Best Cabin Camping near St. Joseph, LA

Clear Springs Recreation Area,located in the Homochitto National Forest near Roxie, Ms, is probably one of my favorite campgrounds within 3 hours from New Orleans. It's located in a beautiful section of the forest, complete with rolling hills and a lake.

The primitive tent only sites are located about half a mile up the road from the main campground, providing a substantial distance between you and the RVs. The dirt road to the tent only sites is lined with individual camp sites until you reach the back area. The back has a few small hilltops that have about 4 sites per hill. Each hill is about 50 yards from each other, again, providing needed space between you and other campers. All of the sites have fire pits with fold down cast iron grills. The ground was level enough for tents, and there's a good amount of trees for hammock camping.

The RV spots are located near the lake(pond), and have picnic tables and the fire pit. Some of the RV sites are more open air and without much privacy, yet some are nestled amongst the trees on the outer perimeter.

Adjacent to the RV sites are the restrooms, equipped with showers. On a very cold and frozen winter morning, I had decided to visit the facilities. To my great surprise, when I opened the door, I was hit with blast of warm air! So you can rest easy knowing that the restrooms are heated. There is a large pavilion that is open to air on three sides. the open sides have a railing with bench seats. There are also picnic tables located within. Most interesting was the oversized stone fireplace. It looks most welcoming, although I had no chance to use it.next to the pavilion is an open picnic area with charcoal grills and more tables. All of these picnic areas overlook the pond.

I understand that there is 17 miles of hiking trails surrounding the area. It looks like a large circuit with shorter trails interconnecting by the map.

I haven't experienced this campground outside of dead winter. I enjoyed the subfreezing temps next to a hot fire. I have been four times in the last couple of years, twice solo and twice with guests. I very much love this campground.

Rocky springs campground is a great place to get back to nature while traveling the South end of the historical Natchez Trace. There is almost NO cell service regardless of carrier. No electric, drinking water, or showers however the first set of bathrooms are very clean and work well. The bathroom sink water is not potable...it had a yellow tinge... literally. Nice paved pull through and back in pads, fire rings (way too tall but hey?!?), grills and picnic tables are plentiful. The large shade trees made solar power minimal but it was worth the boon docking, old time camping experience. Very peaceful get away from it all area. We camped next to the bathroom in a 21' RV.

$20, $13 with fed pass. 22 sites. Electric & water hookups. Dump station. Two campground loops - B: Sites 1-12, & A: Sites 13-22. Loop A is prettier that Loop B, but Loop B has more level sites which may be more suitable for larger campers. Camped at site 7 in a camper van. Large site backed against the woods with access to a hiking trail. Not much privacy between sites. Nice family campground. Sites have table, lantern post & fire ring. Picnic Area also in this rec area. Beautiful setting by the lake. Restroom/shower house needs some work. Mens shower stalls have standing water in them - possible drainage issue. Women's toilet stalls also have a similar issue due to a leaky toilet. Bugs were not too bad here in April. No AT&T & T-Mobile service at our campsite, but picked up a weak signal by the lake.

Spent the weekend camping at one of the improved sites with water on site. Site had picnic table, fire pit, and plenty of room for tents and your camp set-up. Our site had a great view of the creek and was a little more tucked away but right by the bathrooms. Trails are throughout the area, couple of fishing spots, lots of picnic areas with grills and a playground. The place was not very crowded and the US Forest Service ranger (Virginia) was very kind and helpful. We hiked some of Richardson Creek Trail, but decided to turn around because it was overgrown at points and we found ticks on our dog. Otherwise, it was a beautiful walk through the woods. Several large banana spiders set up along the way so keep an eye out! Also, the county is supposed to be under a fire burn until the end of October.

This little campground is nestled along the Natchez Trace Parkway at mile marker 54.8 (https://www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/upload/NATRmap_1_113_web.pdf).

This is a FREE first come, first serve campground that offers 22 sites. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and flat real estate for setting up your tent. The campground is well shaded and can accommodate RVs but there are no hook ups available. There are a few bathrooms that have flush toilets and sinks but there are not showers available.

It's a small facility that gets moderate use but appears to be well maintained. While black bears aren't prolific in the area they have been spotted. Be sure to store all food and scented items in your vehicle if possible.