Is the picnic table/shelter and parking near the lake? Is it open for fishing this weekend? Thinking of taking a group and have a couple older people that would need to sit most of the time.

Yes but the bathroom is quite a walk

The picnic pavilion is about 100 yards from the parking lot and adjacent to the fishing dock overlooking Cox Ferry Lake and the Waccamaw River beyond. The picnic tables/benches have the only seating on this side of the refuge. There are no public washrooms in the recreation area. A covered kiosk SW of the picnic tables displays info on the refuge and a trail map, leading to the Blue trail.