Discover Lake Keowee Real Estate

• About Lake Keowee

• Lake Keowee Sports

Lake Keowee covers Keowee Town, site of the capitol of the Lower Cherokee Nation. Keowee, meaning "place of the mulberries," was visited by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto when he came through the area in 1540.

Nowadays its 18,500 acres of water and a 300-mile shoreline have made Lake Keowee a popular place for fishing, waterskiing, swimming, camping and picnicking.

The lake was constructed by Duke Power Company to generate hydroelectric power and is known for its panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and its pristine blue waters. This is why it is becoming a top destination for retiree's as well as second home buyers. Since its creation, Lake Keowee has been a haven for people looking to experience the best South Carolina has to offer.

Part of a three-lake region known as the Golden Corner of South Carolina, Lake Keowee is located within two hours of Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina. It is also close to Jocassee State Park, golf courses at Cross Creek plantation, and hiking and white water rafting on the Chatooga River. It's also only 7 miles from Clemson University, a nationally recongized 4-year public university. There are so many activities to enjoy at Lake Keowee.

Experience the great outdoors without having to leave the big city behind. Discover what you've been missing when you discover Lake Keowee!

Health Care

The closest hospital in the Lake Keowee area is Oconee Medical Center in Seneca. Over 100 physicians provide surgical, diagnostic and emergency services at the 160 bed facility. Similar services are provided at Cannon Memorial Hospital in Pickens and Palmetto Health Baptist in Easley. Anderson Medical Center in Anderson is a larger facility with over 450 beds. It has a Level II Trauma Center and a Women and Children's Hospital as well as a Cancer Center. The hospital has earned #1 rankings from Healthgrades for vascular surgery, GI services and GI surgery, cardiac surgery, overall critical care and pulmonary surgery. There are two medical facilities in Greenville, Greenville Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis. Greenville Hospital, besides being a Level I Trauma Center, has a Cancer Center, Children's Hospital, and Heart Institute.

The Heart Institute offers cardiac rehab and programs to prevent and reverse heart disease. Bon Secours has two locations, downtown and eastside. The eastside is primarily for women's services and neonatal care. The downtown facility has all private rooms and offers open heart surgery, neurosurgery, an accredited bone marrow transplant program and orthopedic services. In 2008, the hospital received awards for orthopedic surgery excellence and cardiac surgery excellence. Spartanburg has two hospitals including Mary Black Memorial Hospital and Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. Mary Black is a 200 bed facility which provides services covering all major specialties. Spartanburg Regional is a Level I Trauma Center which has 7 dedicated areas of care; major care, chest pain, women, pediatric, urgent care, disaster preparedness and behavioral health. Comprehensive care is offered through the nationally recognized Gibbs Cancer Center, accredited Heart Center and the Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health.

Sports

Sports in this area centers around the Clemson University's Tigers. The football team is an NCAA Division I team which completed its season with an appearance at the Gator Bowl. Clemson has made bowl appearances in nine of its last ten seasons. Home field is Memorial Stadium which has a capacity for 80,000 fans. Basketball is played at the 10,000 seat Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson finished its season going to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. Basketball is also an important part of University of South Carolina Spartanburg (Upstate). The NCAA Division II team plays its games at the G.B. Hodge Center. Minor league baseball is played in nearby Greenville at Fluor Field which is modeled after Fenway Park. The Greenville Drive is a Class-A team affiliated with the Boston Red Sox. Professional sports are accessible either in Atlanta or Charlotte. Interstate 85 will take you north to Charlotte for both football and basketball. The NFL's Carolina Panthers take the field in Bank of America Stadium and the home court for the NBA's Bobcats is at Time Warner Cable Arena. Following Interstate 85 south to Atlanta, you have a choice of baseball, football or hockey. Turner Field is home to the Atlanta Braves, the Georgia Dome hosts the Atlanta Falcons and for hockey fans, Phillips Arena has the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers.

Shopping

Among the many towns in the area you will find downtowns with specialty and boutique shops. There are two malls in the area, one each in Spartanburg and Greenville. Haywood Mall in Greenville is anchored by five stores including Belk, Dillard's and Macy's. The mall includes over 100 specialty shops. In Spartanburg, you will find the West Gate Mall and West Gate Crossing. This area has over 120 stores and is anchored by Belk, Dillard's and Costco.

