Largest lakes & reservoirs in South Carolina by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 15 articles we have published for South Carolina lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > South Carolina > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in South Carolina, only the 15 South Carolina lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| J. Strom Thurmond Lake, GA/SC (Classic South Region, GA, Georgia, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,200 mi | Also known as Lake Strom Thurmond, J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, Clarks Hill Lake, Thurmond Lake J. Strom Thurmond Lake, aka Clarks Hill Lake, holds the title of second largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River. Straddling the Georgia-… |
| Hartwell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
962 mi | Also known as Lake Hartwell So large it covers parts of six counties in two states, Lake Hartwell draws millions of visitors a year to play on its 56,000 acres of water. With ple… |
| Lake Murray, SC (Capital City & Lake Murray Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
649 mi | The kayak slips quietly through the water, dipping in and out of the finger coves that fringe the lake. The sun is just peeking over the horizon. For… |
| Richard B. Russell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
540 mi | Also known as Lake Russell Richard B. Russell Lake, sometimes nicknamed Lake Russell, claims 26,650 sparkling acres and 540 miles of shoreline on the Georgia-South Carolina stat… |
| Lake Wylie (North Carolina, Olde English District, SC, Piedmont Region, NC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
325 mi | Also known as Lake Wylie Reservoir Spanning the North Carolina-South Carolina border, Lake Wylie is the oldest reservoir on the Catawba River. First dammed in 1904, the dam was rebuilt… |
| Lake Marion, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
315 mi | The largest lake in South Carolina at 172 square miles, Lake Marion straddles five counties: Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumter. It… |
| Lake Keowee, SC (South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
300 mi | Lake Keowee is a freshwater lake located in northwestern South Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The lake supplies water to the n… |
| Lake Wateree, SC (Olde English District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
242 mi | Also known as Wateree Lake Lake Wateree lies 30 miles northeast of Columbia, South Carolina near Interstate 77. Duke Energy created the lake in 1920 by building a dam on the Cat… |
| Lake Greenwood, SC (Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
212 mi | Lake Greenwood, located in the counties of Greenwood, Laurens, and Newberry, is one of South Carolina’s more popular lakes. Stretching 20 miles and wi… |
| Lake Moultrie, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
135 mi | Lake Moultrie is located 31 miles north of Charleston in the low country of South Carolina. The lake is renowned for both its fishing and its natural… |
| Fishing Creek Reservoir, SC (Olde English District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
78 mi | Also known as Nitrolee Dam, Fishing Creek Lake Fishing Creek Reservoir, on the Catawba River in the Old English Region of South Carolina is aptly named: the 3112-acre lake provides a steady source… |
| Lake Jocassee, NC/SC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
75 mi | Nestled into the pristine Appalachian mountains of northwestern South Carolina and southwestern North Carolina, Lake Jocassee reaches its watery depth… |