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Spot a loon or a rambling black bear. Fish for trout in a deep, clear mountain lake. Hike through the glorious spring bloom of rhododendrons.

And do it in South Carolina.

Devils Fork State Park provides the only public access to Lake Jocassee, a largely undeveloped 7,500-acre reservoir tucked deep into the Blue Ridge.

Devils Fork is easily reached from S.C. 11, the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway. The park is popular with families, fishermen, scuba divers and boaters, who enjoy Jocassee’s uncrowded setting and spectacular scenery, such as waterfalls cascading into the lake off steep, wooded slopes.

Full campground amenities and modern villas also are highlights of the park. So are hiking and nature trails that provide the opportunity to appreciate sights ranging from rare Oconee bell spring flowers to the fall color show, while bald eagles and peregrine falcons patrol the mountain skies.

The museum includes exhibits that tell the story of the Musgrove Mill battle and how it fit into the big picture of South Carolina's pivotal role in the outcome of the Revolutionary War.

Table Rock Mountain provides a towering backdrop for an upcountry retreat at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Table Rock State Park features two lakes, a campground, mountain cabins, meeting facilities and its historic, renovated lodge.

The park has been one of South Carolina’s most popular since it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Many of its structures are now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Table Rock was home to one of the state’s first formal nature education programs and now serves as a trailhead for the 80-mile long Foothills Trail through the wilderness along the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Trails through the forested park also include one that leads to the top of Table Rock Mountain itself.

The park also hosts a visitors center near the main gate along S.C. 11, the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway.