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Old 09-21-2021, 09:29 PM   #1
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SE State Park Campgrounds

I’m sure there are other threads on this subject matter I just haven’t found them with my searches that disclaimer out of the way. I would like to hear your comments ( both good and bad) on State Park campgrounds in the South East. My spouse and I love our home campground she would visit there every time we get to go camping. I am a gypsy that loves to see new places, travel challenging roads, and work through crazy setups, so we compromise she gets what she wants 90% of the time I get to go where I want 5% of time and 5% of the time we just agree she is right! That all said I have visited about 10 parks in AL, GA, TN, & just 1 in MS. I will post on our experiences as we go. I have several app’s that I write reviews on but typically there is no interaction or discussion with these types of forums which is the goal here.
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Old 09-21-2021, 09:55 PM   #2
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Fall Creek Falls, Spencer, TN
It’s been three years since I camped here so I’m fuzz on details. The things I do remember, it was fall and the weather was nice. The hike to the falls was a dud bc it was a drought year. The camp store was stocked adequately. The attendant was friendly and courteous. This is a huge campground with over 200 campsites.the roads to the campground were easy access but as you can imagine the campground roads were narrow, . getting into the site was tricky so much so that I I bumped the back bumper of my truck into a pine tree. Yeah it sort of went downhill after that. This was a solo overnight stay. The site was downhill so the trailer tongue was on the ground to the point that I had to hook back up to the truck to remove the dunnage that I normally put under the jack foot just to get the tongue low enough to level the camper. The loop I stayed in was pine no hardwoods. Lots of kids playing on the playground. Big open areas for all sorts of fun. Fairly quite at night. Water and Electric Hook-ups were your standard State park set up. All in all I’d go again.
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Old 09-22-2021, 05:20 AM   #3
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I’m sure there are other threads on this subject matter I just haven’t found them with my searches that disclaimer out of the way. I would like to hear your comments ( both good and bad) on State Park campgrounds in the South East. My spouse and I love our home campground she would visit there every time we get to go camping. I am a gypsy that loves to see new places, travel challenging roads, and work through crazy setups, so we compromise she gets what she wants 90% of the time I get to go where I want 5% of time and 5% of the time we just agree she is right! That all said I have visited about 10 parks in AL, GA, TN, & just 1 in MS. I will post on our experiences as we go. I have several app’s that I write reviews on but typically there is no interaction or discussion with these types of forums which is the goal here.


We usually stay with the campgrounds that we’ve like;
Georgia SP- Vogel, Tallulah Gorge, Cloudland Canyon, FD Roosevelt, Skidaway Island

Florida- Topsail, Grayton Beach, St Andrews, Gamble Rogers, Ft. Clinch, Anastasia Island

All of the Florida SP listed are difficult to find a spot, and requires to book 11 months in advance, or be persistent with checking for cancellations

South Carolina- while this is a county park / campground, The Campground at James Island is a must destination.

Happy Camping.
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Old 09-24-2021, 06:52 PM   #4
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We usually stay with the campgrounds that we’ve like;
Georgia SP- Vogel, Tallulah Gorge, Cloudland Canyon, FD Roosevelt, Skidaway Island

Florida- Topsail, Grayton Beach, St Andrews, Gamble Rogers, Ft. Clinch, Anastasia Island

All of the Florida SP listed are difficult to find a spot, and requires to book 11 months in advance, or be persistent with checking for cancellations

South Carolina- while this is a county park / campground, The Campground at James Island is a must destination.

