This recreation area is part of J. Strom Thurmond Lake

Mistletoe State Park Campground

The main feature is the lake. Fishing, boating, kayaking, swimming. Stayed at site #12. Waterfront excellent view of lake but sunny site. Sites had water, electric, concrete table, fire ring, and lantern hook. Not much barrier between sites but sites were good size just open. Everyone was very friendly. During week it was relatively empty but on Friday the campground started to fill up. Sites in the 60-90 loop looked the best with water views and shade and most were pull through. The bathrooms were ok and there is a laundry room. The bathrooms were quite far from some sites requiring a long walk or drive. Park had a great store selling souvenirs, ice, firewood, worms for fishing. Campground staff and host were very friendly. Not much around outside park. There was a dollar general about 12 miles away for supplies. You could pull your boat up to your waterfront campsite. They also have kayak rentals. 

Water and land

We camped in one of the tent only walk-in sites located on a peninsula jutting into the lake. We had a ton of stuff, not realizing it was an uphill and pretty long trek, but it was totally worth it. We had the whole place to ourselves, no neighbors, in late March. The sun setting over the water was beautiful, it was quiet even as a few motor boats came in for the night. There is a tiny beach on the tip of the peninsula, picnic tables, and an outhouse. It was my favorite spot of everywhere we stayed on an Alabama-Georgia-South Carolina roadtrip including AirBnB and bed and breakfast. 

Waterfront seclusion

well kept grounds clean bathrooms sites by the water some even connect to each others by stairs which is nice if more than one family is camping together!  just a beautiful park with plenty to do! 

nice and clean 

We stayed here this weekend (10/13-10/15) and enjoyed every second of it. The campground is spacious and the majority of the sites are located on the lake! The bath houses are clean, the sites are large and the overall park is perfect! The park is located about fifteen minutes off of the interstate but it feels like you're in the middle of nowhere! We hiked, geocached, fished and relaxed by the campfire! We can't wait to come back. If you need supplies/groceries there is a WalMart not far away but your best bet is to hit I-20 and head East to exit 190 (Grovetown). There is an Aldi (we love Aldi), WalMart and various places to shop/eat. Oh yeah, people often wonder about cell service in the parks...we have Verizon and we never had any issues with coverage (this was important because we're avid Geocachers and rely on our service for cache listings)!

Awesome Park!

Stayed here while working in the area. Great shower houses and beautiful place to stay. Went fishing in the lake. Very nice people around

Beautiful place to stay 

Prior to walking the Rock Dam Trail, I was interested in the conditions of the backcountry campsites. So a few hours and pictures later, I can now share this here. The trail could use a little more maintenance around the split rock area, and mosquitoes were plentiful between the "His &amp; Her Oaks" and Backcountry Campsite #1\. Didnt notice anything that would keep from this park getting 5 stars.

Backcountry Camping

This campground is close to home. The rangers and patrons have maintained this park well. The lake views are incredible! The primitive sites are a short hike in and so serene. The bathrooms are clean and have washer/dryer accessibility.

Beautiful! 

I've camped here a few times and frequent the trails.  Great for car camping, trailers, RVs, and back woods camping. 

Main camp areas have bathrooms, showers and even laundry.  Individual sites have power and water.  There's a small beach area and playground for kids too.  Tree cover is great in the summer.

Camp sites are close, but not in top of each other (probably 20 yds at closest).

The staff is super friendly and provide a lot of informative and interpretive resources.

My local favorite

My campsite was perfect! I loved that the sites are nicely spaced so you are not right on top of each other! Bathrooms were close and very clean.

Welcome center sells wood and general supplies.

Peaceful and amazing place to cast a line and chill while the sun sets!!!

So beautiful...and right on the lake!!!

Enjoyed our site. Camped next to relatives and had the perfect swimming area between us.  Planned on fishing but never got around to it since we spent most of our time inthe water. Bathrooms were veryclean and staff at office very friendly. 

Great views

Mistletoe State Park is just outside of Augusta, GA. It’s on Lake Strom Thurmond, which is good for fishing and boating. 
The campground was nice, with level sites, and clean showers and bathrooms.
When we were there the lake was very low, so the water activity was limited.
It is close enough to Augusta for dining and shopping if you need that.


