Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Brookhaven, MS

This is my first stay at Paradise Ranch. I had pretty high expectations based upon their website and feedback from friends. Note: Apple Maps and RV Life GPS will route you to the old park entrance which is closed. The new entrance is about 200 yards further east along Hwy 48. The sign at the entrance is off the road and you could miss it if you dont pay attention.

Checking in, the lady gave me poor directions to my site. It was unclear where to turn after entering the gate and she routed me where Id have to back-in to my pull-through site.

A very hard rain storm came through as we were setting up. Had to go in the RV and wait out the rain. Afterwards, I noticed a number of the campsites and roads were flooded with a few inches of water. Some of my neighbors RVs were surrounded by water for a little while until it could drain away. Fortunately, my site did not flood.

The entrance road is concrete, but all of the roads within the park are gravel or dirt. Some sites have concrete pads, especially near the Lagoon. We stayed in pull-through campsite #P85 which was not shady and not very level. It was a gravel site with grass on either side. There was enough parking for my 34 ft TT and truck. Neighbors are close. The site included: picnic table on grass and fire bowl. Utilities: 20/30/50A electric in the middle. Water in the middle, good pressure. Sewer towards the front with 4 screw-on fitting. I know they area I camped in is newly expanded and only opened up a few months ago. Im sure it will improve over time.

Bass Lake (onsite) is beautiful. The BL campsites are shady. I would probably stay along the lake if I came here again. There is an area near the lake where you can see (and pet) the red stag deer. There are also some hogs wandering around the lake that you can pet.

The Lagoon area has a lot of shade, except for the pool, of course. The pool is large and also incudes a kiddy pool. We were disappointed to find the zip line that is mentioned on their website was not there. There was a good live band on the stage Saturday night. They also had a number of activities for the kids throughout the day. We enjoyed the water gun wars. Some of the camp staff also participate. If you stay in a Lagoon campsite, Id recommend one on the west side as they are a few feet higher in elevation than those on the east side. There was standing water around the sites on the east side after the heavy rain.

AT&T had 4 bars of LTE and Verizon 1 bar of LTE service. AT&T Speedtest: 298 Mbps down, 28 Mbps up. No WiFi.

Stayed 3 nights in July. Would probably stay here again, especially if a group of friends wanted to go. But, there are nicer RV parks closer to my home. (Paradise Ranch is about 107 miles from home.)

This is a US Forest Service campground in the Homochitto Forest. The campground host doesn’t want the secret getting out. S/he jokingly told me “now don’t you go posting on social media” how much you love this place. But I do love this place. It’s definitely off the beaten track but worth the drive. It’s a great campground nestled in the woods. Some of the campsites border part of the lake and more are wooded. We stayed in the wooded area. Our campsite had a pretty picnic area with a wooden rail all around it and wooden steps down from the campsite to the picnic/grill area. There is a loop hiking trail around the lake and a longer mountain bike/hiking trail. The nearest town is Natchez, Mississippi so make sure stock up before you go to the campground. The campsites are mixed use RV/tent sites with water and electricity. They also have a dump station for RVs. There are two bathhouses with hot showers and flush toilets. I have AT&T and had trouble getting a cell signal to make phone calls except when I was up by the bathhouse. They accept the America the Beautiful pass discounts.

This is a lovely national forest (Homochitto), very peaceful and classical Mississippi beauty. The developed part of the park is simple with picnic tables and a basic campground. There’s a short little trail around the lake (where you can go swimming, boating, fishing) and a much longer one out through the forest. Simple and absolutely beautiful camping here.

Yay: The park is historic in that it has classic CCC style buildings, but the restrooms have been updated. We stayed at the camping loop up above the lake. Both loops have some sites close to the water, both are very wooded. They also have a site for groups that is far enough away from the normal sites to keep noise down.

Nay: dirt roads can be hard for some vehicles, but if you have a 4x4 or horses they would be great for exploring.

Surprise: love the trail around the lake, especially the boardwalks. Would be amazing in fall but we haven’t been back then yet!

Enjoyed my stay for 3 nights. the campgrounds are tucked back in the wooded areas. You drive in from main highway and feel like you’re in a tunnel of trees; temperature drops 5-10 degrees. I was in Campground “B”; nice area with some sites on the lake. Be careful selecting your site, some are uneven and the pad sets above ground level. Sites all have a grill and fire pit. Bathhouse was clean with a washer/dryer for $1.75. Men’s had 2 showers booths. Water pressure at my site was 40 psi no issues. Park is easy access to Natchez and surrounding historical sites.

After this teacher/mom and her kids were sent home from school due to Covid-19, we decided that some time in nature was what we all needed as a family. Our friends and their family joined us, and we headed to Lake Lincoln State Park for a long weekend. Since it was a spur of the moment decision, there were no neighboring sites with a view of the lake to choose from. We ended up at sites 36 and 37 since access to the lake was nearby.

Our sites were very close to one another, so these would be ideal for two people traveling together. If I had not known my neighbors, I would definitely not want to stay on site 36 as its view was a direct view of our friends’ camper and their sewer connection. This did make for some great jokes later. Each site had a picnic table, a concrete pad, and a grill but no fire ring or lantern post. Sewer hook ups were a plus since the bathhouses were all shut down. We set up a tent for our college-aged son just behind the two campsites (an additional charge of $15 per night).

We all loved the amount of shade and seclusion these two sites provided. We felt like we were nestled snuggly into the pines and enjoyed a peekaboo view of the lake, a precious chapel in our “backyard,” and easy access to the lake and beach areas. We used the driver side of site 37 as our communal area for our two families and enjoyed cooking, playing games, sitting around the fire, and listening to music here. Our stay was extremely quiet even with day use visitors coming into the campground to fish and enjoy the beach area. We enjoyed several walks with our dogs touring the campground and hiking the trail. We did tour the campground but didn’t really note any specific sites that tickled our fancy. We did see several that had direct views of the lake we know we would have enjoyed. Our girls enjoyed lounging in the sun on the beach area until it was closed due to mitigation measures. We hung two hammocks easily with the multitude of trees on sites 36 and 37, and few naps were enjoyed in both during our stay. The guys did some fishing but not any catching worth speaking of, much to our dismay. More than anything, we ate well and laughed lots during our stay which is more than anyone can hope for in a vacation.

Overall, this trip cured our cabin fever during an unprecedented time in our world’s history, and we made more great memories with our dearest friends. We loved Lake Lincoln and hope to visit again in the future. Hopefully, we can do some fishing AND catching the next time around.

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.