Happy Camping.
Thanks for the reply I’ve been to Cloudland Canyon a couple of times I liked it
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Old 09-24-2021, 07:42 PM   #5
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Tim’s Ford Winchester, TN
2 ways to get there both are narrow 2 lane blacktops one is more of a farm to market road. You are 8 miles from town 5 miles from the nearest gasoline IDK how far to Diesel so stock up. We stayed at the main campground there are two more they are not close together. The main campground was designed for tent camping this is oblivious I will talk about that later. The Camp store was closed in 2020 when we were there. Had to check in at the visitor center the parking lot was not meant to facilitate logistics of having a towable camper or Class A maybe a class B could get around. We figured all this out after much anxiety that it is best to go to the site you have reserved and drop the camper then go check in. May have just been a bad day BUT the word friendly does not come to mind when dealing with the attendants. I asked for a map and it was it like I asked for the only copy in existence. After that was over. we went and set up at #6 site the campground loop is narrow, no surprises, the back-in paved site was level however we chose to set up with the wheels just off the pavement so blocks were needed, our camper is 28’11” hitch to bumper. The hitch was 6” off the camp road with the back stabilizers off the pavement on the backend. Do lots of research the website said the max length was 30’ they mean it. The configuration is based on tent camping thus the sites are short for a RV but would have been just fine to park vehicles. The “tent “sties are elevated pads behind the rv sites that would be a nice dry area for tent campers, but a haul for RV’ers to trek to / from the rv site for a campfire,. The state park realized this and placed the fire rings near the paved rv site. This is why we chose to set up with the wheels off the pavement, didn’t want to roll out of the camper right in the fire ring. This also places some of the sites at odd angles to the next camper.lots of trails at main campground they are progressive so you have to get to the end of one to get to the next. the further they are out the less they are used. Swinging bridge is a cool adventure. All in all we’d return but do a lot of planning
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Old 09-25-2021, 01:48 PM   #6
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Highly recommend the Poplar Point campground - part of Jordan Lake State Recreation Area just SW of Raleigh NC. Wooded campsites. Swimming beach. Boat ramp. We get a lakeside campsite there for a couple weeks 2-3 times a year. It's on the eastern shore, so we get some phenomial sunsets across the water.
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Old 09-25-2021, 03:06 PM   #7
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... so we compromise she gets what she wants 90% ...
Does she like horses? How about camping on a mountain you have to share with a herd of wild ponies? Grayson Highlands State Park in Southwest Virginia, just north of the Tenn. line.
https://appvoices.org/2016/12/15/pon...son-highlands/
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Old 09-25-2021, 03:55 PM   #8
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I stayed at Reed Bingham State Park in Georgia a couple of years ago on my way down to Florida. It was the bottom side of my route bypassing Atlanta via US 27. Pretty nice park, even has full hookups available.
This year we stopped at Oak Mountain State Park site 17 in Alabama which was really nice. Largish site, nice view of the water.
Also nice was Poole's Knob in Tennessee. I posted some pics of that here:https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ml#post2585765
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Old 09-25-2021, 03:57 PM   #9
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Huntington Beach State Park Murells Inlet, SC is an oceanside park. It is south of the Mrytle Beach craziness and the beach is clean, easily accessible, and quiet. Great park store and friendly, helpful saff. On the expensie side at $60 for e/w and $75 for full hookup. Clean easy to access dump stations make e/w good choice. Good spacing on all sites with cement pads at full hookup sites. Believe they offer enior discount.


Spent single night at Indian Springs and Laura S Walker tate parks in Georgia. Both clean with big pines and lakeside camping. Would stay at any of these again.
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Old 09-25-2021, 04:16 PM   #10
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Fairview Devil's Step campground, also on Tims Ford Lake, is wonderful in lots of ways. Many sites on the water, most sites have plenty of length and width to get your RV and your truck into the site. Nearby boat ramp. Used to be a private campground and was acquired by the state park upon death of the owner. Closer to Winchester than the State park, by far.
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Old 09-25-2021, 07:47 PM   #11
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I’m sure there are other threads on this subject matter I just haven’t found them with my searches that disclaimer out of the way. I would like to hear your comments ( both good and bad) on State Park campgrounds in the South East. My spouse and I love our home campground she would visit there every time we get to go camping. I
DeSoto state park and Guntersville state park in Alabama. Desoto is our fave. Good hiking trails - not too rigorous- and RV sites are very nice. CCC Museum, Little River Canyon National park, Desoto falls, Orbix glass blowing studio all close. Mentone is a cute little town nearby too for shopping. Bath houses great. FHUs with pull thrus or back ins that are easy. Try for the upper loop. Site4 is our choice. Deer walk through the camp all the time.

It’s also not far from Chattanooga for day trip to Chattanooga acquarium and chickamaugua civil war battlefield. Great army infantry museum there with an extensive weapon collection.

Guntersville is on the TN river and beautiful too but we love DeSoto.
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Old 09-25-2021, 09:08 PM   #12
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[QUOTE=Alabama Potter;2639256]
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Originally Posted by 19Vibe22RB View Post
I’m sure there are other threads on this subject matter I just haven’t found them with my searches that disclaimer out of the way. I would like to hear your comments ( both good and bad) on State Park campgrounds in the South East. My spouse and I love our home campground she would visit there every time we get to go camping. I


DeSoto state park and Guntersville state park in Alabama. Desoto is our fave. Good hiking trails - not too rigorous- and RV sites are very nice. CCC Museum, Little River Canyon National park, Desoto falls, Orbix glass blowing studio all close. Mentone is a cute little town nearby too for shopping. Bath houses great. FHUs with pull thrus or back ins that are easy. Try for the upper loop. Site4 is our choice. Deer walk through the camp all the time.

It’s also not far from Chattanooga for day trip to Chattanooga acquarium and chickamaugua civil war battlefield. Great army infantry museum there with an extensive weapon collection.

Guntersville is on the TN river and beautiful too but we love DeSoto.
X2 on DeSoto.

