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All the United States South Carolina Lancaster Springs Park

Springs Park

A nearly century-old amusement park is quietly decaying in a riverside forest in South Carolina.

Lancaster, South Carolina

Added By
Frances Van Woglom
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  frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
  frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
Pool   frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
Seating area surrounding pool   frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
Abandoned building   frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
Shallow end   frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
Kiddie pools   frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
Collapsed diving platform   frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
  frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
  igrohs / Atlas Obscura User
  frances van woglom / Atlas Obscura User
  igrohs / Atlas Obscura User
  igrohs / Atlas Obscura User
Aerial view of pool and amphitheater   igrohs / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Upon opening to the public in 1925, Springs Recreation Park was a happening place for the residents of Lancaster, South Carolina. However, recreation park seems to be too modest a term to use for Springs Park. By all accounts, it was more like an amusement park, complete with a skating rink, carousel, mini Ferris wheel, and bowling alley. All alongside its crown jewel: an ​​Olympic-style swimming pool, half surrounded by an ancient Greek-style amphitheater, which purportedly was made to house 5,000 onlookers.

What remains of Springs Park is a weird site to stumble upon while trekking through the plush forest that lines the Fishing Creek Reservoir on the Catawba River. One may notice sheets of rusted metal or concrete slabs jutting out from beneath grass and shrubs, serving as little hints to visitors that there is more to the area than what first meets the eye.

The park closed in the summer of 1989 for unknown reasons. Though it's long past its heyday, Springs Park is still a site to behold. The original 30-foot diving platform sits crumpled in the pool's deep end, but the massive, concrete viewing stadium is still standing strong and likely will stay that way for the foreseeable future. A rusted foundation of the park’s skating rink juts out from the ground, and portions of the old mini golf course can be uncovered. 

Gradually, the site has become reclaimed by nature since its closing in the late 80s, but one can still imagine what each of the ruins served to be.

Related Tags

Ruins Amusement Parks Abandoned Amusement Parks

Know Before You Go

This site is heavily posted with no trespassing signs.

Community Contributors

Added By

frances van woglom

Edited By

igrohs, squirrelsgonewild

  • igrohs
  • squirrelsgonewild

Published

October 24, 2022

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Sources
  • https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/hidden-abandoned-park-in-sc/
Springs Park
1184 Springdale Rd
Lancaster, South Carolina, 29720
United States
34.606815, -80.879575
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Lancaster County Jail

Lancaster, South Carolina

miles away

Lancaster County Courthouse

Lancaster, South Carolina

miles away

Landsford Canal State Park

Fort Lawn, South Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lancaster

Lancaster

South Carolina

Places 3

Nearby Places

Lancaster County Jail

Lancaster, South Carolina

miles away

Lancaster County Courthouse

Lancaster, South Carolina

miles away

Landsford Canal State Park

Fort Lawn, South Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lancaster

Lancaster

South Carolina

Places 3

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