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Best Tent Camping near Dennis, MS

281 Reviews

Tent camping near Dennis, Mississippi provides access to several backcountry and primitive camping options within driving distance, particularly in the nearby Sipsey Wilderness area of Bankhead National Forest in Alabama. Thompson Creek Trail Campsites, rated 4.9 stars, offers numerous primitive tent sites along a scenic waterway. The Tupelo Bicycle Only Camp on the Natchez Trace Parkway provides tent-only camping specifically designed for cyclists traveling this historic route.

Most tent campsites in the region are primitive with minimal amenities. Thompson Creek Trail features walk-in tent sites with established fire rings but no toilets or potable water. Campers must filter water from streams or pack in their own supplies. The Sipsey Wilderness backcountry sites (Trail 207 Sites B, C, and D) are accessible only by hiking trails and offer drinking water access but no facilities. Second Creek Rec Area provides more accessible tent camping with concrete picnic tables and portable toilets. Weather conditions vary significantly by season, with summer bringing heat and humidity while spring and fall offer more moderate temperatures.

The backcountry tent camping experience in this region is characterized by natural features including waterfalls, streams, and rock formations. According to reviews, Thompson Creek Trail offers "plenty of space to set up a tent" with sites that are "very quiet" where "you will not hear any neighboring campers." One visitor noted, "If you're looking to really get away from it all and do some primitive camping, this is a great place to go." The Sipsey Wilderness backcountry sites provide sand-covered tent pads in some locations, offering comfortable surfaces for sleeping. Campers should be prepared for varying water levels in streams, which can be higher in winter and potentially dry during summer drought conditions. Bug spray is recommended, particularly during warmer months.

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Best Tent Sites Near Dennis, Mississippi (7)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Dennis, MS

10 Photos of 7 Dennis Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Dennis, MS

281 Reviews of 7 Dennis Campgrounds

  • Napunani
    Jun. 23, 2022

    J.P. Coleman State Park Campground

    Nice Lake View...but

    PROS 

    We were able to reserve 368 days prior to arrival 

    Very friendly and helpful check-in clerk 

    Fantastic view of the lake from site 45 

    Mostly quiet except for campground party animals until 3am! 

    Concrete parking pad 

    BBQ grill 

    Fire ring constructed of concrete pavers 

    Coin-operated washers/dryers in shower/toilet facility 

    Small playground, pool and mini-golf course 

    Good jumping off point for Shiloh Battlefield 

    CONS 

    Campsite 45 was full of litter…cigarettes butts, bones, bottle caps, pieces of chalk, straws, melted soda bottles…just nasty 

    Fire ring made of concrete pavers full of ash and trash upon arrival…again nasty Pedestal BBQ grill full of trash and ash upon arrival…more nastiness 

    Campers ignored basic rules/courtesy/respect such as keeping dogs on leash and walking through occupied campsites at anytime. One camper walking through our site complained to us our chairs on our site were in THEIR way. 

    No senior discount 

    Narrow site 

    Site 45 not level 

    Site 45 mostly fun sun 

    Basically we didn't experience any of the campground rules being enforced so obviously there is no management oversight at this State Park 

    Never saw a park ranger drive through the campground (Saturday-Monday) 

    Never saw a camp host or a campsite for a camp host

    Campground quiet hours not enforced 

    Posted "No Swimming” from campsites along lake, but that didn’t stop a sole and no one enforced it 

    Concrete picnic table at end of parking pad, so at the bumper of the camper 

    Sites very close to each other with no vegetation between sites, so no privacy what so ever 

    Street lights throughout campground, so not dark sky friendly 

    Small playground, pool and mini-golf course not walkable from campground 

    Trash dumpsters outside of campground…not walkable 

    Twisty, steep and narrow roadway into campsite...not for novice rig drivers

    Due to short campsites, tow vehicles had to be creative with parking, sometimes blocking most of the campground road, again no enforcement efforts

    No WiFi 

    1 bar Verizon

  • Daniel K.
    Oct. 29, 2021

    Tishomingo State Park Campground

    Quaint and quiet

    This is our first visit here. First impressions are that it is a small, quiet park. It turned out to be less than we expected but not total a let down. The drive in and area in and around the park are beautiful scenic areas. We have encountered several trails, a lake, basketball area, pool, and other typical campground facilities. The sites themselves are mostly spacious with rather small camper pads. The green areas around the pads are spacious but mostly in even. We had a hard time finding an area flat enough to put up out tent on level ground. There is a grill, fire ring, and picnic table on each site.

