Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Carthage, MS is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Carthage is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Find the best campgrounds near Carthage, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
$7 / night
"The national Forrest some time offers the privacy and seclusion on wants. If this is something you seek definitely come here. The ride out is a little ruff. Pack in pack out."
RangerBasic tent camping not far from water on Lake Okatibbee in Lauderdale Co, MS. This place is no reservations, first come first served. There are no showers but there is a pit toilet. The grounds are kept up pretty good there is a picnic grill and a fire ring. It is only 10$ and uses the honor system.
TravelerThis Natchez Trace Parkway free campground offers oddly placed paved parking areas, grills, tall fire rings, and picnic tables (most appeared in disrepair). Bathrooms were clean however older and not heated...and no hot water or soap. The parking is pull through but not clearly defined. Grills and tables were randomly placed. The park is rolling hills and drop offs at the curb side of some sites. No electric or water hook ups but there is a single outside faucet at the bathroom for potable water. Large shade trees made for minimal solar power. Honestly I had an eery unsure feeling during my 2 night stay. It appeared like mostly men were staying there and was just an odd placement of sites in general. I suppose it was the undefined site borders. I stayed in a pull through that was the nearest to the restroom. Had I not watched a YouTube video by 2tiredteachers when researching my trip, I would have been very confused on where the site were to even park at. But the highlight was Little Mountain!!
RangerThis is a very nice clean in every way dispersed campground. Offers bathrooms that are clean with running water and flush toilets. Picnic tables, lantern hooks, fire rings, grills trash pick up and paved pads to park your rig on paved roads into and through the park. This is a 14 day stay and very quiet and private campsites.
GuidePros: Very nice campground. Clean bath houses with showers, beautiful lake with a small beach. Access to mountain bike trails. Verizon cell reception for those going completely out of touch.
No's: Campsites are on top of each other with very little tree cover. Also, tents cannot be set up on grass; only on their "tent pads." (jagged rocks). I asked the camp host if any sites had actual tent pads instead of rocks and was told no.
RangerRV campgrounds on Lake Okatibbee in Lauderdale County, MS. The pads are asphalt and have electric, water, and sewer connections. They also have picnic table in good shape and a steel picnic grill. This is not a fancy park, but it is decent. It has a bath house- restroom and showers. It also has washer and dryers. The bath house is in pretty good shape- they keep it fairly clean. The staff is very nice. Most of the pads are in the woods with a few pads overlooking the water- none are on the water. We tent camp, but there are no primitive sites here. There are a few cabins that are closer to the water. This is a place we will come back and stay.
LegendPROS
No fee to make my own on-line reservation
Site 88 excellent view of lake
Pedestal BBQ grill
Wooden Picnic table top with concrete frame on a concrete slab
Nice space between MOST sites
Park easily accessible from I-20
3 bars T-MOBILE
CONS
No senior discount
Site 88 concrete parking pad all cracked and heaved made for difficult leveling
5ft wide campsite fire ring…biggest we’ve ever seen!
Numerous HOMESTEADERS throughout CCC campground. Made campground very “junky” looking with all their “stuff ” piled around in their campsite
Park roadway in very poor condition, potholes connected to potholes! Potholes keep speed at 10 mph or less
Able to hear Interstate 20 road noise
Train noise about every 3 hours
Toilet/shower facility heavily used. Finish peeling off of toilet seats. Women’s stall doors coming apart. No soap. Insufficient TP once the weekend crowds hit. Toilets were not cleaned Saturday
Handicap assessable toilet only in one of the CCC campground loops
Trash dumpsters are in next campground loop so 30 minute walk
No campfire wood for sale in park, but sold at EXXON right outside park entrance
No park WiFi
RangerThis is as simple and as it gets, but it does have restrooms. This is primitive camping so there are no hookups and nothing extras, just a nice place to pitch a tent or park. You can not reserve this site but it’s free. There are a few other similar primitive campsites in the park nearby. Nice and wooded.
Yay: simple camping! Very pretty wooded area. Lots of hiking trails nearby.
Nay: no map or info of any sort once you’re there.
Surprise: exceptional in fall!
TravelerI booked a site that we did not know anything about. This was the first time we stayed in the newer loop. We had tent camped in the older section about 5 year’s ago and had a wonderful time. When we arrived on Thursday evening to our site I didn’t know if it was going to be wide enough to let the steps down without fall into the 6 ft ditch. After some measuring of the slide outs and maneuvering over 6 inches from the electrical pole. We set up camp. I had to dig up the sewer tap that was running up hill. We made the best of it by setting everything up in front of the camper. The picnic table and fire pit was on the opposite side of the camper up hill with about 8 inches of pine needles going up. Not practical. So we didn’t use that area. Most of the sites were the same way with the picnic area on the opposite side of camper. The lake area was nice, did some fishing out of the canoe and kayaking when there wasn’t 30 boats out. Lake was closed for swimming. Overall we made the best of it. We will definitely not be staying at site 45 again. Staff was friendly and there were park rangers riding by all the time. There are definitely better sites, not all.
ScoutStayed a night and the next day up until two o’clock, (you’re required to check out &pack up before 2pm on leave day) the stay was great, campsite occupants were nice and even gave me and my lady fire starters when we forgot fluid for our coals when we planned on grilling LOL.. we stayed on site 8, it was a nice spot by the back end lake and its quite nice during the day. Nighttime can be quite humid and bug ridden but if you’re equipped for it i’d say this spot is great for beginners or family trips. Fishing is quite slow/inactive unless you’re on a boat, rather over fished.
Carthage, Mississippi, offers a variety of tent camping options for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. From secluded spots to well-reviewed sites, there’s something for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Carthage, MS?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Carthage, MS is Shockaloe Base Camp I Camping with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Carthage, MS?
TheDyrt.com has all 3 tent camping locations near Carthage, MS, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
