Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in J. Strom Thurmond Lake is the way to go. Finding a place to stay in Georgia while traveling with your horse has never been easier. These scenic and easy-to-reach Georgia campsites are perfect for your horse camping excursion.
Enjoy nature at its finest. Located at the entrance of Bussey Point wilderness recreation area- a 2,545 acre peninsula on J. Strom Thurmond Lake- the campground provides a relaxing getaway for the nature enthusiast for hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding. The Bussey Point horse trail was created by horseback riders for horseback riders. This trail circles the peninsula and is 12.5 miles long. Along with the horse trail, there are an additional 20 miles of roads and trails located within the area that all are welcome to use (no motor vehicles please). Located within the area are 15 food plots, six hike/bike/ride/boat in camping/picnic sites, and several natural beaches. Ample deer and turkey inhabit the area along wiht other mammals and birds to provide on of the best opportunities on teh lake to view wildlife in its natural setting. Adjacent to the area is the campground with 14 primitive campsites without water or electric, however, there are picnic tables, fire rings, and grills located at each site. There is also a boat launching ramp, hand pump for drinking water, and rustic toilets locatd throughout the area.
This recreation area is part of J. Strom Thurmond Lake
OUR PARK: We are a beautiful Year-Around RV Park and Campground quietly nestled in a wooded area just down the street from Lake Thurmond, third largest lake east of the Mississippi.
THINGS TO DO:
• Easy access to Landam Creek boat ramp less than 2 miles away
• Lake Thurmond: easy access to Fishing and Boating
• Hunting(Turkey and Deer)
• Hiking
• Golf: Savannah Lakes Village; Hickory Knob State Park; and McCormick Country Club
RATES:
• Onsite Campers (Fully Equipped): $395 weekly and $750-795 Monthly
Nightly: $45-50
• Weekly: $200-250
• Monthly: $445 + electric+ $200 deposit
$45 - $50 / night
The Broad River side campground has 25 campsites available (11 Waterfront and 14 Interior Sites) and the Savannah River side has 33 sites available (7 Waterfront and 27 Interior Sites). The amperage on each site is 30/30/20 and each site has a water hookup, fire ring and picnic table. There is an extra $2.00 per night charge if using 50 Amp service. The Savannah River and Broad River Campgrounds both have comfort stations (restrooms, showers, handicap access) and washer/dryer available. There is also a dump station located in each campground.
Our Pioneer Campground is perfect for those seeking a more primitive camping experience where we have provided a fire ring, picnic shelter, and waterless toilet.
The Danny Burt Yurt Village is located within a shaded area on the Broad River side of Lake Thurmond (Known locally as Clark's Hill Lake). Bobby Brown Park has five Yurts. Yurts are a circular canvas tent 20'feet in diameter, 12' feet high featuring lattice wall support, insulation, clear dome skylight, electricity, outside water, heating and air conditioning, ceiling fan and lockable doors. The Yurts have a front & rear deck along with outdoor picnic table, grill, fire ring and swing. The Yurts are furnished with frame furniture that sleeps 6. Linens and blankets are not provided. A full-service comfort station is available in the Yurt Area with restrooms and showers. SMOKING IS PROHIBITED inside the Yurts. Pets are NOT ALLOWED in the Yurt Village.
The Petersburg Cabin is located in the historical area of the park. The cabin has a full kitchen, microwave, restroom with shower, heating and air conditioning, two full size futon beds, one full size bed and an outdoor deck with picnic table.
Guests must provide their own bed sheets, linens, towels and other necessities.
Stable View has incorporated 10 full RV hookup sites into the property as a means to accommodate more guests. Used for horse show competitors, wedding attendees, or RV enthusiasts, these sites are a cost effective way to stay on-site and experience all Stable View has to offer. Over the past few years we’ve invested in the infrastructure of Stable View so that separate from Equestrian activities, it could be used for Weddings, Corporate Retreats and Family Reunions. As a result being able to purchase an additional 850 acres the property increased in size from 160 to 1,000 acres. In keeping with one of our core values, we decided to introduce a wild life and habitat management program. Environmental concern is at the center of this development which has been focused on our LEED (Gold) Certified Pavilion and our management of the surrounding area. Our intention is to participate to the fullest extent in the South Carolina Agritourism Association and to introduce Ecotours to Stable View.
$40 - $50 / night
Family owned campground located a convenient 8 minutes to Savanah River Site, 15 minutes to shops!
$40 - $450 / night
Guide
Our family stayed over the Christmas/ New Year’s holidays and it was great. The restrooms were just built in 2019 and were VERY clean and kept clean. The camp hosts were really nice. Plenty of things to do at the park. Crawfordville was where they filmed “Sweet Home Alabama” and it was cool to drive around and see places from the movie. The small town has a quaint library off Main Street. Will definitely come back!