  • Napunani
    Dec. 13, 2022

    Trace State Park Campground

    Great Lake Views in Deer Run Campground

    PROS 

    No transaction fee assessed for making my own online reservation 

    Site 8 excellent view of lake 

    Asphalt parking pad 

    Pedestal BBQ, moveable wooden picnic table and rock campfire pit. 

    Eagle Ridge campground has 3 washers and 3 dryers $1.50 

    Heated toilet/shower blding. No AC tho - just a box fan.


    1 bar T-MOBILE but we’re able to live stream TV via T-MOBILE hot spot

    CONS 

    No senior discount 

    Site number is painted in the roadway and due to leaves on road difficult to find Numerous large road potholes from entrance gate to campground.  Guess this eliminates any need for speed bumps!

    Not dark sky friendly due to 2 street lights, at site 2 and 13, that light up most of the small campground loop 

    Deer Run campsites very close to each other 

    Site 8 unlevel side-to-side 

    Dirt and sand surrounded asphalt parking pad so during rains (for 2 days) it was a big mess 

    No privacy from any other campsite 

    Due to campsite water spigot being low to ground, insufficient space to add water filter 

    Deer Run campground toilet/shower building is not handicap accessible 

    Trash roll offs outside of camping loop. 15 minute walk one way. 

    No park WIFI

  • A
    Aug. 22, 2022

    Pickwick Landing State Park Campground

    Rich with wildlife, quiet human activity

    Shaded, private showers, water and electric hookups, tent friendly, and wildlife-fanatic friendly. Though it is his and gets sweaty at night so bring a fan and appropriate sleeping gear if you'll be tent camping. The grounds are well shaded and comfortable so you don't cook during the day. At night you can indulge in the rich atmosphere of southern cicadas and crickets backdropping owls and coyotes (don't worry! Coyotes are scared of people, they just sound a little jarring when you first hear them yipping). Really nice playground next to the bathrooms.

  • Justin L.
    Dec. 27, 2020

    Brush Creek Park

    Decent spot on the lake

    Camped here on Christmas Day 2020. It was very quiet and a little windy. I was the only camper but it’s on a disc golf course so I saw a couple of those guys. I went down to the parking lot so I could sleep in my car and have a fire by the water. It was great and quiet except there are parking lot lights which I didn’t see until they turned on. There are picnic tables, trash cans, and portable toilets. All in all a nice spot. I had Verizon and I think I had two bars of service. There’s also a spot a little east off an unmarked dirt road which was ok and had a fire pit. I checked it out but there was just too much litter and a half eaten deer carcass which I wasn’t vibing with.

  • Mo F.
    Sep. 26, 2017

    McFarland Park Campground

    Camping in the City Limits

    We pulled in with no plans and drove through the whole campground. There are 60 RV spots, pull thru and not, some parking lot style and some a along a creek. There are no trees or bushes between spots, but the whole campground is situated with forest and creek on one side and the Tuscumbia River on the other. We weren't positive what the deal was so we checked in with the host and paid $14 for one night.

    Primitive tent spots are right on the river. There are fire pits, trees, and picnic tables sporadically placed. We pitched our tent facing the bluffs along the river and our hammock between two trees. It wasn't crowded and it was pretty quiet (no generators, no music, very family friendly and chill). The grass was cut, and though there were small ant piles everywhere, they really weren't in the way or aggressive. The bath-house is...not awesome. It's exactly what you'd expect for an older, gov-run park, with some spiders and leaky toilets, but toilets and showers are there.

    It is a three minute drive into downtown Florence. Most of that is through the park, which is home to a good-sized marina, disc golf course, and (defunct?) driving range. It's super convenient, cheap, and kept up well enough. The view of the water and bluffs is A++, and it's fun to watch the speed boats and river cruises.

