Best Tent Camping near Lake Charles, LA

This are has been hit by multiple hurricanes, flooding and fires. The rebuilding process is taking time but it is on it's way. Large viewing ponds of alligators, turtles and birds are surrounded by walking and biking trails for all different levels of activity. The sites are only full rv hookup because thats where the money is. Hopefully primative tent sites will open in the next year or two. Laundry, bathhouse and wifi are available. Ice, camping needs are NOT available for purchase but only an 8 minute drive away. Slight constant hum of traffic can be heard otherwise very quiet camp.

Typical state park campground area to suite campers/rv's & tents. Must reserve sites for 2-day minimums or more on weekends. Many of the campsites are shaded. They have bath houses w/ showers and flush toilets. Since it is close to Lake Charles, LA and other towns, this park does get used by both locals and others. SHJSP is surrounded by water on 2 or 3 sides, and has low water areas within the park. Thus, it is a popular place to go for fishing, canoeing, kayaking. The birding is very good here most times of the year, and there is deer that live on state park property here. Mosquitos can be really rough here certain times of the year. Hiking trails are ok here, but nothing awesome, except a couple boardwalks & viewing platforms are nice.

This park is old and needs some work, but we enjoyed the stay. We were there mid-February 2019 and stayed for a week. It rained almost the entire time we were there so didn’t get to explore as much as we would have liked. However, one day we were able to walk the trail beside the river which was very nice and well-maintained. The campground is small and for the weekend it was full. During the week there were very few campers. We were in spot #53 and I would highly recommend that spot. We only had one neighbor to one side, and it felt a bit more isolated than the others. When things are full on the weekends, it can seem a bit crowded with spots being close together. It never felt like to cramped for us because we had (IMO) one of the best spots in the campground. Some spots have full hook-up, while others are electricity and water only. Ours was electricity and water only. The dump station is nearby and if you need to dump with a tote you could easily do so. Most of the campground is not level, but nothing bad enough that you can’t get level with blocks. There is a very nice laundry room that is free. That was a great perk. There are 3 washers and 3 dryers. Several of the units seemed brand new. We took advantage of that and did some laundry during our stay. Like I said, it rained the entire time, so the site was muddy, but not as bad as we thought it would get. Internet access was good. We had 3-4 bars of AT&T and Verizon. Lake Charles and Sulphur are not far away and have anything you need while visiting. The park has some nice scenery and the trail provided some good wildlife. The main things they need to do to improve it would be fix some of the roads/camping spots that have significant potholes. Also, the camping spots could benefit from some grading to make them a bit more level. It is my understanding that the park has made vast improvements recently and it shows. Give it a bit more time and it will be a great place to stay. Overall, we would probably camp there again.  Cost is $20/night during the week and $28/night on the weekend. These price are for off-peak season.

Small park with amenities. has a restroom. RV & tent spots available. very picturesque

If you like Louisiana Wildlife this is the place for you! I saw a couple of lounging alligators, egrets, snapping turtles, deer, and a chipmunk!!! I was kind of scared when I saw a sign on the trails warning of the gators! As far as RV camping, it wasn't a really nice area. The site we were in was 56, I don't reccomend it. Pretty unlevel and very close to other campers. When it rained, the water pooled on the backside and where the picnic table was. There was a shower house. It was old, but really clean.

This right here in Louisiana is a wonderful find. A great place you can kick back relax no hassles no problems listen to the ocean seagulls the wind. You can stay as long as you like just remember to pack it and pack it out unfortunately any real services are about 35 mi away so there is no quick run to the grocery store but it's just what you really want I look forward to coming back and visiting here many more times in the future.

The campground is located on the intracoastal waterway, just under a bridge. The sign says $4 for tents but the caretaker said it's $6 (still a bargain). He let us pay $4. Several of the sites had sheltered tables which was perfect for us since rain was in the forecast. The only problem was we were right on the water and near the bridge and my husband didn't sleep well with the traffic and boat noise. (I had a great night's sleep.) If you are a light sleeper I'd suggest a campsite away from both the water and the bridge. The showers were hot.

They did a fantastic job putting in the new Campground with full hook ups and extra large sites! Bath house is close by but we honestly didn’t use it. Nice wide hiking/biking trails, lots of water access, beautiful new bridges and a nice big playground. We will definitely revisit!

You feel like you’re camping in a parking but fine renovations clean restrooms with WiFi. $20 night with senior discount

The State Park was clean grass was cut , workers always walking around picking up trash.

This is my return visit to this park I truly love coming here.

$20 for site with hookups plus $3/person/night. The sites are level with adequate spacing. Showers are clean and hot but pressure is lacking. They are the push kind so you must continually press to keep the water running. The river walk from the campground is really nice. Office is helpful and kind.

this park is large enough to enjoy for an entire weekend. plenty of walking trails, bike trails, and places for the kids to play. great rv campground. Very relaxing with great views

I'm not one to give bad reviews frequently. And hopefully things have changed. But, back in 2016, this was one of the worst and dirtiest campgrounds we have ever stayed at. It wasn't dirt like normal outdoor activity dirt. It was dirt like the bathroom hadn't been cleaned in a year.

William is the on-site manager, he is a great guy that cares about the campground and the campers. Big pull throughs and the cost is 12 bucks a night! Power and water.

We needed a one nighter and were going to do harvest host, but its a little warm for that, so looked for a place with electrical hookups. Found this one, and so glad I did!! Only 8 sites! Clean, quiet, pretty, large pull thru sites, and near the water. Every site has its own USA flag (so cool!!), and a picnic table, bbq grill and fire ring. Looks like its very popular with the fisherman!! And best of all $12/ night!!

Our RV GPS and Waze took us right to White Oak Park. We went directly to pull through site 6 with FHUs. All sites are pull-throughs and the 3 FHUs nearest the bathhouse have long pads(easily fit our 40” 5th wheel and F450 plus are more spacious than their 5 water and electric sites. All the sites have a really nice stand-up barbecue and their own trash can. Water pressure was good at 50 psi and we had no issues with utilities. There are some trees, but we were able to get a north sky shot for Starlink. We got 2 bars on Verizon. There’s a playground and a boat ramp into the river not far away. Right about dusk when the mosquitos started coming out, a spray truck came in, which was nice. The campground (CG) host who lives in the Thibodeau house across from site 6, came by to get one of our driver’s license numbers as check-in. Two roosters were running around the CG that started crowing at about 3:00 AM. Our Riley friends had suggested this quaint little 8-site CG and we wished we had stayed more than just overnight in this quaint little city park.

Small little area on the river with nice pull through sites and some additional parking. We just needed a place to park the van for the night and it stormed one of the worsts nights we have stayed out in . 2 bath houses , cleanish . Boat ramp access to the river . If you find Gloria’s Kitchen she will cook you whatever you want .. would stay here again , not far off I-10

Great little Park. 14 sites. $12 a night. Reservable. Max stay 14 days per month. Day use area, playground, bathrooms, shower, pavilion, dump station, boat ramp. The host is wonderful.