at
After cooling off and learning that we had jumped into the lake right above the town that was flooded, we then headed off to a beach. It was a small beach because the water at the lake was high but nonetheless, it was a beach and the sand felt amazing on our feet. We got little bags with Odyssey the Otter, the mascot of Jocassee Wild Child, on them to collect any treasures we found.
At the beach, we learned that you can eat Sourwood and Sassafras leaves. Tasty! Honestly, they were tasty. We also got to see where peregrine falcons nest, which was super cool as I think those birds are fascinating and I’m slightly obsessed with the book, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (it’s like The Hatchet).
Jumping in Waterfalls
Nothing says summer in the Upstate like jumping into chilly waterfalls, which is exactly what we did on this fantastic Family Adventure Camp.
Kerry designed a challenge for us to complete that involved jumping in the water at Laurel Fork Falls and swimming right up to its base. It’s a beautiful waterfall that curves down from the mountain and then makes a last turn to plummet into the lake between cliffs. I had seen photos but had never been. I have wanted to see this waterfall for years and let me tell you, friends, it was better than the photos, better than the videos, better than any description I had read.
The falls were spectacular. The way the water poured into the lake in between the chasm of the rocks was majestic and beautiful and awesome. And we got to swim right up to it – which was freezing. As you approach the bottom of the falls, the water gets chillier and chillier but I forgot about it all as I stood on a submerged log and just gazed up at that beautiful sight. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
The best part is that as you swim back out into the cove, the water gets warmer and warmer and it feels great. Challenge completed!
We went to a huge jumping rock next where most of the kids and one brave mom (not me) plunged from on high into the water. And then we boated off to one more waterfall where we swam right up to its base and had a nice head massage with the water falling from the high rocks. There’s a fun spot to jump into the water here as well but just not as high.
Jumping in waterfalls
However, the kids wanted to jump from the boat into the cove instead so, with the tour being whatever we wanted to do, this is what we did. It was such a blast and more fun than I ever imagined. One of the little girls on our adventure camp was just four years old and all day had been scared to jump from anywhere yet here we were, on our last stop before heading back to the dock, and she overcame her fears and jumped right into the water with all the other kids. It was so special to witness that little girl stamp down her fears and do the thing that she was afraid of – and absolutely love it. I was so proud of her!
Kerry said we could have easily filled at least four more hours with fun things to do around the lake. There are multiple waterfalls, coves, and even suspension bridges to see. I wish we could have stayed another four hours. I don’t think any of us wanted to leave. It was the absolute perfect day.
Need to Know About the Family Adventure Camp
Here are a few things to know before booking your Family Adventure Camp.
Adventure Family Camp is for everyone. There were kids ages 4-13 with us and we all (including parents) had an absolute blast. Anyone of any age and ability is welcome.
You can bring food and water. Family Adventure Camp is four hours long and kids are always hungry. Certainly bring lunch, snacks, and water.
Life jackets, goggles, and pool noodles are all available on board. You are welcome to bring your own but they do have these on the boat.
Bring a change of clothes, towels, sunscreen, and a hat. You are going to get wet and it’s hot and sunny so be prepared.
Swimming in the middle of Lake Jocassee
Your ticket doesn’t include Devils Fork State Park admission so you’ll have to pay for that unless you have a SC State Parks Pass, which includes admission for everyone in your car. We love our SC State Parks Pass and use it often!
Get there by 9:30 am at the latest. The boat leaves at 10 am and you’ll have to walk across the grassy beach area from the parking lot where Eclectic Sun is to the dock parking lot since parking there is only for vehicles with boat trailers. It’s not a far walk but leave enough time to get to the dock.
Honest Mom Review of Jocassee Family Adventure Camp
If you haven’t already figured it out, I was enamored with this adventure. I have a deep love of Lake Jocassee that has only grown deeper the more time I spend with Kerry and out on the lake myself. The beauty just takes my breath away every single time.
The coolest part about this adventure tour was getting to go see the special coves and jump in the waterfalls all while learning more about the uniqueness of the Jocassee Gorges. I’ve been wanting to rent a pontoon boat at Lake Jocassee but I don’t know all of the cool places to go so having Kerry as an expert guide was awesome. I didn’t have to worry about a map or finding the right places – she already knew all of that.
Also, I love adventures that combine learning and fun and this was the best of both worlds. My kids, ages 9 and 13, had the best time and I think I can speak for the other kids on the boat tour as well. I don’t think there was a minute on that entire adventure where someone wasn’t smiling ear-to-ear. I looked at my photos afterwards and the joy on my kids’ faces was palpable.
Lots of time to jump in the water on this adventure!
Jocassee Lake Tours isn’t just another tour company. They are special because they do this for the love of the lake and for the education and enjoyment of the visitors who come to admire its beauty and enjoy the wonder. Their knowledge of the lake, the wildlife, and the flora and fauna is unmatched.
Other Tours that Jocassee Lake Tours Offers
Jocassee Lake Tours has lots of fantastic options for seeing Lake Jocassee by boat. You can do fishing tours, sunset tours, private tours, waterfall tours, and hiking shuttles.
We’ve done their Kids Kayak Class & Adventure and the Jocassee WIld Child adventure boat tour. Both were a lot of fun and I’ve come to love and cherish Lake Jocassee and the Jocassee Gorges because of the time I’ve spent on the lake learning about how special this place is.
Booking Your Adventure
Jocassee Family Adventure Camp happens every Friday, June through July from 10 am – 2 pm. Tickets are $60 per person for ages 4-15; $65 per person for ages 16 and up.
Entry fees into Devils Fork State Park are extra: $4 for ages 6-15; $8 for ages 15-64; $5 for ages 65 and older. Children 5 and under are free. If you have an SC State Park pass, then this fee is waived.
Ready to book your adventure? Check out the Jocassee Wild Child website and the Jocassee Lake Tours website for upcoming events. Also, be sure to sign up for the Jocassee Lake Tours email newsletter (scroll to the bottom of the site to give them your email), which goes out every week and gives you info on what’s happening at the lake plus local nature-focused events.
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