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Best Tent Camping near Appling, GA

410 Reviews

Tent campsites near Appling, Georgia include several established options surrounding J. Strom Thurmond Lake (Clarks Hill Lake). Raysville Marina offers tent camping with basic sites and direct water access, though users note there are no bathhouses available. Back to Nature Garden Center provides a more secluded tent camping experience with walk-in access, fire rings, and picnic tables. Pine Hill Camp, located approximately 45 miles south of Appling, offers dispersed tent camping opportunities in a less developed setting.

Most tent campgrounds in the area have minimal amenities, requiring campers to be self-sufficient. Leroys Ferry Campground provides pit toilets and fire rings but no running water or electricity, with campsites costing around $10 per night. Sites are typically unpaved with natural surfaces. Fell Hunt Camp offers drinking water from well pumps, vault toilets, and accommodates tent camping with some sites situated close to wooded areas. Many locations operate on a first-come, first-served basis with payment collected via drop boxes. Access roads to some sites like Pine Hill Camp include sandy dirt sections with soft spots that require careful navigation.

Waterfront tent camping is a significant draw for the Appling area, with several campgrounds providing direct access to J. Strom Thurmond Lake. At Leroys Ferry Campground, tent sites are positioned approximately 100 feet from the shoreline, allowing for swimming and sunset viewing opportunities. Tent campers often experience greater solitude than at more developed campgrounds, particularly during weekdays and off-season periods. The terrain across most sites features mixed forests providing moderate shade. Sites are generally well-spaced to ensure privacy, though some locations report issues with previous campers leaving trash behind. A visitor to Leroys Ferry commented, "For that kind of isolation right on the water for only $10/night, I'm not complaining much about the site."

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Best Tent Sites Near Appling, Georgia (12)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Appling, GA

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Tent Camping Reviews near Appling, GA

410 Reviews of 12 Appling Campgrounds

  • CThe Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 24, 2023

    Lick Fork Lake Recreation Area

    Nice spot would return for sure

    I was passing thru SC on the SCAR headed down to the Palmetto Rally and stopped here to camp. It was a very nice campground with level pads, picnic table and fire ring (bring your own wood). As well there were several vault toilets and there was even a water faucet. It was a good campground and I would stay here again. It is not reservable so first come first served. There was some cell coverage as well. I tent camped so can not comment on RV as the others in the campground were tent camping as well.

  • N
    Oct. 16, 2022

    Elijah Clark State Park Campground

    Friendly. Fun. Relaxing.

    Set up well for families with children… room to ride bikes, scooters, skateboards; playground; putt putt course; trails to walk; beach areas all around the camp ground for easy access to the water. Kayak rentals.

    Bathrooms were generally clean. Campsites a relatively flat. Good picnic tables at each site. Not every site had a pole for a lantern or trash bags to hang from. Fairly good tree coverage around the campground for shade and hammocking.

  • Andy S.
    Sep. 16, 2019

    Mistletoe State Park Campground

    Nice!

    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 & #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 & #2 are best for tents.  There is good separation between all sites.  Sites #2 & #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 & #2, and another another between sites #3 & #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 & #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 & #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.

  • Mo F.
    Aug. 26, 2016

    Mistletoe State Park Campground

    Waterfront seclusion

    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.

  • Bill W.
    Jun. 15, 2024

    Sumter National Forest Lick Fork Lake Recreation Area

    "roughing it" in a small secluded campground.

    I spent a great couple of days here mid-week in mid-June. There was one other occupied campsite (out of 9) the first night and I had the whole place to myself the second. No showers, no wi-fi or cell sevice, no dump station, no electricity, and a common water spigot-just what I wanted. No reservations either. 

    There were people who came to fish in the pond (more of a pond than a lake) and I had a nice swim.. There are two trails. A short one (about a mile) around the pond and a longer 5.6 mile loop. Great trail.

    Be sure to check the website for problems beforehand.   The water was out when I was there (actually it was restored just as I pulled out!!!).

    So all in all, I great place if you want a rough campsite with few others around.

  • Danny B.
    Mar. 30, 2019

    Leroys Ferry

    Can’t beat it for the price

    $10 bucks a night, sites spaced far enough apart to be comfortable, waterfront, not over crowded. I think it is worth the drive over some of the more crowded places. Each site has a pick nick table and fire ring, a few had charcoal grills on stands but not all. First come first serve, bring exact money because it’s just a drop box. It’s primitive camping so bring your own water, no electricity. No trash dumpster either so be prepared to pack if out . Cell service was spotty on Verizon but I was able to get and receive calls and a few txts although they seemed very delayed .

  • Justin S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 6, 2021

    Calhoun Falls State Park Campground

    Primitive Tent Sites

    I stayed in primitive tent site 10 but all of these primitive sites are great! Well kept and spacious. Some sites have a decent walk in distance but others are close to the parking areas. There’s water points to get fresh water if needed throughout the site areas. Definitely will stay here often when “car” camping instead of backpacking.

  • D
    Jun. 20, 2022

    Wildwood County Park

    Not perfect, but really good!

    Our favorite park is Mistletoe, a GA state owned park. This park is just a few miles away from Mistletoe and we only stayed here because we could not get a site at Mistletoe. In the end, we are glad that we did as this park is about 35% less expensive than Mistletoe and provides the same great lake views (ok, Mistletoe is still our favorite, but for the money this is a no brainer).

    We stayed on two sites as nothing was available for our entire duration. So, we started on site 38 and then moved to 58 after a couple of days (we can be quite fast at breaking down/setting up for in-park moves).