Getting to Lake Keowee

If you are traveling by car, the nearest interstate to the Lake Keowee area is I-85. Driving 700+ miles from places like Chicago, Philadelphia or Newark will take around twelve to thirteen hours. From Washington, D.C. the 530 miles takes about nine hours. Nashville, which is about 350 miles away, the drive will take just under six hours. Six airports service the area, five of which are for private aircraft. The closest two are the Clemson-Oconee Airport and Pickens County Airport. Clemson-Oconee is about five miles from Clemson and has a single 4400 foot runway. Fuel and maintenance are available onsite however car rental is offsite. Pickens County Airport is 12 miles northeast of Clemson and has a single 5000 foot runway. Greenville's Downtown Airport is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the state. This facility has a full range of services including aircraft maintenance and cleaning and detailing. There is one runway at the Spartanburg Downtown Airport which is just over 5200 feet. This facility has a 24-hour instrument landing system and access to maintenance, fuel and rental cars. There are two runways at the Anderson Regional Airport, one just over 6000 feet and the other at over 4900 feet. There is a Category I instrument landing system and maintenance, fueling and car rental services are on-site. The nearest commercial airport is the Greenville/Spartanburg International Airport. Centrally located between the two cities it is serviced by six carriers including American Eagle, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United Express and U.S. Airways. Daily direct flights are available from Dallas/Fort Worth, Newark, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia and both airports in Washington, D.C.

Colleges and Universities

Greenville, Spartanburg and the surrounding area has a number of colleges, universities and technical schools, the most well-known of which is Clemson. The university is made up of five schools from agriculture to health and offers 70 undergraduate and 100 graduate programs. For those 50 and over, Clemson is a site for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Each year more than 90 courses are offered either on campus or at satellite locations in Oconee and Pickens counties. In addition to the courses, there are social events and opportunities for travel abroad with the Clemson study abroad programs. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is a network of over 120 sites across the country. A Lifelong Learning Institute is also located at Anderson University in Anderson. This private Christian school offers courses to mature adults during two 8-week terms.

The program also includes a travel group and reading group. Bob Jones University in Greenville is just one of many Christian schools found in this region. Others include Furman University, North Greenville University and Southern Wesleyan University. Converse College in Spartanburg is a private women's college offering over 30 majors in their undergraduate and graduate programs. Converse is recognized for their teacher's programs for those preparing to educate hearing impaired, gifted and talented students. Also in Spartanburg is the University of South Carolina Upstate. The university is comprised of 4 schools; College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, Mary Black School of Nursing and George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics. Upstate also has a campus in Greenville.

Parks and Recreation

Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area is one of two large parks in this region. Covering 1,000 acres of Pickens County, the park does provide access to Lake Keowee for fishing but not for boating. Also, the park has a museum with information on the Cherokee Indians who once inhabited the area. Three hiking trails wind their way through the park. The Cherokee Interpretive Trail is a short 1 mile trail with four outdoor exhibits. An easy hike through the foothills is available on the Natural Bridge Trail which is 1.5 miles. Those looking for a more challenging hike will want to take the Raven Rock Trail. While moderately strenuous, the 4.2 mile hike is worth the effort for the scenic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lake Keowee.

Andrew Pickens Ranger District of the Sumter National Forest covers over 84,000 acres of the Upstate region. This is an excellent site for whitewater canoeing and kayaking since the Chattanooga River has been designated as a 'Wild Scenic River'. The park also has an abundance of waterfalls with drops from 12 feet to 75 feet. Hiking to reach the various falls range from easy to extremely difficult. It is a short 30 minute hike to King Creek Falls which has a 70 foot drop and Station Cove Falls, which has a 60 foot drop. Opossum Creek Falls are the most challenging to reach at two hours.

There are other hiking trails in the park such as Big Bend Trail. Big Bend is less than three miles and offers a view of the largest drop on the Chattanooga River. Fallen trees and undergrowth add a bit of a challenge to the Fork Mountain Trail which is 6.4 miles. There are two options when hiking the Winding Stairs Trail. The trail is 3.5 miles, but starting at the north end, the trail descends 1100 feet to Tamassee Road at the south end. Starting at Tamassee Road and ascending up to the Cherry Hills Recreation area makes the hike much more challenging.

Either way, making the hike will give the opportunity to see the Miuka Falls which has a 75 foot drop. Be aware encountering black bears is possible on any of the hiking trails. Usually they are not a danger unless they catch the scent of food. The best fishing in the park is for trout and bass on the Chattanooga River. A more tame fishing spot is on Presbyterian Lake which is a 4-acre managed lake stocked with bass and bluegill. Public access for boating on Lake Keowee is provided by Duke Energy at a number of locations. On the upper portion of the lake, ramps are available at Fall Creek, Crow Creek, Keowee Town and Mile Creek. On the lower portion, ramps are available at Stamp Creek, High Falls, Warpath, Cane Creek and South Cove.

If you are looking for great golf courses in the vicinity there are some 4-star rated courses to check out. On the campus of Clemson is the John E. Walker, Sr. Golf Course which is along Lake Hartwell. In Travelers Rest, which is 25 minutes northwest of Greenville, is the Cherokee Valley Gold Club. River Falls Plantation is a Gary Player Signature course located in Duncan which is between Greenville and Spartanburg. One other recommended course is Verdae Greens Golf Club located at the Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort and Convention Center.

