Things to do nearLake Jocassee

Lake Jocassee was created in the early 1970s when Duke Power Company dammed the Toxaway and Horsepasture rivers, flooding a remote Appalachian valley in what is now Oconee County, South Carolina. The project submerged old farmsteads, cemeteries, and a stretch of wild river corridor, giving the lake an unusual depth and a haunting historical undercurrent that still draws divers and history enthusiasts today.

The lake sits within the Jocassee Gorges, a protected natural area considered one of the most biologically diverse temperate regions in North America. Visitors arrive by boat to reach several named waterfalls along the shoreline, including Whitewater Falls access points and the quieter cascades tucked into coves. Kayaking is one of the finest ways to explore those hidden corners, letting you nose into narrow inlets where hemlocks and rhododendrons arch overhead.

Scuba divers prize Lake Jocassee for its visibility, which can exceed thirty feet, and for the eerie novelty of swimming over submerged stone walls and bridge pilings. Anglers come for trophy-sized trout and smallmouth bass in the cold, well-oxygenated depths. The neighboring Lake Keowee offers a warmer, more developed contrast just a short drive away.

Few lakes in the Southeast combine wilderness, history, and water clarity the way Lake Jocassee does, making it a genuinely rewarding destination for anyone drawn to the Southern Appalachians.