Most people often think the beach is the best vacation spot, but lake towns offer a quieter, more practical kind of escape.

Tucked away in South Carolina’s northwestern corner sits a woodland treasure where pine-scented breezes whisper through ancient hardwoods and mountain waters reflect skies so blue they seem painted.

The journey to Oconee State Park takes travelers through the rolling foothills of South Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, where each curve in the road reveals another postcard-worthy vista. As the ...