Would be better with more lake

Most of the sites have water access. We stayed on 83 which was on a quiet cove. No view of the lake but easy canoe or kayak access. One bathhouse for our loop but never anyone in there and the campground was full. Our loop had larger sites than the main loop with the boat ramp. Most boats where docked right at the campsite. Very large park with many walking trails. Very nice camp hosts that maintained the sites very nicely. Take a walk to the walk in sites as you will see some beautiful views. I liked site 4 and then 2 of the walk ins. Both have a trail right to the beach. All walk in sites were nice. We took a drive to Thomson and did some antiquing in some quirky shops that were very friendly. We drove over to Winfield Campground which is a beautiful campground as well and is cheaper because it is an army corps of engineers campground. I would recommend either campground. The pictures are of our campsite (83) and then the ones we liked best. I have 73 as my #1 choice but we don’t have a motor boat (only canoe and kayak) and my husband thinks that site should go to someone with a motor boat. That leaves 82 as our first choice as we can still launch the canoe and kayak from that site. We have been told by everyone we have met for 3 years to go to Mistletoe and we were not disappointed.

Lake Retreat

Lucked out with a great site for two nights of Spring Break. No easy way down to the water from site 49, but it sure was pretty. Photos and details on the link. 

https://imaginecamper.com/2019/04/24/mistletoe-state-park/

The perfect view 

We absolutely loved our large site, right on the lake.  #82 was amazing!  There were even a couple wooden benches down by the lake.  We had just enough beach area to sit on the bank while the boys played in the water.  The bath house was just down the hill from our spot and it was pretty central to all the sites.  The sunset views were breathtaking and we thoroughly enjoyed our long weekend here.

Beautiful lake!

Had a very relaxing overnight stay here.  Would of stayed longer to enjoy even more of the area.  Highly recommend coming here for a night or a week.

Spacious sites with great lake views

Really great time at this campground. Sites are very large with plenty of room between sites. Some lake front, lake view and woods. Site 64 was huge with plenty of room for our two golden retrievers with lake view and woods. Kayaked around the area, water was nice and dogs loved swimming.  It was in the high 90s so the shaded site helped.  Bath houses were clean and centralized throughout the campground. Everyone was very friendly. Have a large beach area and playgrounds and picnic areas too. Great place to bike, will bring mine next time. Good hiking trails around the park. 

Great campground with beautiful lake

This is a review of the four walk-in tent sites at Mistletoe State Park.  I personally stayed in #4 and had a look at the others. 

The best site is definitely #2 -- feet from the water, spacious, suitable for more than one tent or hammock (better for tents as it is mostly open, but there are places for hammocks along the edges). 

Site #4 is probably second best, better for a hammocks probably (which is what I had) as no great level ground. It is not right on the water but has it's own private path to the water(couple hundred feet to the water).

Sites #1 &amp; #3 do not really have access to the water without climbing down something steeply dangerous or through thick trees.  (The water access from the other sites is right in the middle of those other sites so you couldn't really share that unless they are empty or occupied by friends.)  Still #1 is a pretty good site.  #3 is the least interesting and smallest, but still secluded -- I wouldn't call any of these bad.

None of these sites have groomed tent pads -- just gravelly ground.   They do each have a table, fire pit, and lantern pole.  #1 &amp; #2 are best for tents.  There is good separation between all sites.  Sites #2 &amp; #3 are within shouting distance of each other and you'd be able to see tents, etc at one from the other.  There is an outhouse between sites #1 &amp; #2, and another another between sites #3 &amp; #4.  It is a 5 minute (or so) walk to the real bathroom (which also has showers) back in the main campground.

Other than the lake itself at sites #2 &amp; #4, I didn't see any dedicated water source for these sites.  (The lake is silty -- pre-filtering recommended if you are using a filter.)  So you'd have to bring in water or get it from the bathroom area or maybe from an empty RV site which all have spigots.  You'll have to pack out your trash, and there are definitely critters around that will get in your trash so it should be secured somehow.  (Hanging it from the lantern pole isn't good enough -- you'll wake up to find a hole in the bag and it strewn around, ask me how I know.)

Everything in the park was very clean and well-maintained, although when I was here in September (during the week), the whole place was basically deserted anyway.

The water access at sites #2 &amp; #4 is nice but it is not a real beach -- it is all large rocks for the most part and they were very slippery even when dry so be careful.  The water level was also extremely low when I was there so some of those rocks are probably covered by water earlier in the year.

Nice!

This review is of the three backcountry hike-in sites at Mistletoe State Park along the Rock Dam Trail.  I didn't stay in any of these, but checked them out as I hiked the Rock Dam Trail.  This trail was supposed to involve several water crossings, but when I was here in September, the water level was extremely low and nothing was flowing beyond a trickle.  Water in the streams was mostly still and quite murky.   If you are filtering water (and you surely will be if you are camping back here), you'll need to pre-filter well to not clog your filter (at least when it is low and murky).

