Best South Carolina Lakes for Sailing & big water

13 South Carolina lakes meet our sailing & big water bar — each has a cited public-access or conditions signal behind it. Top of the list: Lake Hartwell in Anderson County. Ranked by public boat ramps and marinas on open water (≥2,000 acres); surface acreage and live readings are shown where published.

Public boat ramps come from SCDNR open data; marinas from OpenStreetMap; surface acres from USGS NHD or cited research.

  1. 1

    Lake Hartwell

    Anderson County, SC56,000 acres

    56,000 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  2. 2

    Lake Strom Thurmond

    McCormick County, SC71,100 acres

    71,100 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  3. 3

    Lake Marion

    Berkeley County, SC110,000 acres

    110,000 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  4. 4

    Lake Murray

    Lexington County, SC50,000 acres

    50,000 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  5. 5

    Richard B. Russell Lake

    Abbeville County, SC26,650 acres

    26,650 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  6. 6

    Lake Moultrie

    Berkeley County, SC60,000 acres

    60,000 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  7. 7

    Lake Keowee

    Oconee County, SC18,500 acres

    18,500 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  8. 8

    Lake Wateree

    Kershaw County, SC14,000 acres

    14,000 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  9. 9

    Lake Greenwood

    Greenwood County, SC11,400 acres

    11,400 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  10. 10

    Lake Jocassee

    Oconee County, SC7,500 acres

    7,500 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  11. 11

    Monticello Reservoir

    Fairfield County, SC6,700 acres

    6,700 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  12. 12

    Parr Reservoir

    Newberry County, SC4,400 acres

    4,400 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  13. 13

    Fishing Creek Reservoir

    Chester County, SC3,431 acres

    3,431 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do

More best-of lists for South Carolina lakes

South Carolina sailing & big water — frequently asked

What is the best lake for sailing & big water in South Carolina?

Lake Hartwell in Anderson County tops the list — 56,000 acres of open water. 13 South Carolina lakes qualify for this list overall.

How is this South Carolina sailing & big water list ranked?

Every lake on the list has a cited public-access or conditions signal — never an opinion. Sailing-eligible lakes have ≥2,000 acres of open water and at least one ramp or marina; we rank by access count, then by acreage. LakeVibe doesn't invent rankings: a lake only appears here when the data already supports it.

Which South Carolina lakes are best for sailing & big water?

Our top picks are Lake Hartwell, Lake Strom Thurmond, Lake Marion, Lake Murray. Tap any lake for its full conditions, things to do, and where to stay.