Legend
Real friendly staff. Nicely laid out, but I guess could be challenging for really big rigs. W & E with dump station and pretty good facilities
Cell coverage a little challenging but managed to get enough download for Visible to stream Netflix. Too many trees to break out Starlink
Trails are a fun walk.
ScoutWe really enjoyed RV camping at this campground. It wasn’t busy, especially for a weekend. Lots of empty campsites. Super clean bathrooms. It has a couple of hiking trails, boat rentals, a nice lake to fish, and some historical buildings to explore but not a lot else to do. That was fine with us and our 2 night stay. Equestrian camping seems to be the big thing there.
Travelerim only staying one night. hitting as many towns as i can in the next 3 days that have griffin in the name. i am always prepared to be off grid. always nice to pu up and not have to unpack all my gear.
Traveler
Over all a great campground/site. We stayed at site #4. Plenty of room to spread out! It has a fallen tree and lots of underwater sticks right when you walk out on the lake so watch your toes! When we come back we’d probs choose site #5 to avoid the tree and all the limbs. Has a nice public spot down the road though, and the restroom was surprisingly clean. We’ll definitely be coming back!
Traveler
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.
GuideBeautiful state park with lots to see, nice hiking. Campground is small and sites are close. Some of the pull through sites are tight and challenging. Enjoyed our stay, will be back.
GuideThis is a tiny campground and State Park. We stayed on site 20 which was a pull through. For a State Park the sites are considerable in size and our neighbors weren't 15 feet from our site.
Verizon LTE was on 4G with 2 bars but we had no issues with phone calls, texts or streaming.
There is one bathroom and there is a washer and dryer despite what someone mentioned. It looks pretty new.
Park is beautiful in the fall. Middle November there were still yellow, orange and red leaves hanging on for dear life.
Head down the the covered bridge 20 min after sunset for gorgeous photos.
ScoutOne of the best sites I've stayed at yet. Super quiet, nice privacy (at this site for sure), and the weather was perfect. Super clean and maintained. Very well marked sites (since coming in after dark).
GuideI've stayed at this camp ground 3 times they have lots of sites right on the water many with your very own mini beach an you can bring your boat up to as well. Bathrooms always cleaned by host an super friendly people. The only issue the last time I stayed was there was a main pipe that burst an the water was cut off to the entire area for a whole day that was awful could not wash dishes take shower nothing. Had to leave two days early. But that was one experience every other time we have a blast. Wish the sites were a little more private as they are pretty close. But this place is well kept an love that the boat rental kegs creek is in this camp ground
TravelerMy friends and I loved our stay at pioneer campground #1. It's right off of Big Cloud Creek and old Bridge ruines, providing a nice private and relaxing atmosphere that gives you a glimpse into the past. There are plenty of hiking trails nearby as well a swimming holes and the main covered bridge. We all wish we could have stayed another night. The pioneer site is 35 a night and a couple hundred yards from the bathroom and coin laundry. Once you get to the top of the hill you will get cell service.
GuideWhile the tropical storm weather cut our trip to AH Stephens Historic Park we still very much enjoyed our visit.
We stayed in 2 sites with the grandparents. #9 & #12
Site 12 was a very nice straight site with the picnic table and fire ring down a few steps off the back of the main pad. Nicely wooded there was a tree very close to the hook up that caused us to park forward a bit to allow for a slide and side bunk to fully function.
Site 9 (handicapped site) was perfect for the grandparents as there was a short paved walkway straight to the bath house.
Both sites were nicely graveled and level.
Legend
Still being upgraded, so newish pad was still soft but pretty level. Sewer pipes stick out a good 6 or 8 inches. Electric posts are new but have a meter right below plugs, so surge suppressor gets to hang sideways. All nice and new. Will try again in future as it keeps improving
We just overnighted so did not use facilities nor do much in the surrounding areas.
I was right under a WiFi antennae, and managed a 4.5meg download and 4.48 upload. Following are phones ( mostly for hotspot) I have and how they feature Cricket; 7.98dn, 0.84up ATT; 27.69, 0.3 up Visible: 7.2dn, 1.2up Verizon: 44.9dn. 1.88 up T-mobile mifi: no 4g nor 5G service
If I we’re staying in the area for more than a week, I would probably try a nearby COE as they are on the water. This park is near the water and has a restaurant an few hundred yards down the road.
Really pleasant staff. Friendly and were helpful and obliging.
GuideThis campground is very quiet and right near the water. I enjoyed it and would stay again.
