Best Tent Camping near Ozark, AL

Cotton Hill campground was a great pick. Staff-Helpful Location-Ft Gaines, GA Site-97/98 nicely shaded with lake access 20 steps away. Amenities-clean bathrooms, water, electric close by. Site-tent site clean and included bench, prep table, fire ring, park grill, and hooked post to hang food, trash from. Wildlife-deer every morning, bald eagles, kingfishers, huge white and grey herons, alligator.

Recommendations-bring or buy live bait for fishing..none close by. Tent site is crushed/compacted fine gravel and is difficult to get pegs into..bring a hammer and metal pegs. Would definitely come again.

This campground offers beachfront sites where you can walk right out from your site to the water. If you get one of the sites that does not have direct water access, there is a beach, park and gazebo that everyone can access. Like the other COE parks we've seen, each site has a fire ring, prep table, picnic table and that really cool hook-pole! This campground has a lot of pull through spots, but only two bathrooms. Our kids had a great time hanging out here and we were unofficially awards the best hammock set up. Undoubtedly the most! This was a very user friendly campground. Lots of birds to see and a great view of the dam, which led to some dam good jokes. Lots of pull through sites.

Some thoughts from our kids- https://youtu.be/uCebtz0rawk

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.

Arrived at guard gate and was welcomed by friendly staff. Quiet campground with waterfront site 8. Plenty of space between sites. FHU, level gravel, waterfront site with picnic table, fire ring, and grill. Felt safe, and across the street from bathrooms/laundry. Dated but clean. Woman’s bathroom with showers & bathroom stalls. 2 washers & dryers, as well as a folding table. No dog park, but plenty of nature, paved roads for walking, as well as easy to find, marked trails. 10 minutes to town, with restaurants and a few stores to pick up groceries & necessities. Playground is on the other side of the trails, as well as the boat ramp. Lots of wildlife. Would stay here again!

My seasonal five-star rating is based on being here in the offseason. There is just something about having a campsite right on the water that is so peaceful. However, in the summer, I would imagine the water would be clogged with boats zooming around, and we would not find it so peaceful or enjoyable (but many others would). 

There are four sections to this 130-site campground: Mallard Point, Oakwood, Creek View, and River Chase. The only sites that are reservable are in the Oakwood and Creek View Sections. Only Mallard Point and Oakwood were open when we were there; I’m not sure if it was because of flooding or just low occupancy. Based on Elaine H’s review, we had reserved Site 50 in the Oakwood section for two nights and we were not disappointed. We were right on the water, which gave us a little concern after the host said the water was expected to rise (some of the sites had some water) but we didn’t have a problem. Not much separation/privacy between sites but most people were in RVs (didn’t see any tents). Each site has a large picnic table, fire ring, lantern hook, and food prep table. 

Bathrooms were very clean AND heated, which was nice as the temperatures dipped below freezing at the end of February. Each section has laundry facilities ($1.50 each for wash/dry) The map showed two dump stations, one at the very end of the campground and one located in the Oakwood section but again, only the one in Oakwood was open when we were there. Sadly, no recycling. 

There are two very short nature trails but no other hiking trails. There is a fenced-in dog park. If you are not a boater, there is not much to do but again, it was very peaceful at the end of February.

Sad to have to write a bad review for this park, as we typically love COE campgrounds. Not sure what the issue was but when we arrived our site had not been cleaned. Several inches of dirt on the concrete pad, part of a ripped trash bag hanging from the lantern pole, nylon cord and aluminum foil in the fire pit, and cigarette butts around the patio. We left it better than we found it. The bathroom (small but functional) was out of soap the entire weekend, although the facility was clean otherwise. The public grounds and nature trail were well kept so really I don’t know if it was an oversight on the cleaning staff or a late checkout etc.

The view from our site was spectacular and we had a wonderful time enjoying the cooler weather. We will give it another chance as several friends list it as a favorite, and hopefully we will have a cleaner site next time.