Arts and Culture

The Upstate region offers a number of venues for performing arts and visual arts. Wesleyan University is home of the Newton Hobson Chapel and Fine Arts Center which offers a number of student recitals and musical concerts throughout the year. At Clemson University, the Brook Center for Performing Arts has two theaters and a recital hall. Touring Broadway shows, student productions and musical ensembles are just some of the over seventy productions which are offered each season. On campus is the Lee Gallery which exhibits student art as well as exhibitions from regional and international artists. Greenville is the site of the Peace Center for Performing Arts which host the School of Carolina Ballet Theatre, a film festival as well as music and Broadway shows. The Greenville Symphony also presents their concerts at the Peace Center. Each season the symphony offers three programs including a Masterworks Series, a Chamber Orchestra Series and a Spotlight Series of casual concerts.

A variety of music concerts are also presented at the BI-LO Center in Greenville. One of the best collections of religious art is on exhibit at the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery. The substantial collection of art, tapestries and furniture is displayed in over twenty galleries. In nearby Anderson you will find the Anderson Arts Center which hosts local and national artists. The Anderson Symphony and Anderson Chamber Orchestra present their concerts at the Anderson Civic Center. Also in Anderson, six contemporary plays are done each year by the Electric City Playhouse. Spartanburg is home to the Chapman Cultural Center which is comprised of the Carlos Moseley Building, a theater and the Montgomery Building. The Moseley Building includes a regional history museum and art gallery. At the University of South Carolina Upstate campus is the Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery and Performing Arts Center. Each year the gallery hosts six exhibitions of national and international artists.

Attractions

There are a number of attractions scattered throughout the Upstate region. The Onconee Station State Historical Site and Oconee Heritage Center are both located in Walhalla. Built in the late 1700's the Oconee Station was used as a military outpost guarding against attacks by the Cherokee. Next to the outpost is the William Richards House which once served as a trading post. The Heritage Center displays the history of Oconee County through railroad, Native American and textile exhibits. Nearby is the Walhalla State Fish Hatchery operated by the South Carolina DNR. One of five hatcheries located in the state it is the only one which produces trout. Hagood Mill, a working grist mill operated by a water wheel, is located over in Pickens. In recent years a number of Native American petro glyphs have been discovered on the site of the mill. Pickens County Museum of Art & History is also in Pickens. The building, constructed of hand-made bricks was once the local jail. Today the history of the county, the Revolutionary War and the Cherokee Indians is displayed through arts and antiques. Another county museum is found in Anderson.

The Anderson Museum in addition to their historical displays, hosts special events. Anderson also has a county market open on Saturdays for local growers at the Anderson Farmers Pavilion. Historical plantations in this region include the Ashtabula Historic House in Central, Walnut Grove Plantation in Roebuck, and the Woodburn Plantation in Clemson. Clemson is also site of the South Carolina Botanical Gardens. Besides gardens, streams, natural areas and a nature trail there is also a geology museum and art gallery. The Fran Hanson Discovery Center features the works of local artists.

Like Anderson, Greenville also has a farmers market. Operated by the SC Department of Agriculture, Greenville State Farmers Market features local farmers and growers from the surrounding counties including those in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The market offers produce from certified organic growers and each May is the site of the Piedmont Plant and Flower Festival. At the Chapman Center in Spartanburg is the Spartanburg Regional Museum. The museum includes exhibits on the Revolutionary War, Civil War and traces of the once prominent textile industry. Seay House also in Spartanburg is believed to be the oldest house located within the city limits. It provides a view of the modest living of the area's early settlers. The original portion of the house is constructed of hand-hewn logs. Moving to the modern day, you can take in the BMW Zentrum Museum which is the only BMW museum in North America. A number of vehicles are on display including Formula 1 racing champions.

Events

Throughout the small towns located around the area you will find local festivals and events. In October, Spartanburg is the site of the Piedmont Interstate Fair. The weeklong event includes a midway, entertainment and fireworks. Central has a Railroad Festival celebrating the history of the railroad which once ran between Charlotte and Atlanta. Street festivals are held in Anderson at the Anderson Soiree and in Spartanburg at the Spring Fling. These events include car shows, music and family fun. Spartanburg's cultural diversity is celebrated during International Festival which includes ethnic food, music and dance.

Employers of the Area

Aside from the health care industry, colleges and universities and local government, there are a number of well-known employers in this area. Duke Energy is the largest employer in Oconee County. In nearby Anderson County, you will find Electrolux, Bosch, Michelin and Shaw Industries. Major employers in Greenville County include Michelin, General Electric, Lockheed Martin and Verizon Wireless while over in Spartanburg County you will find BMW.