Beautiful Lake Marion
Just 70–80 Miles Away
South Carolina’s largest lake — and one of the Southeast’s most stunning natural destinations — is less than 90 minutes from Farm Haven Cottages in Lake City.
About the Lake
South Carolina’s Inland Sea
Lake Marion is South Carolina’s largest lake, covering nearly 110,000 acres with over 315 miles of shoreline and spanning five counties. It’s earned the nickname “South Carolina’s inland sea” — and once you’ve seen it, you understand why. The sheer scale of open water, framed by cypress trees and wildlife, feels more like a coastal estuary than a freshwater lake.
From Lake City, the lake is approximately 70 to 80 miles by highway — easily reached via US-301 and Interstate 95, or US-378 and SC-261. It’s a comfortable day trip for fishing, boating, wildlife watching, or simply enjoying one of South Carolina’s most scenic natural landscapes.
What Makes It Unique
Thousands of Submerged Cypress Trees
When the Santee Dam was completed in 1941, clearing of the lake bed was accelerated due to World War II and left unfinished. Thousands of cypress stumps and trees — dead and living — remain standing underwater to this day, creating a haunting, beautiful underwater landscape and extraordinary habitat for fish.
Named for the Swamp Fox
Lake Marion is named after General Francis Marion, the legendary “Swamp Fox” of the American Revolutionary War. His former plantation home, Pond Bluff, now lies submerged beneath the lake’s waters — a remarkable piece of living history beneath the surface.
Connected to Lake Moultrie
Lake Marion and its sister lake, Lake Moultrie, together form the Santee Cooper Reservoir, connected by a 6.5-mile Diversion Canal. Together they represent one of the largest freshwater reservoir systems in the Eastern United States.
World-Class Fishing
Lake Marion is widely regarded as one of the premier freshwater fishing destinations in the Southeast. Anglers come from across the country for its striped bass, catfish, and bass populations.
Striped Bass
Historically significant freshwater population
Blue Catfish
Abundant trophy-size catches
Flathead Catfish
Popular among serious anglers
Largemouth Bass
Year-round sport fishing
Shellcracker
Local favorite panfish
Crappie
Excellent around the cypress structure
The lake’s striped bass population holds a remarkable distinction: when the Santee Dam was completed, a founding population of striped bass became landlocked and adapted to complete their entire life cycle in freshwater — among the first ever documented to do so anywhere in the world.
Wildlife
A Living Natural Sanctuary
The shoreline and surrounding lands of Lake Marion support an extraordinarily diverse range of wildlife, making it a destination not just for anglers but for nature lovers, birders, and wildlife photographers.
- White-tailed Deer
- Bald Eagles
- Fox
- Ospreys
- Wild Turkey
- Great Blue Herons
- Alligator
- Snowy Egrets
- Squirrel
- Wood Ducks
- Dove
- Red-tailed Hawks
- Turtle
- Mallards and Teal
History
Built During the Great Depression
Lake Marion was created as part of the Santee-Cooper Hydroelectric and Navigation Project, an ambitious New Deal-era effort to bring electricity, jobs, and economic development to rural South Carolina. The Santee Dam was completed in November 1941, just weeks before the United States entered World War II.
The creation of the lake came at a human cost that’s worth acknowledging. Approximately 900 families were displaced when the lake was formed, and more than 6,000 graves had to be relocated — or were left underwater — when the floodwaters rose. The communities that once occupied this land gave way to the lake that South Carolinians enjoy today.
The wartime urgency that accelerated the dam’s completion also meant that clearing of the lake bed was never fully finished — leaving the thousands of submerged cypress trees that now define the lake’s character and make it one of the most distinctive freshwater environments in the country.