Lakefront on Lake Murray, Private Dock, Pet Friendly, Kayaks, 2 King Suites

Two king bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, on Lake Murray with a private dock — and a ten-minute kayak ride to dinner.

I'm Danny. I own the place, I'm hands-on with it, and I answer messages fast. It is genuinely quiet out here — only two families on our road live here year-round, the rest are vacation homes — and it still isn't remote: right over the bridge from Gilbert, fifteen minutes to downtown Lexington, ten to a Publix.

THE SLEEPING ARRANGEMENT
This is the part most two-bedroom listings can't offer. Bedroom 1: king bed, half bath, a desk for working, and the lake visible from the pillow. Bedroom 2: king bed with its own private stand-up shower bathroom. Then a full guest bathroom with a double vanity and a walk-in shower.

On the side of the house there's a detached room with a queen bed, its own air conditioning and a TV. No bathroom or closet of its own — that's a short walk back to the house — but it has a door that closes and nobody walking past it, giving you extra privacy.

THE DOCK
Ours, not shared, not a community pier. It's two short flights down from the deck — a minute, and you're standing on it. At the end there are two chairs, a propane fire table and a swim ladder into the water. Three available kayaks are under the deck.

There's a green light under the dock. It pulls baitfish in after dark and the bass follow them, so night fishing here means walking out the back door rather than launching a boat. Lake Murray is one of the better striped bass fisheries in the Southeast. South Carolina requires a license from sixteen up, and SCDNR sells them online in about two minutes — much easier to do now than from the dock.

People swim off it all summer — there's a ladder at the end and the water is clean. I swim off it myself.

The floating dock faces the sunset, and that is the reason most of these photographs exist. Light the fire table, sit down, and watch it go down behind the far shore. It works as well in January as it does in July.

PADDLE TO DINNER
This is the part guests tell their friends about. Ten minutes by kayak from our dock gets you to San José & Marina — Mexican, on the water, out on 378. Twenty minutes gets you to SouthShore Grill & Grocery, which is a restaurant and a grocery counter in one building and better than it needs to be. Paddle over hungry, come back at sunset.

In July and August you can get out toward Bomb Island near sundown and watch close to a million purple martins come in to roost. It's the strangest, best thing on this lake.

Bringing a boat? Message me before you book. The driveway takes a 24-footer and we can usually work something out.

BY CAR
Murphy's Grill is five minutes up 378 in Gilbert — burgers and drinks, a pool table, live bands on the weekend and cornhole tournaments if you're feeling competitive. It's where you go when you don't want to cook and don't want to drive far.

Driftwood Smokehouse is a waterfront barbecue joint and worth going hungry for. Closed Tuesdays, so plan around it.

If you want to make an afternoon of it, Mercer House Estate Winery is over in Lexington and Hollow Creek Distillery is a short drive the other way in Batesburg-Leesville. Neither is far, and both are better than you'd expect this far off the interstate.

OUTSIDE
A big deck over the water with room to spread out, a patio with a table for six under tree-lined lake views, and a grill. A screened room for the evenings when the bugs win. Down in the yard there's a firepit ringed with built-in bench seating, (firewood not included), and a swing facing the water. Driveway parking for six vehicles.

INSIDE
Fully equipped kitchen with an island to work at, and both a Keurig and a drip pot because mornings are personal. Dining table for six. Living room under a vaulted beamed ceiling with a wood stove, a smart TV, and a desk if you have to work. Washer and dryer, so you can pack for three days and stay a week. Central air.

Fiber internet, fast enough for two people to be on video calls at the same time. More than one guest has worked a full week from here.

WHERE YOU ARE
The address says Leesville, which undersells it. We're right over the bridge from Gilbert and a few minutes from Lexington — the quiet of a country place without the drive that usually comes with one. Most of our neighbors are vacation homes, so outside of a holiday weekend the road is close to silent.

Publix in Lexington: about 10 minutes
Downtown Lexington: about 15 minutes
Columbia Metropolitan Airport: 30 minutes
Downtown Columbia and Riverbanks Zoo: about 30 minutes
Augusta, Georgia: about an hour

WHO IT SUITS
Couples, mostly. Forty-four guests have scored us 9.4 out of 10 and Vrbo's own tag for us is "loved by couples." We also host a lot of people in town for a wedding or a graduation, since there's a catering hall just down the road; anglers up for tournaments; folks driving over for Masters week in Augusta; and people who want a weekend where nothing in particular happens, which this road is unusually good at. Two to four nights is typical, and we take longer stays gladly.

DOGS
Dogs are welcome, up to two, for $75 per stay. There's shoreline to walk and no traffic to worry about. We ask that they're house-trained, not left alone in the house, and kept off the furniture and beds — bring their bedding or crate. Please clean up after them outside; our housekeeper doesn't, and we'd have to charge for it.

ON THE WATER
Life jackets are under the deck and we have life jackets in adult and child sizes. We ask that kids and anyone who isn't a strong swimmer wear one out there. No diving — Lake Murray is a managed reservoir and the level moves through the season, so the depth off the end is never the same twice.

THE PRACTICAL PART
Self check-in with a keypad code, sent the day before you arrive. No key to collect, nobody to meet, arrive as late as you like. Nobody meets you at the door, but you aren't on your own either — we have a property manager close by who looks after the place and can be out here quickly if anything needs attention. Check-in after 4 PM, checkout by noon. Two exterior security cameras cover the front and rear porch; there are none inside the house. No smoking indoors, no events without prior approval, minimum age 25 to book.

Checkout is short: take your things, clear the fridge, lock the door. The housekeeper handles the rest.

Our price includes everything but the $120 cleaning fee, which Vrbo shows you before you book. Nothing gets added at the end.


Message me before you book if you have a question about the dock, the water level, or bringing the dog. I'd rather answer it now than have you guess.