Anderson / Lake Hartwell KOA Holiday Recreation

Campground Activities

During the busy summer season, the most popular activity is the swimming pool.  It is available from late May to early September.  Available year-round, the 18-hole mini golf with its obstacles will challenge young and old.  The game room is designed for the older kids and adults with its table games.  Challenge your teenager to a crazy game of foosball or a wild game of air hockey.  Perhaps a laid-back game of pool is more your style!  Outside, see if your spouse can beat you in a game of horseshoes.  The whole family can play a game of "horse" on the basketball court while the little ones get tired swinging on the playground swings, teetering on the totters or climbing on the monkey bars.  (During the off-season, the game room is available by request during office hours.)

Swimming Pool

Our most popular summer activity is our swimming pool. It is open from late May until early September and is 3 feet deep at the shallow end and 9 feet at the deep end. While no diving is allowed, cannonballs are!

The pool is saltwater, so it feels really soft on the skin and doesn't burn the eyes though some kids still like to wear goggles so they can see underwater. During the summer, there is often a game of Marco Polo going on.

Some of us just want the warmth of the sun. Grab a lounge chair and work on your tan.  
Not into that? Our tables in the pool area have umbrellas. Bottled water in plastic containers is allowed in the pool area. Other drinks and snacks can be eaten at a picnic table just outside of the fenced pool area. We don't want ants and stickiness; neither do you!

The pool is open from 9:30 am until dark - around 9 pm. Children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult and NO ONE can swim alone.

Horseshoe Pitching

How about the sudden clang of metal on metal, loud cheers and happy laughter? If those aren't part of your campground experience, your family hasn't discovered the fun of horseshoe pitching.

Everyone knows that a horseshoe is a piece of metal that a horse wears to protect its hooves. It is pretty well established that horseshoe pitching had its origin in the game of quoits (a game which involves the throwing of metal, rope, or rubber rings to land over or near a spike) and that quoits is a modification of the old Grecian game of discus throwing. The horseshoes used for pitching are not actual equine footwear. They are U-shaped metal bars, about twice the size of an actual horseshoe.  

Americans have been pitching horseshoes since the Revolutionary War. In fact, England's Duke of Wellington was quoted as having said, “The War was won by pitchers of horse hardware.” So try introducing this time-honored activity to your family next time you hear someone utter the phrase, “I'm bored!” (from Cabinlife.com)

By the way, the greatest horseshoe pitcher of all time is Alan Francis from Ohio. He has won the World Horseshoe Championship 25 times, most recently in 2021. He began competing when he was 9, has the highest ringer percentage in history and the most consecutive wins in history. Fun facts to know and tell! :-)

Cornhole

Almost everybody has played a game of Cornhole.  The bags are easier for kids to throw than pitching a horseshoe. The boards can be moved closer or farther apart to make it easier or tougher. And many believe the game was invented for tailgating at football games. But..............

Legend tells of resourceful Native Americans from the Blackhawk Tribe in Illinois who made bags from dried animal bladders (yes, bladders!), filled them with corn kernels, and then competed with them. Others believe Cornhole originated in Germany, where in 1325, a cabinet maker named Matthias Kuepermann, watching children throw stones into a dug hole (often injuring themselves), invented a less dangerous way to play using grain filled bags and a box made of cabinet materials lying around the shop. 

The sport we now know as Cornhole has many different names. For example, if you are from Chicago, you might simply call it "Bags" while those in Kentucky prefer to call it "Baggo" and your grandpa might simply call it "Bean Bag Toss". Despite where the game may have started, Cornhole can be enjoyed anywhere by anyone.

Our Cornhole is in our main playground area near the campground office.  The bean bags can be borrowed from the office.  Please be sure to return them when you are finished playing.

Frisbee Golf

We have added a three "hole" frisbee golf course.....just a little something to pique your interest in the game.

The rules are located near the start of "hole" number one. There is a "tee" or designated spot to make your first throw. One of the "tees" is for adults and a closer "tee" is for the kids. Just like golf, the winner of the "hole" has the lowest number of throws.

Are you interested? Stop in the office during office hours to borrow a frisbee to play with.

Walking Trail

We've cleared a walking path through the woods surrounding the campground. It is about 1 mile long, going from the main playground area, past the Haunted Cabin and tent area, up a hill toward the Deluxe Camping Cottage and ending near the top of the RV camping area. Of course, you can start your walk at either end. Take your doggie there but don't forget to grab a poop bag (there is a dispenser at each end of the trail as well as a garbage can). There are also a couple of benches to stop and take a swig of the water you've carried with you. And listen for the birds.....

Both male and female Northern Cardinals sing, and the song is a loud string of clear, down-slurred, or two-parted whistles, often speeding up and ending in a slow trill. The songs typically last 2 to 3 seconds. Syllables can sound like the bird is singing cheer, cheer, cheer or birdie, birdie, birdie. Males, in particular, may sing throughout the year, though the peak of singing is in spring and early summer. (allaboutbirds.org)

The musical song of the American Robin is a familiar sound of spring. It's a string of 10 or so clear whistles assembled from a few often-repeated syllables and often described as cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up. The syllables rise and fall in pitch but are delivered at a steady rhythm, with a pause before the bird begins singing again. At dawn, the song is more rapid. (allaboutbirds.org)

Enjoy!

How about a game of Checkers?

New in 2022 is a giant checkerboard. Grab a partner and head up towards our KampK9. Across the street are the giant checkerboard and the red and black checkers. 

Do you remember how to play? The rules are displayed near our checkerboard in case you have forgotten. 

Fun Facts about Checkers

• If you are wondering where the first evidence of Checkers ever turned up, in Iraq, there is a city called Ur. An artifact that appears to be a checker has a carbon date of around 3000 BC. The possibility that Checkers has been around for so long is a testament to the entertainment value of the game.
  
• The game of checkers is called "draughts" in many countries.
  
• It comes from an old game called Alquerque and the name is created from the verb meaning "to move."
  
• In 1535 the rule that you had to jump when presented with a jump opportunity was added to the game.
  
• Chess can be played on the same game board as checkers.
  
• The game Chinese Checkers has very little to with Checkers and was invented by the Germans, not the Chinese.
  
• Kids usually learn checkers before learning chess since the checkers' rules are easier to learn.
  
• There are lots of different variants of checkers, including a version that is played on a 10x10 board with 20 pieces per player. The 8x8 board is the most popular board, however.
  
• Marion Tinsley was considered the greatest Checkers player of all time. He played professional Checkers for a whopping 45 years. During those years, he lost less than 10 games. He died in 1995 as one of the greatest Checkers players of all time.
  
• In 1952, the first computerized Checkers game was invented by Arthur Lee Samuel. The computerized versions have improved over the years, but they allow people to play by themselves. 
  

Challenge Dad to a game of Horse

How about a good, old fashioned game of Horse, played with a basketball. 

Pick a player to go first. That player gets to do anything they want before shooting. If they want to spin around 5 times and then hop up and down before shooting, they can do it. They make the rules! If they hit their shot, the other players have to do the exact same thing. But if they miss, the next player gets to make up their own wacky shot for the others to try. Any player that can't make the first person's shot gets the letter H. Everyone keeps playing the game and making up crazy shots until someone misses enough times to spell out the word HORSE. The player who does not spell HORSE is the winner!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Borrow a basketball from the office and be a winner!