  • MickandKarla W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 13, 2024

    Whitten Park Campground

    One of Our Favs

    Our RV GPS and Waze brought us south from Tishomingo via MS-25 to MS-4 to John Rankin Hwy. It’s a more scenic and narrower road than just taking MS-25 south, but there were no issues. We had made online reservations earlier that day for this Army Corps of Engineers Campground (CG) where we get a 50% discount per night using the National Parks Access Pass. We arrived earlier than 2:00 PM when the check-in gate opens, but there was a sign to go ahead and set up and come back at 2:00 to check-in. As we had our site number, we headed directly to pull through site 9 with water and electric(50/30/20 AMP). This was our third time camping at Whitten and we were delighted to find that they had combined site 8 and 9 into one long site. This site still had the old site amenities, which meant that we had double electric pedestals, water spigots, patio areas with picnic table, standup bbq, and fire pit. We were able to adjust our 5th wheel to avoid the several unlevel areas in this very long pull through. As with most COEs, water pressure was good and the electric worked fine. Whitten CG has a lot of mature trees, so satellite is iffy. We had no north shot for our Starlink. However, we got 2 to 3 bars on Verizon and the Mifi worked well for our needs to include streaming. There’s no WiFi in the CG. Site 9 has water view and does not bump up to other sites, which we found highly desireable. During our first stay in 2019, each loop had a shower house with a washer and dryer that we had used. Our last stay was an overnighter and we didn’t need to do laundry, so we hadn't checked those facilities out. This time we were here for three nights and had planned on doing laundry only to find the doors locked. We asked the camp host about the washers and dryers. He stated that the washers and dryers had been closed during COVID and now they were no long functional and weren't going to be replaced. We again enjoyed the trail system through out the CG and recreation area to walk our dogs. The James L. Whitten Historical Center is interesting to go through. There are several fishing piers as well. We came on a Wednesday and were pretty much by ourselves. Both Thursday and Friday campers started coming in around 11:30 AM filling up the CG. The camp hosts didn’t seem to mind the early arrivals and even opened up the office around noon for a few minutes to accommodate check-ins.

  • Ryan S.
    May. 18, 2020

    Tombigbee State Park Campground

    Pleasantly surprised!!

    We have camped at several MS state parks near Memphis (Tishomingo, Wall Doxey) and have left feeling like MS didn’t have a lot to offer, but Tombigbee State Park is great. There is a video included in the post which includes the entire campground area. I hope you find it helpful. Additionally, here is a basic overview of pros and cons:

    Pros:

    1. All sites close to the bathhouse
    2. Most sites with full hook up including sewer and 30/50 amp plugs. (see pics)
    3. Multiple updated playgrounds
    4. Very affordable. $24 a night for a full hook up site.
    5. Very walkable. Small campground with access to amenities by foot.
    6. Disc golf course is very fun. It is has an interesting layout in the woods so it is much like a hike.
    7. The park is near Tupelo, MS and there is a Dollar General right at the entrance to the park.
    8. If you are primitive camping, the tent camping area is outstanding. (see pic) There are picnic tables, elevated tent platforms, places for hammocks, a porch swing and bench around a raised fire pit. If you are primitive camping, it is a great place.
    9. There are several docks for fishing and there were signs for the option of boating with a trolling motor, but no one was boating while we were there.
    10. The park office was not open while we were here, but it did look updated
    11. Great for young kids because the campground is small with a flat loop that is easy for bike riding, skating, or scooters. It is easy to see the kids from your campsite and not worry about them getting lost
    12. frequent monitoring by the park rangers. Appears that this park is very well taken care of.

    Cons:

    1. Absolutely no shade on the playground.
    2. Inside loop spots are mostly close together. very little privacy.
    3. We were not able to view the inside of the bathhouse.
    4. only 20 sites and only 4 tent camping areas and were without water or electric.
    5. No SP swag so no stickers, patches, shirts, etc.

    This is an A+ for the price, amenities and location to our home base of Memphis. We will definitely be back.

  • J
    May. 29, 2021

    Tombigbee State Park Campground

    Great for families! Trash location is an issue though

    The campsites were nice. They clouded full hookups, a picnic table and fire ring. The area was clean and surroundings wooded. Neighboring camping spots were adequately spaced. There were lots of areas for kids to play, including a large playground, a baseball/kickball field and hiking/biking trails.

    One big problem, however, was the location of trash dumpsters and cans. There were NO TRASH CANS in the camping area, and the few that were somewhat nearby had signs saying to take your trash to the end of the park road, which was a mile away. This was a problem because we had already hooked up our RV and couldn’t jump in and run the trash that far. Needless to say, whoever maintains the park is being a little lazy and doesn’t want to bother handling trash. Other than that, it was a fairly well maintained park.

Guide to Dennis

Primitive camping near Dennis, Mississippi centers around the Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey Wilderness area in Alabama, approximately 30-45 minutes east of Dennis. The region features sandstone canyons with elevations ranging from 500-1,000 feet. Water levels in this area fluctuate dramatically by season, with multiple creeks often drying to a trickle during summer drought periods while flooding can occur during winter and spring rains.

