Tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina's northwest corner, Lake Jocassee looks nothing like a typical southern reservoir. Its water is so clear that visitors regularly compare it to the Caribbean — turquoise, glassy, and startling for a lake at the foot of the Appalachians. There's a catch, though: the only public way in is through Devil's Fork State Park.

The limited access is no accident. The 7,500-acre lake is ringed by the Jocassee Gorges, where the Blue Ridge Escarpment drops more than 2,000 feet in under half a mile. Clean mountain streams pour down those gorges into the lake, keeping the water cool, clear, and refreshing even in summer. Just note that Devil's Fork has no designated swimming areas — if you want a proper beach with a cordoned-off swim zone, High Falls County Park is under half an hour away.

Most of the lake's best sights can't be reached on foot at all. More than half a dozen waterfalls tumble into the water, including the 80-foot Laurel Fork Falls. You can hike to it — an 8-mile one-way trail — but most people rent a boat or join a lake tour for the far more dramatic view from below.

What lies underwater is arguably even more unusual. Lake Jocassee was created in 1973 when a dam flooded a populated valley for hydroelectric power. With visibility often exceeding 15 feet — and sometimes topping 50 — divers can explore the remains of a hotel, stone pillars, a white picket fence from a former girls' camp, and grave markers (the graves themselves were relocated before flooding).

Land has one exclusive treat of its own: the Oconee Bell, a rare wildflower found only in pockets of the southern Appalachians. Whole colonies of the white-and-yellow blooms appear along the Oconee Bell Trail from mid-March to early April.

For overnight stays, Devil's Fork offers 20 fully furnished villas with kitchens, heat, air conditioning, and internet, plus campsites including 25 boat-in backcountry sites. These book up fast in summer, and day-trippers should arrive by 9:30 a.m. on spring and summer weekends — parking is limited and fills early. If you'd rather base yourself elsewhere, Anderson (about an hour away) calls itself South Carolina's friendliest city, and Greenville is an hour east.

Who's this for? Anyone who likes their water sports with a side of wilderness — divers, paddlers, boaters and waterfall hunters will get the most out of it. It's also genuinely remote: there's no public transport, so you'll need a car, and you should stock up on supplies in Greenville or nearby Salem, as the Devil's Fork camp store carries only limited goods. Plan ahead, arrive early, and you'll have one of the southeast's most striking lakes mostly to yourself.

Original reporting by Explore.com.