Woods Bay State Park, State park near Olanta, South Carolina, United States

Woods Bay State Park is a South Carolina state park near Olanta in Florence County, containing some of the last remaining large Carolina Bays. A boardwalk crosses a cypress-tupelo swamp, and a one-mile canoe trail runs through the bay; private boats are not allowed, but canoes and kayaks can be rented. A picnic shelter and a nature center serve visitors.

Woods Bay State Park protects some of the last remaining large Carolina Bays, shallow elliptical depressions in Florence County near Olanta. Recent work by the U.S. Geological Survey interprets these bays as relict thermokarst lakes that formed several thousand years ago, when the climate was colder, drier and windier, and were later modified by wind and water. That reading suggests permafrost once reached as far south as the Carolinas during the last ice age or earlier ones.

The park's nature center and a boardwalk through a cypress-tupelo swamp are the main places to see the wetland up close. The one-mile canoe trail in the Carolina Bay is open to rented canoes and kayaks; private boats are not allowed. Bird watching and geocaching are among the activities listed for the park.

Private boats are not allowed; canoes and kayaks can be rented for the one-mile canoe trail through the Carolina Bay. A boardwalk crosses a cypress-tupelo swamp, and a picnic shelter and nature center serve visitors. The park lies near Olanta in Florence County.

The U.S. Geological Survey has interpreted the Carolina Bays as relict thermokarst lakes, formed thousands of years ago when the climate was colder, drier and windier. That reading implies permafrost once reached as far south as South Carolina during the last ice age or earlier ones.