I must admit, when I thought of Andrew Jackson State Park, I thought of it as a historical type of park. The name makes me think of museums and historical replicas. I didn’t think of Andrew Jackson State Park as a place where I could be in nature.
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My ideas of Andrew Jackson State Park were completely wrong! They do have an interesting museum and fascinating replicas, but they have so much more! You can fish, walk/run trails, camp, and yes, paddleboard around their 18-acre lake. Below is a list of the top things you can do at Andrew Jackson State Park.
Tour the Museums and Replicas
So they do have many fantastic historical replicas and artifacts to explore. This is the site of President Andrew Jackson’s home. The main building shows you what the inside of a house would look like while Andrew Jackson was living.
You can also see artifacts from the Revolutionary war era. A small garden is located behind the museum/visitor center/shop. A schoolhouse replica is adjacent to the museum. My kids were in awe when they saw what a school looked like “back in the day.”
The park also has a nice amphitheater building. During our recent visit, my kids played on it since it wasn’t being used during our visit.
Walking/Running Trails at Andrew Jackson State Park
Andrew Jackson State Park has two trails: The Crawford Trail and The Garden of the Waxhaws trail. Both are about 1-mile and both have unique features. The Garden of the Waxhaws trail loops around the lake.
At first, it doesn’t seem like you are on a trail because to start, you walk across the grassy causeway over the dam. Once you cross over the dam, you see a clear path. This trail has nice views of the lake and a really cool and rather substantial boardwalk through the trees.
The Crawford trail starts near the historical area of the park.
This trail meanders through the woods.
You do cross over a road twice on this trail.
So if you see a road, don’t think that the trial has ended. It continues on the other side.
Both trails are loops so if you keep going, you will end up at the beginning.
I like to go for a run on one of these trails before I go for a paddle.
Canoeing, Kayaking, and Paddleboarding (Small Non-motorized Fishing Boats Are Welcome as Well)
The park is quite larger than you might first realize. The historical site and lake site have separate parking areas, although you can park and walk to either location. The park has a dock for your kayaks, paddleboards, non-motorized boats, and canoes.
Non-motorized boats are available for rent. When I was there, I saw several canoes at the dock. I enjoy casually paddling around the 18-acre lake.
Most areas are perfect for paddleboarding.
If you are contemplating buying an inflatable paddleboard, read this post for our top isup picks.
The area farthest from the dock has several tree stumps or rocks under the water. Your paddleboard can get stuck on these.
Mine did once. I had to shake my paddleboard a little to get it loose. The other areas of the lake appeared clear and deep enough for easy paddling.
Camping at Andrew Jackson State Park
The campground hugs the coast of the lake.
While visiting, we saw several RVs, campers, and tents in the campground. The day I went paddleboarding I met two retired couples along the campground shoreline. They were so friendly and talkative. One retired older gentleman told me that the secret to happiness is to “never stop being a kid.” He shared this magnificent wisdom with me as he and his friend played with their new toys- remote control surfers.
I am so thankful I met these lovely retired couples. Paddleboarding alongside remote control tiny surfers is so random, unexpected, and wonderful. It just goes to show that you never know what you will see when you paddleboard- birds, turtles, islands,…or tiny remote control surfers.
(By the way, I thought these surfer toys were so cool that I wanted one for myself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it, but I did find these really neat surfer toys that are powered by waves.
Picnicking at Andrew Jackson State Park
Picnic tables are located throughout the park.
Some are near the historical area, some near the playground, campground, and lake, and we even found some hidden in the woods along the Crawford trail.
Playing on the Playground
The playground is located on a hill looking over the lake. The view from the playground is beautiful. The time we spent at the playground was the highlight of one of our trips. I set up my hammock on two trees and enjoyed the view while my children played.
When they were done playing on the playground, they joined me in the hammock.
We played a game my daughter named “The Pirate Game” in the hammock. My 12-year-old son was a good brother to his little sister and played along. (The game was inspired by an episode of Disney’s Bluey. You can see the game here if we have piqued your interest.)
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