Best Tent Camping near J. Strom Thurmond Lake

Petersburg - J Strom Thurmond Lake Campground: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer with a desire for a campsite that has at least some visual privacy - after the trailer is in the spot.)

Overall Rating: 4.5 Price 2023: $ 14 w interagency pass Usage during visit: Heavy, going into Thanksgiving weekend. Site Privacy: All sites are set back from campground loop road Site Spacing: Tremendous Site surface: Gravel. Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet. Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No reason.
Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: Yes Dump Station: Ues Potable Water Available: At site.
Bathroom: Flush toilets Showers: Yes. Single curtain separation. Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: Most sites are lakeside sites.
Weather: Rain, partial sun Bugs: No bites.
Host: Yes Rig size: Large rigs okay Sites: Most and maybe all sites have water views. Site 6 has a great view. Other sites have great views as well. Site 28 has a tremendous view.

Winfield Campground is located on the Little River near Mistletoe State Park on J. Strom Thurmond Lake. The 70,000 acre lake and its 1,000+ miles of shoreline provide excellent boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking and picnicking.

This wooded, waterfront campground contains 80 sites with electrical hookups. Amenities include flush and vault toilets, showers, drinking water, a dump station, playground and boat ramp.

Thurmond Lake provides some of the best fishing, hunting, and water sports in the southeastern US. Anglers fish for largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish and striped bass. The large lake offers endless boating, water skiing, jet skiing, canoeing and swimming opportunities.

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.

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.

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.

$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 .