GuidePark is the home of the VP of the Confederacy and features his home and Civil War artifacts (check for open hours). Hiking trails. Power and water, with dump station. The shower house is new (2019) and is ADA. Also laundry is at shower house. Firewood for sale with camp host. Shady, level, back in and pull thru sites with fire ring and table. Ask camp host for tour of CCC built fire tower. About an hour to Augusta, GA, via interstate (Costco with gas/no diesel), lots of shopping and resturants. Also stables if you are traveling with horses. Can reserve 1 year ahead.
Guide229 ft long covered bridge you can drive through (height and weight restrictions). Sites have power and water, dump station is available. Shower house with laundry. Hiking and bike trails. Shadey and quiet. Wade in the river below the bridge but careful, the rocks are slick.
TravelerThis is my favorite spot for taking it in, and getting back to nature. Bussey Point is a no frills campground. If you are looking for luxurious amenities, and a pristine restroom facility, this is not the place for you. Bussey Point is primitive camping at it's best. Btw, watch out for the horse poop!✌
GuideThis review is for Prim. Campsite 2 at WMBSP. It was ideal for our family of 4. We had 2 tents but you could probably fit at least 4 or 5 comfortably on the site. Beautiful view of Big Clouds Creek. Rushing water sound as there are some small rapids there. We caught 2 bass. There is a picnic table and a fire pit with a built in grill, but we cooked on our Coleman stove and charcoal grill mostly. The drive down is washed out a bit but a 2 wheel drive Tahoe handled it. Getting back up if it had been raining would probably not be guaranteed, so watch the weather carefully. This site is best enjoyed in dry weather. There is a water spigot but it’s in an area with red clay near the entrance to the site so it’s messy. The hike up to the bath house is fine but it will get your heart pumping. The bath house is clean. There is one shower on the lady’s side and two on the men’s. Hot water was wonderful. No washer and dryer any longer at the bath house so be prepared for that. We LOVED the hike to the bridge, about 6/10 of a mile. You will pass the ruins of a old hydro power plant.
GuideWe stopped here for one night in December, passing through. The park had a beautiful Christmas light display with hot chocolate and a Christmas movie playing on a big screen. The park staff were so friendly. There is a small lake with boat rentals. Campground is clean. We want to return and stay longer!
GuideWe really like campgrounds that have a lot of room, space between each site and easy sites to get in to. AH Stephen’s fits that bill! Comfort station was very clean, hosts available if needed and the campground wasn’t overly packed with campers on top of each other.
TravelerPioneer campsite 1 is very nice.
As stated by another reviewer, if rain is in the forecast, probably would not want to stay.
Large site with fire pit and picnic table. Table is chained to a tree. No tent pad, you can pick where you want to sleep. There are lots of trees for hammocks. And you are right on the water. Rocks shoals right off the site.
The site is down a path from a parking area. There is a water faucet about 1/4 way down the trail.
Phone service with ATT and Sprint/T-Mobile is non existent at the campsite. 200 yards uphill at bathhouse service is available.
Very private site.
Will reserve again.
ScoutCampground rates are $10 per night and reservations must be made now through recreation.gov
All sites are waterfront On Clark Hill Lake(Strom Thurmond Lake)
If you pack it on, pack it out. There is no trash pickup provided
ScoutWe had a nice weekend at AH Stephens State Park. We didn’t get to tour the museum because of social distancing 🤷🏼♀️ but the park is well kept.
TravelerThe park located in small town. It is very quite, nothing is nearby. Walmart is 33 miles away, so you should stock up before camping there. Camp sites are big and far from each other. No WiFi.
LegendVery nice quiet park with a small campground (21 sites, all with electric and water). The sites are shaded, and flat with a gravel drive and tent pad. We hadn’t planned on staying here but were pleasantly surprised to find a few vacancies on the first Saturday in November. There is also an equestrian campground located several miles from the main campground. The main feature is a covered bridge, the longest one in Georgia, that is located ¾ of a mile from the campground (an easy walk).
A nice perk was laundry facilities outside the restrooms. The restrooms were very clean.
There are seven miles of hiking trails, five miles of bike trails, canoe rentals, and we saw several people fishing.
There was also a nice day-use area with picnic tables within view of the covered bridge.
GuideWe stayed at the esquirion site which was large and had stables. Beautiful place and clean... Kind of tight and up hill a little getting in and out...
GuideClean camp sites. Abundance of wildlife. The out houses & vault toilets are in good shape. This park is always quiet and offers plenty of privacy
Horse camping near J. Strom Thurmond Lake in Georgia offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure and equestrian-friendly amenities, making it an ideal destination for horse enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near J. Strom Thurmond Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near J. Strom Thurmond Lake is Bussey Point Wilderness Area with a 4.8-star rating from 5 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near J. Strom Thurmond Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 8 equestrian camping locations near J. Strom Thurmond Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