Henderson Beach in Destin Fl. Good luck getting reservations! 11 months in advance.
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Old 09-26-2021, 04:43 AM   #13
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Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland, Va is a great little place. While I’ve not stayed there it is my go to place for dumping the tanks. I’ve driven through the whole place and it’s very clean, has a nice beach and a small camp store. The only reason I don’t stay there is it’s too close to where I live to make it an ‘adventure’ but who knows, I may just camp there one weekend.
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Old 09-26-2021, 06:25 PM   #14
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Does she like horses? How about camping on a mountain you have to share with a herd of wild ponies? Grayson Highlands State Park in Southwest Virginia, just north of the Tenn. line.
https://appvoices.org/2016/12/15/pon...son-highlands/
She was a horse person in fact I think she married me bc I was eyeball deep into horses, career, kids, well meaning but over bearing in-laws, and now health cured her of ever swinging a leg over another equine.
We went on our very first camping adventure at Chickasaw State park in Tennessee. It is known for the horse camping it was chosen bc of its proximity to the university that my daughter attended. We walked the poorly kept trails. She was not impressed but she liked it enough to continue to go camping.
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Old 10-03-2021, 02:30 PM   #15
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Not a state park, but a really nice regional (county) park. Blythe Island Regional Park Campground in Glynn County, Georgia. We’ve stayed on an overnight (while traveling ) twice!
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Old 11-05-2021, 09:08 PM   #16
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Roan Mountain State Park, Roan Mountain, TN 10/31-11/4 2021
This was an adventure destination for us, we did ton of research and literally all of it helped. We enjoy State Parks some more than others. This one, we have already booked for next year. To say that the vistas were beautiful does not even begin to do their beauty justice.
The Doe River borders the back of the lower loop campsite 56 which is where we reserved. The campsites are close by state park standards ( Like Harrison Bay near Chattanooga) however they are not Awning to Awning as the saying goes. For the area they would be considered wide spread.
The upper loop closes at1700 on 10/31 the lower loop is open year-round. Getting into the site was fairly easy , maybe one extra pull up and back in just to be sure the tires were straight. Length was fine ( TN state park web site says campsite will accommodate a 33’ max length camper plus a full size trick) I’d agree
Campground was clean and well kept ( Rangers on patrol constantly)
Campfire ring was the best I’ve ever seen, dug out with rock surround.
Grill available but just a standard campground grill
Water/ Electric hook ups
Roads in/out in good shape.
Camp store limited
Laundry available it’s shuts down 11/1
Bathhouses aplenty nothing fancy but clean
No cell service on Verizon or AT&T
WiFi is spotty but good enough to download maps and make calls
Trails are spectacular but difficult for those of us wit veg tendency’s
Overall, we loved it…
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Old 11-06-2021, 08:42 PM   #17
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Not a state park, but a really nice regional (county) park. Blythe Island Regional Park Campground in Glynn County, Georgia. We’ve stayed on an overnight (while traveling ) twice!
I second this. We've stayed here 4 or 5 times.

Gulf State Park, AL is our favorite with Topsail Hill SP, FL being a close second.
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Old 11-18-2021, 07:02 PM   #18
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@ DeSoto

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DeSoto state park and Guntersville state park in Alabama. Desoto is our fave. Good hiking trails - not too rigorous- and RV sites are very nice. CCC Museum, Little River Canyon National park, Desoto falls, Orbix glass blowing studio all close. Mentone is a cute little town nearby too for shopping. Bath houses great. FHUs with pull thrus or back ins that are easy. Try for the upper loop. Site4 is our choice. Deer walk through the camp all the time.

It’s also not far from Chattanooga for day trip to Chattanooga acquarium and chickamaugua civil war battlefield. Great army infantry museum there with an extensive weapon collection.

Guntersville is on the TN river and beautiful too but we love DeSoto.
We are are DeSoto Site #2 at this point we will not be adding this campground to the return soon list, we have had a no so great time here. Let me that Everything you stated is accurate (no deer have run through) The trails are where it all went wrong (for us) we went on the boardwalk “trail” then decided to try Azalea (orange) that turned into let’s go see the falls (Laurel & Lost) so we switched to blue trail. We stopped at Laurel (for the record it’s not much of a fall, more like a cascade) for some pics, and that is where it happened (my wife looked down and saw a tick on one of the dogs, then two, three…@ 6 we just bolted for the camper. We got back and inspected the dogs and found three more, none were found on us, as we sprayed before leaving. After about three hours of grooming, showering, then reinspecting we finally were satisfied that there were no more varmits, this ruined our trip as we are all about trails. We have settled on that the area we stopped was wet and the weather warmed to mid 70’s while we were on the trail as being the cause as we have traveled many many miles of trails with no more than one of the varmits found on a given trip.
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Old 11-18-2021, 07:58 PM   #19
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Buck’s Pocket State Park

This is a destination park, ie if you’re there you meant to be. As this park is so far off the beaten path that the roads are country lanes not roads. Once you get there the The sites are super nice with full hookups on the right and W/E on the left. The check-in / camp store is not much of a store but the attendant was very helpful. The sites are concrete and very newly renovated, they are back-in very easy access. Hookups are standard. WiFi is good throughout the campground. Cell service is almost nonexistent. Trails are good. This parks primarily for ORV’s. If you forget something good luck Section seems to be the closest town. The vistas are spectacular. Overall we will be back maybe not next year but it’s on the return lists.
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Old 06-12-2022, 01:09 PM   #20
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North Bend Park, Boydton VA. This is a Corps of Engineer Park on Kerr Lake which is in both VA and NC just North of Raleigh and SW of Richmond. Huge lake for all water sports including top notch fishing. Many of the sites have water and electric, are waterfront, spacious, private and well maintained. 1/2 price camping for senior access pass holders.
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