    Site 38 was interesting because we had about 100 whitetail deer in our back yard every night. The camp host apparently was feeding them, and he set up spot lights so that they could be watched as they ate. The deer had no fear (not sure that is good), but I am sure the appreciated the food. The only bad side to this is that the lights stayed on very late and it was impossible to block the light from our windows. I can overlook this, though.

    Site 38 was large enough and had big, flat, surface for the picnic table, fire ring, camper, and truck. Beyond this pad there was not much distance before you got to the next site, which just had a tent camper (who mostly was gone because this time we visited during a VERY cold spell and I don't think the tent camper would have survived the night!).

    Site 38 had views of the water, kind of like a finger cover, but it was not very close to the camper. Still nice though as the walk through the woods to the water was easy. 

    We moved to site 58 after a couple of days and it was directly on the water. This site was smaller than 38, and was only one of a handful of RV sites that are situated in an yurt camping area (if you have family that does not have an RV, you could stay in your RV and they could stay in the really upscale yurts!). 

    The weather, as noted already, was very cold and moving to a true waterfront lot made going outside something only for the brave! It was 40 degrees with 60 mph wind gusts that day...kind of fun!

    We walked around to see what the park had on that side, and it included a nice sandy beach, picnic tables under the shade, and a really cool primitive camping area that was out on a peninsula.

    As noted at the start, a nice park for the money. The cost was only $25 a night in March 2022 and that is hard to beat. If this were $40 a night I would de-rate it to 4 stars.

    All of the photos are from site 38 except the white caps on the lake, which was taken On our walk near 58.

  • L
    Aug. 28, 2019

    Calhoun Falls State Park Campground

    Outstanding

    This is one of the nicest state campgrounds we have been to and we are full timers and try and stay at state parks. The sites are large sandy sites with fire ring and a very  large picnic table. There was a path down to the lake from our site. It poured one day and there was a lake outside the camper but is was gone the next day. Great drainage! There is a very pretty swimming beach and lots of picnic table around the beach area. The bath house is large and clean as are the bathrooms in the camping areas. Our pull thru site was huge! Large enough for our 35’ and loads of room at both sides of the pull thru.

Guide to Appling

Tent camping near Appling, Georgia centers around J. Strom Thurmond Lake, a 71,000-acre reservoir with 1,200 miles of shoreline. The climate features hot, humid summers with temperatures often exceeding 90°F and mild winters with occasional freezing nights. Most primitive camping areas in this region require self-contained setups with limited access to potable water during the dry summer months.

What to do

Fishing opportunities: Clarks Hill offers exceptional fishing with clean, accessible shorelines. Steven S. notes, "Very clean park. Great fishing."

Water recreation: At Soap Creek Marina, campers can enjoy multiple activities beyond just camping. According to GoWhereYouAreDraw N., "To use the boat launch it costs $5... Nice walking trails which makes this a great getaway spot."

Hiking trails: Back to Nature Garden Center provides access to wooded trails while staying close to conveniences. David H. mentions, "Small campground almost downtown but the dense woods make you feel like you're in the country. There's a family dollar next door if you forget anything."

What campers like

Affordability: Budget-conscious campers appreciate the value at Leroys Ferry Campground where sites cost $10 per night. Danny B. comments, "Can't beat it for the price... sites spaced far enough apart to be comfortable, waterfront, not over crowded. I think it is worth the drive over some of the more crowded places."

Privacy between sites: Many campers value the spaciousness at Leroys Ferry. Daniel D. shares, "This is a great, unpopular place to camp. Most of the campsites have access via trails to the lake. It's clean with easy access and most sites are very easy to navigate."

Well water quality: Fell Hunt Camp receives praise for its drinking water. Brittany S. states, "The water in the spouts is well water and delicious. Would be a great spot for some group camping!"

What you should know

Payment systems: Most campgrounds use self-service payment methods. At Leroys Ferry, Danny B. advises, "First come first serve, bring exact money because it's just a drop box."

Limited facilities: Primitive campgrounds require preparation. Danny continues, "It's primitive camping so bring your own water, no electricity. No trash dumpster either so be prepared to pack it out."

Cell service limitations: Connectivity varies significantly by carrier. At Pine Hill Camp, Eric Z. reports, "T-mobile was pretty much useless, AT&T provided a little bit of usable signal."

Road conditions: Access roads to certain campgrounds require careful driving. Eric Z. cautions about Pine Hill Camp, "Speaking of the road, it's a sandy dirt road with some soft spots so pay attention."

Tips for camping with families

Kid-friendly sites: Raysville Marina offers direct water access for families. Jerry F. shares, "Absolutely love this place. However hard to get a spot because so many people pay monthly and leave there campers. Staff is wonderful."

Swimming access: Waterfront sites provide natural swimming areas. Stevie W. comments about Leroys Ferry, "Great place for the whole family for fishing and camping."

Advance planning: During peak seasons, secure spots early. At Raysville Marina, Jada G. notes the marina is "Friendly, accommodating, very responsive" but availability can be limited due to monthly rentals.

Tips from RVers

Leveling challenges: Bring leveling blocks for uneven terrain. At Pine Hill Camp, Eric Z. advises, "Not a lot of level spots around but we found a spot that worked for our 37' fifth wheel with some leveling. Were also able to position for decent solar exposure."

Site selection for larger rigs: Some campgrounds accommodate larger vehicles better than others. At Leroys Ferry, Daniel D. points out, "You can fit an RV on most sites, although they aren't all completely level."

Alternative power sources: For dispersed camping, solar setups can be effective. Eric Z. mentions positioning at Pine Hill Camp "for decent solar exposure" during their stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Appling, GA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Appling, GA is Raysville Marina with a 4.5-star rating from 2 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Appling, GA?

TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Appling, GA, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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