What to do

Creek exploration and swimming: Second Creek Recreation Area offers accessible water access for summer cooling. "We camp here regularly on the weekends. Good location and easy to get to. We have been camping here for years good spot for fishing kayaking and just good family time," writes Jake W. about Second Creek Rec Area.

Waterfall hunting: During wetter seasons, the canyons fill with cascades. "The entire Sipsey Wilderness is gorgeous, but if you want a trail with lots of great spots to camp, this trail is fantastic. Most of the time, except during dry spells, there are LOTS of waterfalls. Also lots of shallow places for the kids to play in the water," notes Trinity W. about Thompson Creek Trail Campsites.

Night hiking for glowworms: The unique "dismalites" (glowworms) can be spotted in Dismals Canyon. "After we got everything set up and got all the lights out, we noticed the glowing dismalites along the Canyon wall behind our tent!! It was super cool. We also had a creek flowing with crawdads, minnows, and bull frogs," reports Rebekah C. about her experience at Dismals Canyon.

What campers like

Sandy tent sites: Many backcountry sites feature comfortable sand floors. "The flat tent areas at this site are mostly covered in sand which means you will have a very comfortable surface to sleep on," notes Asher K. about Sipsey Wilderness Backcountry Site Trail 207 Site B.

Privacy between sites: The natural terrain creates secluded camping areas. "This site is one of the furthest along this section of trail and is nice since it is one of the larger spaces in this area. Like all the other campsites it has easy access to water and nice coverage with trees. It is also relatively private but still close to the trail," explains Asher K. about Sipsey Wilderness Backcountry Site Trail 207 Site D.

Unique rock formations: The terrain features dramatic geological elements. "In the Sipsey wilderness, specifically on Thompson's Creek Trail 206, there are several absolutely gorgeous campsites. Most of the campsites have giant moss covered boulders all around, and cliffs in the background opposite the river," shares Aaron S.

What you should know

Fee structures vary dramatically: Some sites charge multiple separate fees. "This is a nice little spot but they nickel and dime you to death. Sites are anywhere from $27/night to $48/night. But then they also charge you a $5 cleaning fee (for a campsite????) and a 'one time admission fee' of $30," cautions Sarah C. about Dismals Canyon Cabins and Primitive Campsites.

Site erosion concerns: Some tent pads have deteriorated. "Totally recommend seeing the canyon, but the campsites are in rough shape. Totally eroded with no level spot for a tent," warns Glynne E. about Dismals Canyon.

Seasonal road access issues: Spring rains can make trailhead roads challenging. "The roads aren't the best but my van made it despite the muddy potholes," reports Dani K. about accessing Thompson Creek Trail.

Tips for camping with families

Choose sites based on water access: Shallow stream areas provide natural play spots. "The hike in is not difficult. You do have to cross a stream, which was not as difficult for my 6'2 husband as it was for me at 5'2. The water was clear. The waterfall was beautiful and we found a quiet spot up the creek to camp," shares Miranda C.

Consider concrete tables for easier meals: Second Creek offers more structured sites. "Multiple spots to set up camp with concrete tables at each," notes Timothy F. about Second Creek Rec Area.

Plan for bathroom situation: Facilities vary widely between campgrounds. "We have been camping here for years good spot for fishing kayaking and just good family time. They have on site porta potties and picnic tables," mentions Jake W.

Tips for RVers

Limited RV options: Most best tent camping near Dennis, Mississippi is primitive without RV hookups. "One spot looks like party point. Locals keep mowed. So far quiet and friendly. Three areas to get too, pull offs on left coming in on Hwy 1. Moved from open area to site 1 at entrance better view right on lake," explains Michael W. about Sipsey Wilderness Backcountry Site Trail 207 Site C.

Consider cabins as alternative: Some sites offer cabin options alongside tent camping. "Located in Northwest Alabama, not far from the Sipsey Wilderness, Dismals Canyon offers an unparalleled camping experience that stands out in the state. While it may lean toward the higher end in terms of cost, the memories you create during a special weekend getaway here are absolutely worth it," recommends Asher K.

Parking limitations: Many sites require walking from parking areas. "Stayed just off the main road about a mile at a previously made campsite. Some other campsites around were filled with trash. Please pick up after yourselves," advises Dani K.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Dennis, MS?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Dennis, MS is Dismals Canyon Cabins and Primitive Campsites with a 3.4-star rating from 7 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Dennis, MS?

TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near Dennis, MS, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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