Best Cabin Camping near Swainsboro, GA

Magnolia Springs State Park is a nice Georgia State Park. Located just north of Millen, GA, the park offers ample camping for both RVs and tents.

Spots are flat and easy to park campers and set up tents with enough room between each for a bit of privacy and a few walk-in tent sites for increased privacy. Cabin rentals are available as well as a group lodge. There is a bath house in the main campground that is well kept complete with flush toilets and showers, as well as a coin laundry machines.

Kayak, canoe, pedal boat and bike rentals are all available from the visitor center to explore the spring fed lake and mostly flat trails in the park.

This is a lovely park to camp and spend time in, but is a 2-3 hour drive to Atlanta or Savannah if you are interested in exploring GA. The town of Millen has fast food options, as well as ample opportunity to pick up essential goods.

General: Small (25-site) campground, all with electric/water plus a fire ring, lantern hook, and picnic table. There are also 8 cottages and four primitive campsites. Most have a water view. An interesting thing about Georgia state parks is that when you arrive and check in, you become eligible for a senior or military/veteran “rebate” which is not available when reserving. 

Site Quality: All sites are gravel and level. Most sites had a step-down area with a picnic table, fire ring/grill, and lantern hook with plenty of room for a tent. 

Bathhouse: Was very clean. Lights are on a timer so make sure you don’t end up in the dark too soon! Did not use the showers but they looked to be very clean as well.

Activities: Fishing, boating (kayaks are available for rent), and some short hiking/walking paths. There is an 1880s grist mill/covered bridge with self-guided tours but it was scheduled to close for renovations on October 31 (not sure for how long) so we were lucky we arrived on the 30th and were able to see it. The hosts were very available and friendly. The campground was about half full and very quiet. 

Note that there is a sketchy RV “park” across the street from the campground. When we asked, the host said they keep a close watch on it and make sure no one from there accesses the campground; we did not experience any problems. 

We were told the colors were early this year and they were like nothing we’d seen before so as a photographer, I loved shooting something entirely different! Also, we were pleasantly surprised there were no bugs so close to a swamp!

We stayed here on a weekend during the summer. I really liked this campground and park. It is the site of a Civil War prison camp and has a museum onsite as well as previous earth works from the site which you can walk to. Our site was nice and large with lots of shade. It was possibly the best pull thru site in my opinion due to its proximity to the playground and bathhouse for my kids. Site 16 would be the best back in site since it is right on the lake. The bathhouse was clean and large. There was a laundry area as well. There is usually a splash pad available during the summer but it was closed when we went due to COVID. There is also obviously a spring there and it was really neat to look at because the water is so clear. There were also alligators and turtles in the pond. The turtles would swam up to the railing wanting someone to drop them some food. There was a little trail through the wooded area beside the springs going back to the campground and we did hike it. There were other trails through the woods by the campground lake which we hiked as well. In addition to campsites they did have cabin rentals as well. You can put in your own boat and fish in the lake if desired or rent a boat. We rented canoes and rowed around the lake. It was very nice. There were lots of alligators in the lake. It was hard to fish from the dock and shore due to the alligators trying to get your bait. We did really enjoy this park and would go back. It is pretty rural as well but there were a few small restaurants and stores within a 10-15 minute drive.

We camped here in a small hybrid with 3 kids ages 8, 6, and 3. In the center or the campground there is a small playground. The kids didn’t end on it too much, but it was a nice addition. There is also some permanent (concrete) cornhole setup, but you’ll need your own bean bags. There is also a covered picnic area beside the bathhouse and playground with 3 picnic tables and it’s own fire pit. It wasn’t used while we were there, but if you were camping with a few other families it would be amazing!

Each site has electric and water, no sewer. I’ll get to which ones look like the best ones below. Some of the sites are awkward curving instead of straight back in, but most are pretty easy to get into. The only down side is that most sites have large concrete picnic tables and the fire ring is very close while also near a corner of the raised gravel parking level. This makes it a bit more challenging to set up chairs around the fire.

There is one bathhouse, which includes men and women’s bathroom and showers, a laundry room with a large sink (there is no sign that says you can’t wash dishes in this sink), and an all gender accessible toilet/shower room. This shower has a waist high spicket as well as a normal height one. The lower one worked really well to shower the 3 year old covered in vomit after my less than stellar decision to swing her in the hammock all nap time. 🤷‍♀️ The bathhouse was clean and the water hot. They had added a place to hang clothes while showering. There is not bench to set things down, and that would be my only suggestion. My husband said the shower in the men’s room was plumbed backwards and hot was cold and cold was hot. No issues in the women’s.

The rangers were fantastic and friendly. We participated in a hike with the park manager where she told us about the animals in the park and even let us feel grey fox and beaver pelts. We saw vultures and an armadillo. That finished with hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows! On Saturday we took the beginner archery lesson with another ranger. She was so patient with our 6 year old who gets frustrated very easily. It was so much fun! It was obvious that this particular ranger was great kids. The archery lesson was fun for the adults too. Later in the afternoon we participated in a scavenger hunt. Also done very well, definitely geared towards kids, (as expected) but it was definitely fun for the whole family. All the activities were well done. You can also rent paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, and bikes. All the trailers are family friendly. I think this park is perfect for families with young kids.

See this pictures for the best campsites. In short, 16 is the best site by far. Only one with a lake view. 12&14 would be my pick for two campers camping together.

This state park has a beautiful natural spring that is home to aquatic turtles, fish and aligators. It has history as a prisoner of war camp for the civil war and you can see some of that natural history as you walk it's many trails. The knowledgeable rangers work hand in hand with the local college and it's students in archeology to uncover more and more of it's secrets. Here you can play on athe playground with its water splashpad, go down the slides, and walk around the stream looking for aligators (don't feed the aligators) There is birdwatching, kicking and canoeing or paddleboats if you prefer on the lake. You can primitive camp, use a tent or RV space with water and power or rent a cabin. The friends of the park and the rangers host many various activities to make your stay a memorable one. Enjoy!

Spent the afternoon here to hike and relax. The camp/RV sites are nice and spaced out. The bathrooms were sparkling! There’s a dump station as well as laundry and showers. I had 1-2 bars with Verizon LTE so I received texts but couldn’t really get online if needed.

I hiked a trail loop to the primitive camp sites since that’s my preferred way to camp so I could see if this was somewhere I’d like to come camp in the future. The trail was easy to follow and the campsites are so spaced out you really feel like You have the woods to yourself! Each spot had a fire ring and nice pad to set up your tent. There’s a boat dock so make sure you bring your canoes and kayaks to explore.

Jack Hill State Park is a small campsite in Reidsville, Georgia. The state park features a lake, golf course, mini golf and splash pad. There are less than 35 campsites on the property and each campsite was well spaced out. The bathroom/shower house facilities were clean and seemed quite new. They had 1 washer and dryer on site on the backside of the bathrooms. While it would be great if they had another set of laundry machines, I understand as it is such a small park and there is laundry very close by. The Park featured only 1 or 2 trails that were really short. I wish they had more trails. The Park was within a few minutes of basic amenities like gas, groceries and a McDonalds. The nearest Walmart was 30 minutes away in Vidalia, GA and it featured restaurants and tons of stores nearby. The campsite was $35 per night and we had full hookups.