Best Tent Camping near Andalusia, AL

This beautiful equestrian campground offers 55 RV/tent campsites and one tent only site and 60 horse stalls. All campsites have water and electrical hookups. There is a dump station, restrooms, showers, and a dining facility available by reservation. Cold Water Creek runs along the north edge of the campgrounds with easy access from the camp sites. A very beautiful area. Only complaint is the the campsites are right next to each other with no screening between sites.

We stopped here for one night on our way from Alabama to Florida and were pleasantly surprised how much we liked this part of southern Alabama and how nice the park was. After a long days drive it was a perfect place to take our dog for a walk to stretch our legs and settle in to a great campsite. The lake adjacent to our campsite made for a beautiful backdrop for our evening campfire. 

Turns out this 2,050-acre park is a hot spot for anglers which cruise the 1,000-acre Lake Jackson looking for hungry fish. The ranger told us the lake is stocked bass, bream, crappie and catfish and holds numerous tournaments. We really liked the setting of the campground with many sites being directly on the lake. Our gravel site was a long back-in right on the water and perfectly level for our RV. The park recently added primitive tent sites which offer more privacy and a nice setting away from RVs. Our campsite was set under large trees and we had nice privacy on one side by the other side had a neighbor pretty close. Luckily for us when we were there the park was not crowded and the lack of campers made for a quiet setting.  (Tip: Site #1 has a great view of the water and set off by itself and is probably the best in the park.) 

For a state park this differs from many in that it has lots of modern features. The 32 RV sites have electric, sewer, water and Wi-Fi and cable! You can even stay for a whole season, if you want. Prices vary widely depending on whether you want a primitive tent site, site on water, or off water. Additional fees of a reservation fee ($4), 3% resort fee, and 12% lodging tax are added to the cost and really add up.

Amenities include a large playground, swim beach, boat launch, laundry, and restrooms with showers. There are miles of hiking trails winding through the woods and a boardwalk that takes you over to trails on an island. You know you are in the south when the swim beach has a sign that says “Beware of alligators and snakes, Swim at your own risk.”

During our stay the park was hosting its annual “Scarecrows in the Park” function.  For this event, walking trails are lined with decorative scarecrows made by local individuals, businesses, organizations and school groups.  The scarecrows and scenes they depict are quite creative but some are a little creepy.

Overall, this is a good place to stay in southern Alabama if you are looking for a nice full hook-up site that is in a pretty setting. The price was on the high side because of all the added fees but it was the perfect location for us to stop on our route.

We love this place. Our campsite was in Loop2 #37 right next to the bath house the bath house/shower was clean. We tent camped and the light from bath house super bright. The site itself had one perfect spot for our tent all the sites I believe have water, power, picnic tables, fire ring ours had good trees for our hammock several sites had hammocks. The lake is close within walking distance, but they’ve blocked road so if you wanna drive you got to drive all the way around ugh. A cart would be helpful. Sites are super close together so it’s not necessarily a quiet campground. The people next to us had 80s music blasting, but turned off around 8pm. I think if you had big RV some sites would be a challenge to back into. No sites pull through. For one night it was $37.40 I believe. There is no fishing allowed in this lake, but there is a walking trail to bear lake you can fish there but not swim. The water wasn’t as clear this year as last year. We went on a Friday and it wasn’t really crowded. The beach area was clean. There is a grass area on the side of the beach with shade and tables and grills people were arriving Saturday morning 7:30-8am to get a table for their group. They have the water sprayers to get sand off your feet and restrooms close to beach area. They should add a slide that would be awesome! No double floats allowed but single ones are. No dogs allowed anywhere so that kinda stunk my dog don’t bark all night and would love to go. There is a boardwalk through woods but it was too hot for me to be walking but I it goes to Bear Lake. Life guards were on duty.

Black Water River State Forest is on the Florida and Alabama state line. This is all primitive camping so be sure to bring EVERYTHING you need to camp. Also it is connected to Alabama’s Conecuh National Forest, so there’s lots of ground to cover to get some miles in. My group of camping buddies and I decided we wanted to knock out two states in one weekend. It was perfect for that! There is an old lodging road that separate the two states. We camped in Florida the first night and Alabama the second night. The tall pines were beautiful and great for hanging. We even hit the beach during our stay an hour south.

Very nice staff! Go a little bit extra. Showed us to our spot snd even dusted the services for clean connections! Place was meticulously maintained. Nice visit will be my stop when going through Alabama.

Epic free spot just outside of the Black Water Forest State Park. Camp here for up to 14 days. The primitive area is really more geared for the tent camper with several nice flat spots to pitch a tent away from the parking area. However, there is room here for smaller rigs in the parking area. Please be respectful and don't hog the parking area so others can enjoy as well. We stayed here for 2 nights in late Febraury and were accompanied by a few others. I'd be willing to bet that this place would be heavily occupied by folks utilizing the boat ramp in the warmer months and wouldn't really be an option. This is boonedocking so no servics available. Pack it in and pack it out and be sure to leave no trace, so this can continue to be an option for be people to enjoy. On the edge of Verizon cell coverage service. Rigs over 40' not recommended.

