Best Equestrian Camping near Madison, AL

The walls of Jericho are an incredible site to see if you are willing to make the backpacking adventure to them. The hike in takes only about an hour and is all downhill. Park at either the Alabama or the Tennessee trailhead (make sure not to park at the horse trailhead earlier on the road) and descend down into the canyon. When you reach the bottom of the trail and cross a river there are several campgrounds that you can set up at. After getting settled keep following the trail back into the canyon and you will get to the first waterfall/pool. Don't stop there though cause the real view is the waterfall at the back of the canyon that takes a little scrambling to get to. While there recently with my wife we spent 2 nights camping at the horse campground and spent our full day doing a loop hike into Tennessee. The only thing you have to be cautious of is it can get pretty muddy if it has rained heavy recently. I would suggest going in spring cause that is when everything is blooming and so beautiful.

The campground is right on the banks of Lake Guntersville and it has a beach area so it's great if you want to play in the water. It doesn't have as much shade as it used to due to tornados but it is still a really great campground. There are a lot of great hiking, biking, and horse-riding trails. On anygiven day you can drive through the park and see an abundance of deer. The state park is also home to a zip line and an excellent golf course and the lodge has a pool and a really great restaurant.

This is one of the larger campsites available at Walls of Jericho and definitely the easiest to find. I have stayed here a couple of times and always enjoyed it. The one downside to this site is that it can get somewhat flooded after heavy rains. It can also get fairly crowded since there are multiple firepits and tent clearings not far apart from each other. This is definitely the best site if you have a large group or want to be able to set up multiple tents. It is also at an easy access point to the falls as well as the other trails in the area. The site has easy access to water most of the year and can provide space for over 10 tents. If it seems crowded and you want more privacy though you can turn left off the trail and walk a short ways to the horse camp which is more secluded and removed from the trail. My last suggestion is that if you are here on a clear night head out to the field abutting the site and enjoy some stargazing!

This is a nice state park in a small town in north Alabama. The lake is really pretty and the campground has a nice view of it. The facilities were really nice and there is a store and restaurant all within the park. It’s a bit of a drive to get to town so try to get the essentials before setting up camp. The campground is nice– a definite recommend!

They have great facilities (super clean and conveniently placed). The locals are very helpful and welcoming. They were hit by a tornado a few years back and it took out a lot of trees and cleared a lot of beautiful landscape but since then they have worked hard to bring the beauty back and it's working on a huge scale! It's a wonderful place to hike the mountains and fish, bring the camper and relax, or just pack a tent and a cooler to enjoy the veiw. The lake is gorgeous and big! The best fishing I've had in Alabama is at Guntersville St. Park!

The Clark Cemetery campsite is a moderate sized campsite along the Walls of Jericho trail and is located just yards from the Clark Cemetery and the Turkey Creek Bridge. The site is approximately 3.1 miles from the Alabama hikers trailhead parking lot. The campsite is level and large enough to accommodate many tents. There are also many trees that would be suitable for hammock camping. You can choose from a shaded space to a sunny space depending on which side of the site you set up on. I counted at least six fire rings at this site, so multiple groups could be accommodated. With the very close proximity to the Clark Cemetery (a 1800’s family cemetery) I imagine the campfire stories could be very entertaining. 

This is backcountry camping so plan appropriately (no bathroom, pack it in- pack is out). We found no cell phone service with Verizon at this site. Water can be sourced from Turkey Creek if it is flowing, but should be treated/filtered (on this visit Turkey Creek was pretty dry after a very dry summer, but Hurricane Creek is just a short walk away).

Small but secluded backcountry site with easy access to the river for pumping water. This site is nice because it is level and removed from the water enough that there is no concern of flooding. This site does have less privacy though so take that into account. 

