Andrew Jackson State Park combines history, art and community activities into a setting that has made it one of the S.C. State Park Service’s most popular attractions.

The only park in the system dedicated to a U.S. president, Andrew Jackson State Park features a museum that details the boyhood of the nation’s seventh president, who grew up here in what then was known as the Waxhaws of the South Carolina backcountry.

A striking highlight of the park grounds is the bold equestrian statue of “Old Hickory” sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington of Brookgreen Gardens fame. Living history programs with docents in period garb are included in the park’s programming.

The Lancaster County park also has a replica of a late 18th-century one-room schoolhouse, an amphitheatre that serves as home to a well-attended bluegrass festival each year and other community gatherings, as well as a campground, fishing lake, picnicking facilities and trails.

On Feb. 2-3, 1865, 1,200 Confederate soldiers made a stand at Rivers Bridge on the Salkehatchie River against Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s sweep across South Carolina during the final months of the Civil War. Behind stout earthen fortifications, the Southerners fought a division of about 5,000 Union soldiers. Union troops crossed the swollen swamp on both ends of the Confederate line to finally win the battle. The tour will examine the still intact fortifications as well as the natural topography that led one Union general to call Rivers Bridge "… the strongest position I ever saw in my life."

The H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area is the setting for national-level field trial and retriever competitions.

Covering 7,000 rolling acres of longleaf pine forest and fields, the park’s facilities include stables, kennels, corrals, arenas, waterfowl ponds, campgrounds and a kitchen/meeting hall.

There also are more than 20 miles of equestrian trails and sand roads for riders in the park, some that lead into Sand Hills State Forest.

H. Cooper Black is also adjacent to Cheraw State Park, which offers a championship golf course, cabins, camping, boating, fishing and more.

Watch a 17th/18th century town emerge from the past as archaeologists uncover one of the richest sites in South Carolina. Visitors can observe archaeologists as they sift through the remains of a town that included houses, markets, a school, a church, a boat yard and more. One of the most complete archaeological records of colonial America, Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site is a time capsule waiting for you!

The Bordeux Room at Hickory Knob is a banquet room adjacent to the Hickory Knob restaurant.

Listen & Learn About Spanish Moss

The canoe trail at Woods Bay is subject to fluctuating water levels. At times the waters are too low for navigation. Please contact the park directly for current trail conditions.

Woods Bay State Natural Area offers a close-up look at one of the last remaining large Carolina Bays on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Experience the splendor and diversity of the cypress-tupelo swamp first-hand from the 1150-foot boardwalk, or paddle your way amidst towering trees on the 1-mile canoe trail.

Habitats at 1,590-acre Woods Bay also include marsh, sand hills, oak-hickory forest and a shrub bog. More than 75 species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians are found here, along with more than 150 species of birds, changing with the seasons.

Come see alligators from the boardwalk and hear the "cu-tuck, cu-tuck, cu-tuck" of carpenter frogs as their calls echo through the trees. Take a hike on the nature trail as it encircles the historic mill pond and imagine yourself back in the mid-19th century when water from the bay powered two wooden grist mills.

Visitors also enjoy fishing, wildlife-viewing, photography and picnicking at the park.

Carolina Bays, elliptical depressions of various size scattered along the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, are among the Earth’s natural mysteries. Come check out Woods Bay State Natural Area and try to decide for yourself what created these intriguing natural wonders.