We were greeted by the kindest friendliest host as we were setting up. He made sure we knew the rules and amenities. We stayed in camp site 2. The sites were spacious and grassy. Each site had a fire pit, a picnic table and shared a water spigot. Hurricane lake surrounds the campground so every camping spot has a view of the beautiful lake. I love that the tent campers are in a separate campground from RV campers. This makes for a more peaceful camping experience. There are bathroom facilities although, no showers. I will definitely camp here again.

This small, meticulously maintained campground has 30 full hook up sites split evenly between Magnolia Circle and Titi Circle. My only minor complaints are that the usable site space is all on gravel (very small pieces so it should still be comfortable for tents) and some sites are too close to each other. I prefer a grassy area (and some privacy) with my campsite, but the gravel is better for drainage when it rains. 

Beautiful Setting With Nearby Trails

There are a couple short trails and a swimming beach at Juniper Lake, but I can't get excited about swimming in an area that has alligator warning signs on the trail along a marshy area near the lake. The Florida Trail for long distance hikers is nearby. The Blackwater Heritage State Trail is a paved trail you can access near Milton for biking, skateboarding, etc. It's 8 miles and then there's a 1.5 mile Military Heritage Trail that continues to a Naval Air Station, but then you'll have to turn around and return the same way.

Canoeing, Kayaking and Tubing

Blackwater River is a popular location for these activities. We passed a rental place that had lots of rental equipment.

Site Notes

• See photos for site map as well as several site photos.

• All sites are back in with gravel pads except for concrete on 5, 6 and 19.

• All sites have a picnic table and fire ring on the gravel. There's green space/trees between most sites.

• No separate tent pad but the gravel is small and should be ok for a tent if you have a sleeping pad.

• Magnolia Circle: Sites 3 through 5 on Magnolia Circle back up to sites 16 and 17 on Titi Circle. That's a bit close for me, but no one was behind us. Sites 1/2 and 12/13 have no green space between them. I would avoid them unless you want to socialize with your neighbors.

• Titi Circle: Just stay at 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27 or 29 on the outside of the circle of you want some privacy. The other sites are too close to neighbors for my comfort.

• You're not allowed to tie anything to trees. That seems to rule out hammocks but there's a clothesline between 2 posts; I guess you could fit one hammock.

Amenities

• Full hookup, i.e. electricity, water and sewer hookup, at all sites. Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp outlets.

• Super clean restrooms/showers are located between the two loops. Showers had good water pressure and hot water. Even the sinks had hot water.

• Dump station

• Instead of trash dumpsters, you're supposed to put your trash by your site post between 8 and 11 am. And there's a recycling barrel for aluminum on the way to the restroom.

If you are a fan of taking your time while camping and doing some fishing this is the place for you! The campground is split up into two areas on either side of the lake (the upper and lower) and both have walking paths, camping, and lake access. I am unable to remember which side is which but one has more tent/car camping and the other side is more compatible for RV camping. There are several trails that circle around the lake and connect the two campgrounds. The trails are really beautiful and have a good amount of wildlife that you can see. Outside of the few trails around the lake there is not an incredible amount to do in the area but this is still a good option if you need a place to stay or stop in while in the area. All the facilities at both sites are very nice and well maintained. The trails are also well marked and there are many maps to make sure you don't get lost.

We had a great experience camping here! We’re seasoned tent campers but just bought our first RV and had a ton of questions 😂. Robbie was so helpful and knowledgeable, he made our stay super easy and shared all kinds of helpful tips. Friendly staff and neighbors!

The campground is very clean, neat and tidy. It’s very clear the maintenance of the grounds is never let go. The concrete pads are level and have plenty of maneuvering space around them(helpful especially if you’re new). The bathhouse has 4 large private bathrooms with showers, toilets, sink and an oversized bench for your stuff. The pavilion has grills, a tv and a massive brick fireplace. The pond is very peaceful and makes for a great spot to watch the sunrise. It’s also full of fish for you to catch and there’s a designated fish cleaning station by the bath houses! There’s also a fenced in miniature dog park! There’s a cell tower nearby so service is great and our HDTV antenna picked up crystal clear. The park is easily accessible from the highway and clearly marked. The gravel road in the campground is tidy, solid and well maintained like the rest of the park.

We’ll be back again very soon!

I’ll start out from the beginning of my experience in a nut shell. On the way to Florida from NE Alabama we experienced our first blow out. Sat on the interstate for 2 hours. Get to our first camp ground and can’t get to an open restaurant and there’s no stores with groceries due to panic buying during hurricane sally. Made do with meatless spaghetti. Woke up the next morning to the camp ground flooded and mostly evacuation. Pulled out of there and ended up staying at a hotel. On our way home we had a second blow out less than 30 minutes after getting on the road. My husband decides that we are going to find somewhere to stay and replace all tires before trying to continue home. I called the lovely folks at oaks family campground and they kindly took us in with no more than a 10 minute notice. They made a point to come speak to us while we set up. Didn’t worry us with payment and check in until we were settled. Gave us directions to the near by Walmart and tire stores. The grounds themselves are simply perfect. Not a piece of grass out of place. It is very quiet and off the main road but close enough to town. Clean well functioning amenities. The concrete pads and wide sites make for an easy set up for any level camper. 10/10 recommend this campground and would give it more stars if possible. Happy camping!