Sipsey Wilderness is a protected but unmaintained area in Northwest Alabama that is well known for its intersecting creeks, streams, and rivers that play together with the many waterfalls and magical rock faces. The wilderness area is contained within the larger Bankhead National Forest and is accessible from a variety of different trailheads many of which are only reachable on dirt roads. Hiking here you definitely get the feeling that you have left the rest of the world behind and are in complete wilderness. Different times of year provide completely different experiences whether its the exciting and boundless blooms of spring, the overgrown wild of summer, the bold and expansive colors of fall, or the high river levels and easy boating access of winter. Just make sure to always do your research and plan ahead since it can change so drastically depending on when you go. My favorite is either fall or spring since the summer can be particularly hot and buggy. This trip we had planned to kayak down the river from the Sipsey River Trailhead to the Highway 33 Bridge take out but were thwarted by a recent lack of heavy rain and unusually low river levels for the season. Several sites online suggested over 4 feet gauge height would be fine but after talking to the Rangers we were told the only time that it was really navigable was in the winter or fall for a couple of days after a major rainfall. With that plan out the window, we decided instead to throw some packs in the car and move our gear around to make it a semi backpacking/hiking trip.

Located on a huge lake, the campground is clean and the hosts are especially friendly.  We did not know about the tornado damage in 2011 while we were there, but we did like how wide open the campground was even if it was cleaned out by the tornado.  The lodge and golf course on top of the mountain behind the campground.  Small store at the check point and you have to buy their firewood.  Wish we could have stayed more than one night!

If you like to fish then this is the place to go! Our campsite was very clean and didn’t have people right on top of us which was nice. There was a bass tournament going on when we arrived but there was so much room we didn’t even notice. It stormed the night we were there so we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to but we will definitely be going back!

We had a great time. Very clean place and great fishing!

Tent site... full hookups... plenty of space

We chose a primitive site for a quieter camping night. Although the furthest away from a bathhouse, we truly enjoyed this site. It’s “pick your own” and we picked the site next to Seals hiking trail along the water. Each site has a fire pit and is mostly level. No table, so bring your own. No water spigot so make sure you have your own. Beautiful location with amazing sunsets.

There isn’t anywhere that doesn’t have a view connected to a great golf course and fishing that can’t be beat. Can get crowded but has places to get away on trails and the water

We stayed here in May 2019. It was very enjoyable. Full hook-ups. Bath house clean and functioned normal. Sites really don't have water views on even on the water that we saw. They have boat ramps and docks/slips. Tons of deer in the park. Drive slow dusk to dawn. We ate at the lodge and it was just average. Lake is beautiful and fishing is great. Nice cleaning station also. We will go back in the future. Also has golf course but I did not play. Sites are level and easy to back into.

It was a beautiful campground. The site we were on was not ideal. As soon as we stepped out the door we had to go up an incline to get to our picnic table. Our camper was pretty level and most of the other sites looked much better than ours, but that is what we get for booking late. The sites were packed in together, but everyone one was really nice. They had a clean bathhouse with laundry. There was a playground, small splash pad, and the beach area for swimming in the lake. My kids had a great time with all there was to do. The paths around the campground were paved, so they enjoyed riding their scooters around.

This campground looks so different since the tornadoes a few years ago took out a lot of the trees.  It is still a great campground, and they have planted lots of trees and really fixed it up.  We ended up in a tiny last minute site I think in B section which I would not recommend.  We have reservations this fall in F5 which looks so much nicer.  (Anywhere in F would be pretty nice) The primitive section is quite nice looking and right on the waterfront.  The staff said sometimes they allow small RVs like ours to boondock there (no generators) so we may try that next time we are in a pinch and need a last minute reservation.

Full hookup sites. Great views. Due to tornados in recent years, there are not many trees.

We like to come here for lake time.  Easy to bring and access your boat from launch and paid boat slip.  Campground store is nice.  Some sites are nicer than others.

Cool place to stay and visit. Was there during the 1st part of the COVID happenings! The staff was nice and friendly and started following the state guidelines... Was nice to see. Thanks! Spaces were a bit close but lots of shade in the upper parts of the CG. Lower section is more open due to a tornado several years back. Coming back nicely though. Lots of hiking in the area. There's a golf course. A Zip line and lot's of fishing and boating on the lake.

Amazing place to stay. Good park with plenty for the kids.

Such a beautiful spot! We like a bit more trees, which they had until a tornado came through in 2011 or 12. There is mot a lot of privacy; but we love to SUP, which was great there. The camp hosts and staff were very nice!