  

If you hike the trail from the Mistletoe parking lot counter-clockwise, site #1 is about 2.8 miles in, site #2 about 4.1 miles in, and site #3 about 4.8 miles in.  (So sites #2 &amp; #3 would be closer going clockwise.)  Water sources: sites #1 &amp; #2 are near the stream, and #3 is near a small lake.  If the water is low like it was when I was here, the lake water was not accessible -- you'd have to trudge through 50 fifty feet of mud to get to it and you'd probably get swallowed or it would really suck anyway.  So save #3 for the springtime only I think.  The other two water was there but murky as I said.  (Apparently when the water is high the streams are really flowing and possibly near waist level to hike through at some points.)  

  

Site #1 was the best in the most interesting location, spacious, level, pretty nice site for tents or hammocks.  Site #2 was more boring, smaller and without really good ground for a tent, although workable.  No shortage of trees for hammocks though.  Site #3 was decent (and the closest to start if you hike the trail clockwise), but again only when the lake water is high or there won't be any water (see pic).

  

All of these sites are in the forest and I'm sure it is quite buggy almost always, so be prepared with thermacells, bug nets, etc.  All sites had a table and fire pit.  All trash must be packed out.  The trail itself was pretty good, moderately strenuous with a fair amount of ups &amp; downs and parts where you are in a very narrow ravine.  If the water crossings really involved water (as they do in the spring apparently) it would be even more strenuous.

Deep forest, buggy backcountry!

Nice spacing between sites, renovated comfort stations with private showers, good little camp office, great staff, miles of lake shore, and lots of beautiful hiking. The site shown is #49.

Awesome lakeside state park

Mistletoe State Park is another great Georgia State Park. Tucked way back in a big pine forest and nestled right up on the banks of Clarks Hill Reservoir it is well worth the effort to find reservations at this park. Over 70 sights with 30 amp, and water service, plenty of road side gray water dumps between sights and TWO dump stations. The Park Host do a fantastic job with keeping this park clean with multiple bath houses and a large amount of community space. For the hikers the trails are great, and very in difficulty to keep things fun and the backwoods hiking camp sights were great. The beach and boating facilities were very nice. The playgrounds were still closed off due to Con-19. We saw lots of wild life, lots of stars at night (gets really dark at night). I may be partial a little when it comes to Georgia State Parks but they have earned it. This one lives right up with the others I have visited. ￼We had so much fun and created so many great memories that we can’t wait for our next adventure at another Ga State Park. 

Mistletoe and Clarks Hill Reservoir  

We frequent this place a lot. Bathhouse and grounds are well kept. Beautiful waterfront sites and group camping. 

Just Besutiful

Love the big selection of waterfront sites 

Great sites 

Spacious room between sites.  Lots of fun things to do!

Beautiful park

We’ve camped here a couple of times this summer. Great access to the lake. Nice campground. Clean good sized sites. Hiking trails. Very nice place to relax. 

Another Great Georgia State Park

Great site 49, awesome views. Comfort stations close and clean.  Lots of water activities.

Well maintained, beautiful views.

We stayed on site 73. It had direct access to the water, was right next to the bath house, huge pull through site, gray water drain on the site next to water and electric hook up. Bath house was clean and well kept. Wood needed to be purchased during daytime hours with card payment over the phone. No souvenir magnet because the store was only open Mon-Thurs, unfortunately. 

Some of the folks staying on the other loop mentioned issues with ants, but we only had ants in the spot where we spilled some dog food. 

Overall we accomplished what we set out, which was a trip to just relax the entire weekend. 

Beautiful and relaxing

First and foremost, Mistletoe is beautiful. It’s tucked away and the greenery is outstanding. The hiking is lengthy and gorgeous (if somewhat difficult to navigate) with an easy grade that’ll keep the huffing and puffing to a minimum. I wish the signage around the park aimed in both directions of the road. Navigating on your way in was easily enough, but getting out was tougher. 

The staff at the visitor’s center were friendly, and the toilets and showers were kept very clean.

A fair warning, though: if you’re a tent camper who’s looking to enjoy some quiet time by the water, avoid the loop with the boat ramp. We stayed on site 30, and were surrounded by RVs and boats coming and going: between the sound and the lights, it wasn’t exactly peaceful. Add in the extraordinary winds that were coming in off the lake the weekend we were there, and certain moments of our trip felt very tedious. The Park can’t exactly do anything about wind and neighbors with boats, but we intend to camp further from the boat ramp next time. We got a look at the spots closer to the walk in sites, and think those might be more conducive to anyone who’s going for a more low-key tent experience. 

