Indian Springs State Park Campground

This is a little gem of a state park. Indian Springs State park has a lot to offer. The camp sites are the other side of the lake from the group and public shelters/picnic areas etc so you feel away from everything. The park offers a museum, trails, kayak rentals and more. 

The multi-purpose hike connects to the Dauset Nature Center trails and is worth taking the extra mile or so, at least, to go visit the nature center. The hike is rated as quite hard on All Trails and similar apps but, in reality, is fine for most levels. I am recovering from a back injury and this was my first 5+ mile hike in years. It was more than manageable. 

One downside of the parks location is that you are close to Jackson and neighboring towns. There were some noises (e.g. loud cars) that could be heard from our site at night. It wasn't constant or overly intrusive. The main complaint was that other humans in the park seemed to not have consideration for their camping neighbors and enjoyed driving golf carts around while playing music at full volume. That can happen anywhere though and maybe shouldn't be a 'negative' for the park. 

The park is well kept, comfort stations are fine and staff very friendly and helpful.

Stayed at campsite 56, immediately next to the playground. This was great for us because we have two young children who could play all they wanted. There were lots of other kids there to play with during our 3 night stay a few days before Thanksgiving. The roads back to the campground were a little tight but we didn't have any issues. Everyone was very friendly, bathroom facilities were clean.

We played put-put golf, walked along the dam, and played on the playgrounds. The weather was quite cold, but we still had fun. We also went over to High Falls State Park which was nearby. Dauset Trails Nature Center is very close by with trails and an animal trail with animals who are unable to return to the wild, a playground, and garden. This was probably my kids' favorite activity - and it was free!

Cell signal was minimal with AT&T and the campground is fairly removed from the other activities of the park. I would really rate 4.5 if I could.

The spring was neat however, despite signs limiting each visitor to two containers each, every time we went by it there were many people there who seemed to be spending their entire day filling up containers. Actual truck beds full of containers of spring water. They were nice enough to let our kids jump the line to taste a handful of the water, but it was still annoying.

We arrived in the afternoon on a Friday at spot 59 with reservations via Reserve America.  We checked in with Terry & Mike the camp hosts located on spot 1.  They are very personable and helpful.   On Saturday morning, the visitors center is about a mile from the campground, we took a morning walk up to check it out and received a free night with our Friends of the Park membership!   In the visitors center you will find friendly staff, souvenirs and other items you may need firewood, ice, etc.  A museum is housed in the visitors center as well.  On the return walk to the campground we explored an old graveyard that was neat.  It went back to early 1800's .

Our 14ft Flyer Pursue was the smallest camper there at the time. Space 59 was very spacious and we had plenty of room. We did notice all the slots on that loop were made to easily back in a camper. We did ride through the other 2 loops and saw a neat 2 in 1 buddy spot you can put two campers on. That would be neat. There was some sediment in the water from the spigot and it seemed to have a bit of a chlorine taste. I would suggest bring your own water or a water filter. However, the bathrooms stayed spotless every time. As with many state parks the bathrooms are a bit dated. The showers were very clean as well, one is smaller than the other.

We found a trial behind our campsite that lead down to the lake.  We could have put our Paddle board & kayad in there but decided to put in at the boat ramp instead, there are many nooks to explore in this lake.  A lot of Parrot feather weed is in the lake and no swimming is allowed.  Hopefully, they will rebuild the beach area that was once behind the New Event Center.  

Fresh Air BarBQ is right down the road if you do not feel like cooking.  There is also the little town of Indian Springs which has some interesting stores I did not get to explore this time but plan on it on my return.

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best when we stayed here. I want to go back in the summer and hike the long trail. When we arrived there was obviously an event going on. The small town along the front of Indian Springs State Park seems to be very in tune with the park. There is an event center, excellent restaurant and small gas/grocery right by the entrance. The campground was full even though it was February, which once again speaks to the community and residents. Not the most private sites but they are roomy. I was way to close to the playground. Screaming children are annoying... I’m not referring to yelling and cavorting. These were squalling, screeching hellions with no regard to others around them. One even made a rush at my dogs as I was walking by :( Not much view but you are above some water. No trail near the campground unfortunately. I did not use the showerhouse, it was conveniently located, but was the only one so I’m sure it gets busy.

We enjoyed the nature trail but skipped the longer more difficult trail due to incoming weather. Saw some deer, not much else. Not a well marked trail but we figured it out. I saw people headed to the spring with empty containers and the falls or cascades, were very beautiful.

We reserved a spot yet you pick it when you get there. Georgia is changing that where you can book site specific. We drove through the loops & picked Site #81. It was big, private, on the end with water, electric & cable. There is spring water people come there & collect drinking water. I loved this campground when we were there it was so quiet maybe 2 other campers in the entire loop. We were there in mid June. We had so many lightening bugs after sunset it was amazing. 

We kayaked the lake you can fish on the lake too. We were the only ones out there, how relaxing!

High Falls state park is up the road we drove to it & walked around, checked out the camping. I like Indian springs state park better. The pool at High Springs was a zoo, tons of kids & loud. If you're younger with Kids High Springs might be better for you. We hiked along the river to the real falls it was beautiful. We picked up peaches and boiled peanuts near High Falls state park in the Dollar General parking lot. they were the best. 

We took a back road coming back from Ingles grocery store & came up on the Dauset trail visitor center it was amazing. There were lots of rescued animals there. Bear, mountain lion, beaver, Bison, Deer, Owls, Eagle, Hawks & more. Beautiful gardens & trails. 

We went to the Jarrell Plantation that was really cool. 

There is a old grave yard in the park that has so many headstones with just a first name or initials. Some families and doctors and others , dating back to 1830