Best Cabin Camping near Semmes, AL

Blakely State Park is a very large State Park, with different choices for camping. There are larger primitive tent sites, smaller tent sites with power/water hookups, RV sites, two primitive cabins and 2 newer cabins which are very nice. There's TONS of hiking, a battleground for history buffs, a playground, a boatdock, lots of hiking, horseback riding etc.

I stayed in one of the two Squirrels Nest, which are primitive cabins. Basically open air cabins. 2 walls, a roof and 2 walls of screens. There are two wooden platforms for beds. A twin and a queen, and barstools to sit inside and look out into the woods, over the hill in which they are nestled. There's a sink (but no water) and a cabinet, and outside a large deck with bench seating. Below is a fire pit and picnic table. There is a shared porta potty outside of the two cabins. These cabins are a bit of a drive out in the woods, so make sure your vehicle is up to it. It's very peaceful out there. My cabin was inhabited by mice at night, so I kept my food in airtight plastic paint bucket containers & my belongings covered by garbage bags on one of the platforms and had my air mattress inside a pop-up mosquito tent, so the mice did not bother me. I was after all in their house. I sprinkled peppermint oil around my gear & my bed platform to keep the mice away. Next time I will have my food in a large cooler so that the wildlife is not attracted.

There are hiking trails by these sites, as well as, steps down the hill, leading off into another trail.

i would stay there again. Great place to get away.

We spent the weekend at the Lodge (incredible, by the way, and commendable for being so sustainable!) and was so impressed by the entire park. Lots of trails, lakes, and ocean front beaches. In a red state where environmentalist practices can be hard to come by, the park does an excellent job of keeping nature in tact. The lodge is great, but there are water front cabins and cottages, back country platform tents, car-accessible tent spots and RV spots. Definitely bring bikes and kayaks...and bug spray. Pro tip: you don’t have to be a guest of the Lodge to use their pool, beachfront or restaurants!

I have done tent camping at this park a couple times. All of the sites are close together and the ants are ridiculous. I had read reviews about the ants prior so I came prepared. Each site has a picnic table & fire ring. There is a boat launch, which is popular, a pier and also 2 cabins that you can rent. This is a popular park for RV's. And of course there is a shower house & covered picnic tables.

I chose a specific site with water view which was enjoyable. The street lights throughout the park are very bright, so if you're light sensitive when you sleep, use a darker tent. All the sites have power & water hookups.

The retreat offers several amenities including showers, laundromat, and gas grills. There are even bouncy houses and playgrounds for the kids.

It's located on the river and they have a pet beach separate so even your dogs can enjoy the water.

The camp manager is nice and very helpful. They are definitely a great asset.

Full service hookups are currently limited as they work on an expansion, but they do have plenty of water/power hookups both off and on the river. There's also a cabin, glamping tents, and a tiny house. There are plenty of shaded spots.

There are a few long term residents who are friendly and welcoming.

I definitely recommend this campground for a fun, relaxing stay.

Couldn’t ask for a better place to take the family on a weekend get away. Lots of activities for the kids and very friendly staff! We will be back!

Very clean. Spacious sites with level concrete pads. Full hook ups. Only 8-10 minutes to the beach.  Very clean bath houses. Easy to navigate campground road with tons of room to back into back-in sites. Pull throughs also easily assessible. Nice pool. Check in easy and quick. Employees very friendly. Will be back next month. Camp store on site. They also have a few rental tiny houses and rv's. Trash pickup at your site each morning. Cable TV and great WIFI.

9/6/20 update: all things mostly the same, bath house closed from 8pm to 8am and WiFi not nearly as good as past visits.

Despite the appearance of an unglorified RV parking lot with basically zero privacy and not much space in between the individual RV’s, this spot is a decent stopover if you need to pull your mobile living room over for a short spell. Lakeview RV Resort has more than 100 individual parking lanes for residents and I found the community to be inviting and friendly  there’s even some social gatherings poolside (very nice feature) each night around sundown. 

Of course, the gem of this place is the 16 acre lake, which I was able to get my kayak into for a few quick handful of laps early in the morning. If you’re driving an RV or hauling a camper behind your SUV, then this concrete camping parking lot just off of Highway 15 (due north of Interstate 10) near Saucier may just be the perfect spot for you. But if you’re a diehard tent camper like I am, you’ll be out of luck. 