Very specifically for boaters 

We had site 32 right on the water, this site is a little tight but the scenery totally makes up for it, although the sites are not on top of each other just this particular site is close to the street and is a tight squeeze for anything I would say over 26ft. We absolutely will be back to this well kept piece of heaven

Best Camping

We spent a couple of nights in Mistletoe State Park in Georgia while we investigated my husband's ancestry.  This park is truly beautiful. As you enter and drive through the park you are surrounded by virgin forest and arrive at beautiful Lake Thurmond.  Our campsite was the best we have ever had anywhere.  Surrounded on 3 sides by the lake we woke to the sunrise and retired to a serene sunset each night.  Those we met in the area were so helpful and kind.  We will be back.

Mistletoe State Park is a jewel in Georgia

We got to this wonderful campground on a Monday afternoon and left Friday morning and it was probably no more than 75% full that week.  It was super quiet and well-maintained.  The 72,000 acre lake is clear and clean and is great for boating, kayaking, fishing or swimming.  My husband caught and released several bass and had a great time on the water.  

  

We camped at Site #38 and it is probably the most scenic and peaceful site in the park and juts out right onto the water. We were just a few steps from the water.  It was VERY windy every day but the last and after a while, the wind got very annoying, as we had to keep everything inside the camper and the awning mostly retracted. I don't think I'd want to camp here with much higher winds, as the water would probably come up into your campsite.  It's also a site with zero shade, so in the middle of summer, it would probably be too hot. It's great to be able to slide one's kayak into the water directly from one's campsite though. 

  

There are about 17 miles of hiking trails and we hiked several of them. All in all, we saw about 6 deer (including a brand new baby fawn), ducks, lots of geese, many different species of birds and an otter.  

  

There are many comfort stations and they are building another. One even has a washer and dryer and they all have showers and are very clean and stocked.  

  

We are already planning our next trip here!  Excellent campground!

I wish we would have come here sooner!

This campground was quiet and tranquil. Large pines and mature trees. Surrounded by water. Camping and boating paradise. Immaculate grounds and facilities. Water and electric and gray water dumps at each site. Washer and dryer. Not a large park, but it’s a place I hate to leave. Pet friendly and great staff. 

Lakeside beauty

The campground is so nice and many beautiful sites on the water.  Staff is great. Bathrooms are very nice and clean!
We will be back!

Wonderful!

This place was so perfect and our first camping experience with our new 40 foot RV! Check-in was easy and they even let us change to a pull-through site last minute. The grounds were sooooo gorgeous! Trees everywhere. Walking trails. And of course the lake. We went during fall colors so it was really magical.

**PROS**: Clean restrooms, spacious RV sites (they felt very private), many bathhouses within walking distance, friendly staff, nice gift shop 

**CONS**: wet firewood and of course you had to buy from them, playground very small- made more for toddlers/preschool age, less than 5 years old, long walk to the dumpsters

Gorgeous and Tranquil in the Woods 

Mistletoe is downright beautiful, however, the sites are right on top of each other. I can literally hear my neighbors drop a spoon. The bathrooms are clean and well kept. The staff is super friendly and this this 2 star rating is only because of the lack of privacy. 

Also just an FYI, if you book your camping trip online like most people do, be aware that the 10$ parking fee is not included in your reservation. Even though you’re going the be paring at your reserved campsite you still have to pay an extra 10$ per vehicle. Also they will try to up sell you on a yearly pass. Not cool. 

Beautiful park but…

Had a great time in this well maintained park.  Facilities were clean, staff friendly, and everything was well taken care of.  Lots of opportunities for water sports, fishing, and hiking.  Our site (45) was probably the worst in the park as it’s an interior site in the middle of a loop…it all depends on your neighbors-and we weren’t lucky on that score.

Great park and campground

Overall a great park great for bike riding, kayaking or paddleboarding, trails were flooded and/or full of puddles due to heavy rain; the water where you’re supposed to cross the stream at one of the trails was just brown and murky and given the sign for cottonmouth snakes I don’t know why they’re stream crossing instead of bridges. (But I don’t know what it looks like in good weather).
Most campsites were very dispersed with a few exceptions (they have two different loops, I stayed at loop 67-92) 
Some of the best sites with gorgeous views: 
Best:
73, 79, 80
Better:
69, 75 (across from bathhouse) 76, 78, 82. 
Some of them have their own grey water drain 👍🏻😀 
Definitely recommend it and going back. 

Peaceful and gorgeous

The park is nice, but outside of the lake there isn't much to do, and I think that is ok.  It's why I went.  

It seems that many of the sites are water front, and if you have a paddle board or kayak or a boat it would be really fun.  

