santee national wildlife refuge

This is a large area, not well signed. It has an Indian Mound, a display about a British Fort, an auto driving tour of the refuge (look for alligators and birds) and a visitor's center. Enjoyed it all but it was hard to find the auto tour, as it was not signed but well worth the effort. If you want to do the auto drive, you need to navigate yourself to the Cuddo area.

We didn't have much time here but the information center was very good. We also hiked the Wrights Bluff trail and visited the Santee Indian Mound. Both were interesting.

like others, we made the stop at santee national wildlife refuge during a road trip on 95. however, do not make the same mistake we did and look up santee in google maps... it takes you to the more remote, desolate cuddo section - a much larger area, but not nearly as interesting or relevant for the average casual visitor looking to spend a few minutes outside. the smaller area near the visitor center is well marked and almost immediately off of 95 (just follow the signs like we should have the first time). compared to your average rest areas along 95, this makes a much more interesting spot to take in some nature, learn and stretch your legs. during our visit (october), the weather was perfect but there were some mosquitoes or other biting bugs - you may want to have repellent on hand.

Every time we drive to Florida from Canada, we always stop off at this wildlife refuge. It isn't very far off the I-95 and it’s nice to get out of the car for an hour or so to take a hike through the forest. The vegetation is so different compared to back home and it’s a real treat to enjoy it. The visitor center is very educational and the staff there is always very friendly and always ready to answer questions. There is lots of wildlife to admire, especially early in the morning or at dusk.

Very nice visitor's center-painted bunting at feeder was the first bird I saw there. Now added to my life-list. Number of ospreys spotted from deck of center-even one carrying a fish mouth facing forward as noted in all guides. From there drove over to the Cuddo section. As it was rainy we were not able to hike any of the trails, however the drive itself was productive as I spotted the following-purple martins, tree swallows, and a couple of Purple Gallinule (another lifer for for me). Of course we spotted the requisite alligators-all of varying sizes. Will definitely return to bike the 7 mile circuit or walk some of the trails.

Visit Fort Watson and enjoy the view from the top; and hear all the historic markers in the area & get directions to them with the new Clarendon County Tour App. This app will, automatically, read the markers as you approach them or you can select a silent text mode. Even if you are not in the area, you can always move around the map and select markers or select then from the site index list. You can also see the Historic churches and cemeteries and restaurants throughout Clarendon County. Tour right on your smartphone. You'll love it.

There are two main sections to this refuge. The first is off exit 102. The signs clearly show how to get to this area of the refuge. The visitor's center, which is very nice and is staffed by knowledgeable and friendly people, is at this location, as is the Native American mound, upon which the fort was built. Unfortunately, this is just a flat-topped mound that wasn't even worth the climb to the top, much less the drive. The story of the fort is interesting, but I could just have read it. If you plan on hiking or birding, this would be a nice place to do it. The second area, Cuddo, is off exit 108 heading away from Sommerton. You can, also, get there from exit A 102, and the visitor's center at the Indian Mound and Fort Watson site has clear directions from there to the Cuddo area. The Cuddo area has a large driving loop, hiking and biking trails, and canoe trails. There are no bathroom facilities here except the great outdoors. We had a 3 month old infant with us and could only participate in the driving trail. If you do this, go in the morning during the summer. We were there at 3:00, it was really hot, and there were no alligators to be seen. The bike trails we saw were dirt roads that needed to be mowed. Overall, I can see where this would be a great resource for people to hike, bike, canoe(with their own boats), and bird, but it didn't offer much for us.

This is an amazing site. Thank goodness it is still left to explore the early days of colonial America. Over a 1000 years ago the Santee Indians built this mound. The British took full advantage of its height to make it part of a string of forts from Charleston to Fort Motte, Camden and Ninety-Six. Fort Watson overlooked the Santee River. After Sumter was rebuff with the fort's cannons, Watson took the cannons to chase after Gen. Marion in March 1781. Marion ended up chasing Watson to Georgetown eventually returning with Lt. Col. Light Horse Harry Lee in April 1781 to take the fort using Maham's log tower. The height of this fort made it impossible to assault from below. Col. Maham designed the tower and sent sharpshooters to the top. The British had to surrender! Had Watson left just one cannon, the British could have blasted Maham's Tower! The South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution marked this site with a granite marker. You must go see it. You will learn more about Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. Don't forget about the Swamp Fox Murals in Summerton and Manning!!!!

This is not a large park, but it's a great stop-off for us while we are on our way home (North Carolina). It's a quiet little refuge away from the hustle and bustle of I-95, yet it is within a couple of minutes from it. Highly recommend that you walk the circular hiking trail that takes about 25 minutes to complete. You can see trees dripping with Spanish moss and the live oaks standing in water.

We spend several hours exploring some of this amazing place. We first stopped at the visitor center in one of four areas this National Wildlife Refuge protects. A happy older couple greeted us outside and inside, and gave us directions to the different locations. There were the remains of a fort and an Indian mound with a tall staircase that offered a great view of Lake Marion. The best part of the NWR was the wildlife drive, where we took our time to view many birds and several large alligators. This was one of the most scenic NWR drives, along with Merritt Island and Lower Suwannee NWRs in Florida.

With four grandchildren ages 4-12 in tow, we went to the Visitor Center of this Natural Park Service property. The children enjoyed the hands-on displays and dioramas of local fauna. I also ready them a children's book on Francis Marion the center had on the kids table, before we visited the Revolutionary war site just down the road - a site where Francis Marion and Lighthorse Harry Lee collaborated for an American victory.We borrowed a backpack for the kids to share binoculars, nature guide books, plastic bug collecting / magnifying containers for use at the on-site Nature Trail. The younger kids gleefully received a colored chart listing all the kids of fish in Lake Marion, and spent the rest of the day asking "What's this kind?"

We are staying temporarily about a mile from this site. I visit it at least once a week.Beautiful views of the lake and the most amazing sunsets that I have ever seen! Steeped in history! Just off I-95 and well worth the stop

This was my second time to attend the Santee Birding Festival and this year we picked up registration packets at the Wildlife Refuge office. The staff is wonderful, knowledgeable, helpful. It was a wonderful introduction to an excellent festival.

While traveling on I95 we stopped at Santee Wildlife Refuge to stretch our legs, and within minutes we found ourselves in a wonderful wild place. We climbed the Indian mound and hiked the two trails closest to the highway--Wrights Bluff, and Dingle Pond--both of which include beautiful cypress swamps. This took us a little longer than two hours. While hiking we saw a snake, a turtle, a large owl, great blue herons, a wood duck, mallards, geese, as well as more small birds than we could name or count. The staff at the visitor center was wonderful: friendly and helpful. Next time we're passing by we'll definitely visit again. Very highly recommended.

We hiked the 7.5 miles around the park and we were not at all disappointed. I would highly recommend being prepared for ticks. We had to scan eachother about every half hour or so as we forgot bug deterrent.