With ample slanted and elongated parking lanes for your parking pleasure, all of the sites come equipped with the typical 30 / 50 amp electrical hook-ups, waste disposal and water connections, picnic tables, garbage receptacles and even a community BBQ. Additionally, they’ve got a small boat launch, cement / asphalt pads, internet, laundr-O-mat, pavilion for large group events and propane for sale. The restrooms were pretty decent (but could use a serious power spraying).  You’ll discover that both RV’s as well as even a handful of cabins / cottages comingle here, but basically, this is a site designed for and around RV’s.

Insider’s Tip? Near this RV parking lot, you do have access to all of the nightlife and entertainment you would expect to find in nearby Biloxi, and of course, there’s the world-famous Gulf Shores beachheads that are just a short drive to. I’m a diehard foodie, so after a few days of cooking campside, I like to head into town for a nice local meal. There’s 2 great places I could recommend, right off RT. 10, due south of Lakeview RV Resort– either Puff Belly’s Brewery, Pizza& Grill(great live review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b55Vs2hnJk4&t=7s) or Fried Green Tomato, which lives up to its reputation as the Best Fried Green Tomatoes in the South(https://www.tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/souths-best-fried-green-tomatoes/). 

Overall, for the price, convenience and location, Lakeview RV Resort isn’t a bad spot for a night to take a break. 

Happy Camping!

This campground is a hidden gem for those looking for a beach campground. There were less than 10 people at anytime on the beach the 4 days we were down here. The beach is a 5 minute walk or 2 minute bike ride from the tent sights and extremely secluded. You can walk to the beach or directly into an enormous bird sanctuary that has literally hundreds of species of birds. Bathrooms and facilities were clean, well kept and plentiful. I would like to come back to this campground with our pop-up instead of roof top tent just to have some AC at night. There is also a historical battle sight/fort and aquarium all within walking or bike riding distance. There are also numerous outstanding seafood restaurants nearby. Had arguably the best crab legs I’ve ever had in my entire life down here.

I would have given this campground 5 stars except we had an experience with a creepy homeless dude that wouldn’t leave us alone. The campground did have him arrested and taken off sight. And my only other complaint would be the check-in/departure process being super slow due to paper files and no technology to expedite the process. I would most certainly recommend checking this place out if you are looking for an affordable beach getaway!

I would have given this

If it didn’t have the Gulf weather and bugs and or for that matter, the campers, this would be a five star campground. I sit here writing this review at the pool. I opened my book to read and the lady next to me brought out her Bluetooth speaker to blast music. Last night, a family chowed down on a can of pringles in the pool. Trash everywhere at the fishing docks. My husband went to put our wash in the dryer last night and dryers were filled with abandoned clothing. People have bicycles with horns.

We did make the mistake of coming here during one of the busiest weeks of July, but that doesn’t mean that every campsite should be littered with crazy amounts of gear, despite it being so obviously oppressively hot and muggy that much of it seems unusable. I want to reiterate: the weather is vile but I still can’t imagine bringing fans to plug in OUTSIDE of my camper. The campers next to us have a large trailer, camper bus, a large truck and a golf cart. In one spot. That doesn’t include the bikes, the chairs, the tents, etc.

The actual campsites and facilities are nice. Individual campsites are spacious and level and come with a grill and picnic table. Some site locations are much better situated than others (I would never want to camp along Campground Road - it’s insanely busy with cars and bicycles). It’s great to have a large pool w backside, clean and fairly large laundry facilities, a camp store and an exceptional network of bike trails. There is also a very awesome nature center, several playgrounds, pickleball courts, a boat ramp, and free bicycle rentals! There is ten bathhouses and while only three bathroom and shower stalls each seemed insufficient to me there wasn’t anyone in the bathhouses any time I utilized them. They were super clean and in reasonable proximity to all of the sites in the loop.

The campground, which is massive (500 plus sites) consists of several loops, and is smack dab in the middle of the State Park. Campers get free parking at several beaches in the Park, which we utilized (beach was pretty quiet in the morning). I thought that was a great perk. We didn’t get to bike much between the heat and rain but the trail system looks amazing and there were plenty of staged opportunities for both free and paid bike rentals.

The campground is located right smack dab in between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, which is ideal if you want to go play some miniature golf or grab a bite to eat.

I think coming off season is probably the best bet - we honestly didn’t even feel like we were in nature when we came and it was so darn humid I didn’t really want to nature anyway! I think the campground would benefit from allowing less vehicles at each spot - from my vantage point, I’m literally staring out at nine trucks for maybe three campers.

Enjoy taking the grandkids to Jellystone campground in Elberta, Alabama.  Lots to do with their activities,  wagon rides,  group s'mores campfire, fishing, crafts,  super clean restrooms,  well supplied camp store if you forgot something,  wifi, holiday weekends will usually include a inflatable water slide.  Nice pull through sites also.