There is a beach area, and some people were swimming, but It was too cold for us to do that.  

We did fish a lot from the shore, but we never even had a bite.  It didn't seem like anybody around us did either.  The water was still pretty chilly in the first week of april.  

We had really good cell signal with T-mobile (5G phone), and streamed movies at night.

Lot's of lake front sites

We stayed in site 28 which was a premium pull through site. My biggest issue with the site was it was set up backwards. You enter on what is supposed to be a one way street and pull straight into the site. The picnic table and cleared spot for the site were on the back side of the camper which was odd. Also we had to pull up pretty far to get our electric cord to reach the electric box which got us off the most level section of the site and the cord laid across the camp site in the way. Other than the crazy set up which most of the pull through sites seemed to have it was a very nice park. Next time I will just reserve a back in site on the water. There are several boat ramps throughout the park which makes it convenient for people wishing to bring their own boat. There was also a designated swimming beach but it was a good way away from the campsites. We didn’t end up swimming because it was unseasonably cold. I did not use the bathhouse, but my children did and they were not happy with the bugs inside. My oldest daughter actually took a camp fogger and fogged the bathhouse before she took a shower. Otherwise the facilities were good. Their was a playground that my younger children enjoyed within a short walk of our site. My youngest son was happy because he just had to walk across the road from our site to be able to fish. There were also kayak rentals available from the office and those were very close to our site as well. Overall we liked the park and plan to return. 

Mother’s Day Weekend

This was my kid's favorite place that we have been so far. Our site 49 was right in the water. There was a drop of about 2 feet to get in, but we made it work. My kids played in the lake and we used our kayak and paddleboards. The beach was nice as well. We drove about 20 minutes to South Carolina and the J. Strom Thurmond Dam. Call ahead to listen to the recording to know when they are releasing water.

We have a 30ft TT and as we left my husband said anything else would be tricky getting out due to some trees on each side. The shape of the pull through site was fairly tight, but we didn't face any real issues with it. 

There are little black ants everywhere. By our third night they found some food which wasn't tightly sealed and there were ants everywhere. I got rid of most of them but it was too late at that point. We got some ant traps when we went home the next morning. Even though this was a pain, we would still go back, just with ant traps.

Bring ant traps, otherwise amazing 

We found this campground at the spur of the moment. It was a beautiful lake and a nice area, we got there too late to do any hiking. 

Great views and great trails. If you decide to hike on the blue trail, make sure you have water-resistant shoes. It's also not for beginners, and I would be leary about bringing children on that trail. 

Great place 

This review is for campsite 82 at Mistletoe State Park. An absolutely commanding view of the lake! It lacked shade in late March but once the sun went down, it was perfect! Beautiful sunsets! We camped in 2 tents and there was more than enough room, the tent pads were level, and the crusher run was comfortable under the tarp and tent. There is a unique lookout structure with a rolling gate. This was useful for corralling our cocker spaniel. We also set chairs up there. Accessing the lake was no problem, just down an easy incline, and there was a little beach area, perfect for sitting with your feet in the cold water. There are multiple trails but we loved walking around both campsite loops. It’s fun to see the different set ups. The comfort station near us was average, but adequate. The shower design isn’t super for drainage but it works! The toilet stalls and sink area were very clean. It looked like at least one comfort station on the right fork loop was more updated, with family bathrooms. I’m with AT&amp;T and I had very few issues with cellular data. The hosts were friendly and welcoming. The gift shop was lovely. We would love to go back and rent a pontoon boat and try one of the cabins. We would like the record to show that at 2:00 AM on the Saturday we were there, an airboat with purple and green lights and very loud music came upon the shoreline of the state park. It was like a spaceship had landed. After thinking about it, we think they may have been bow fishing. Of course our kids slept through the whole thing, no idea how! They took “disturbance of the peace” to a new level! No reflection on the park itself, just a bizarre occurrence and a funny memory for us!

The View from 82!

Can’t go wrong with Mistletoe for water fun. More sites than not are on the water. Beautiful place to kayak, and you can rent one for 24 hours for $30 (as of June 2023) and keep it at your site.

  

Sites are wide and spacious with well-drained pads and parking. Bathrooms are a bit of a walk from 29, but there’s a playground up there, too. Bonus. Around the rest of the park are a myriad of other site types. Some wooded, others exposed. Waterfront or platforms. Three different loops. Great staff and visitors center.

Mistletoe GASP: Site 29 (Waterfront)

Campsite 17 is beautiful. The water is great. We kayaked and hiked. We camp here often. It is clean and everyone was friendly 

Great park

Nice day camping but site B is our least favorite out of all the backcountry sites.
