The best DISPERSED camping near
Forest , MISSISSIPPI

I 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.

We arrived at Twiltley Branch at 10pm after two other campgrounds were unexpectedly closed. The caretakers had us check in online and let us sneak into the primitive campsite even though they were technically closed for the night. We drove to the site in the dark and set up camp, not quite knowing what to expect. There were only two other campers at the site, the campground had water stations and fire pits with attached cooking grills and a very well kept outhouse. The best thing about this site was the access to the lake and the little beach where you can wade and swim! This campsite is prone to flooding so it’s not always available. There is a boat launch nearby so we did hear some traffic from boats coming and going but otherwise it was nice and quiet.

Pro tip. There are two campsites right by the lake that are secluded and shaded by trees. They give you almost private access to the lake!

This was such a lovely surprise and we had a great stay!

We stayed for 2 nights in site 83, which is on the lake. Kayaking, boating, swimming, and fishing! Beautiful grounds, nice level site. Some sites weren't as pretty. This one has a view of the lake, very spacious site, and lots of shade trees. I don't recommend the bath house, too many spiders!!! Cabins available, but they didn't appear to be in the best of condition. No store. Pets are welcome.

Quite little campground on the Chunky River. Electric and water hook ups at each site. Family oriented. Friendly staff. Bath house on site. Boat ramp for river access. Great for kayaking.

Nice campground on the western shore of Lake Okatibbee in Lauderdale Co, MS. Lots of sites right on the lake. There are three loops in the campground. Two loops have electric (50amp) and water hook ups. There are no waste hook ups due to the possible flooding of the campgrounds on occasions. There is a dump site at the camp grounds. One of the loops has no electric or water hook ups. There is one bath house with stainless fixtures that is fairly maintained. Make your reservations online at Recreation.gov before you go. We went to bed with the frogs croaking and awakened with the birds chirping. Nice campgrounds. Great access to the lake. Lots of shady spots also.

Nice park. Best spots are in the 14-17 area flatter that others. Some spots are very narrow and drop off as soon as you leave the pad. Spots in the “older” area seem more spaced out. A couple hiking trails which were nice. Marked with paint on trees as to not get lost. Pool and slide was closed (probably COVID related??) as were the bath houses. Just about all spots have plenty of trees and shade. Overall great park.

Basic 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.

This is one of those awesome Corps of Engineer Parks that are scattered across the country. We settled in here for a couple of nights and really wished we had more time. Our site was a nice back-in with a great water view. Since we were there in the fall, the park was not even a quarter full so it was very quiet and peaceful. We were going to stay in the nearby town of Meridian but when we found this park is was a no-brainer. It was only three miles off HWY 19 but provided such an awesome place to camp. Campsites have crushed gravel pads and patios (some of which are double in size) and most have a nice amount of shade from the trees. Our site was very large with plenty of room. There are a few pull-thrus but they have a really weird curvature and trees that would make it hard for some large RVs to navigate. The roads in the campground are narrow but most are one-way so that doesn’t really matter and easy enough for us to navigable with our 45’ RV and tow car. All sites are level and have 20/30/50 amp electric that worked well and have a fire pit with bbq grate, separate bbq, lantern crook, and picnic table. Within the campground are pit toilets but about a half mile away at the entrance are showers and a laundry facility. At the end of each campsite are garbage cans so you don’t have to go far to dump your trash. Most all sites have great water views and access in case you want to launch a kayak or canoe.  We decided to pull forward into our site so the view of the lake was directly out our front windshield.  It was perfect!  Our Verizon wifi worked well and got a dozen over the air television channels. There are a couple of small covered picnic shelters with large grills, fire pits, and picnic tables if you want to have a gathering. 

A short drive away is Collinsville Park with has a boat launch providing access to Okatibbee Lake. Many people in the campground would launch their boats there and then tie them up on the bank of the campground. There is a small fishing dock in the campground and plenty of bank fishing. The closest town is Collinsville where there is a grocery and some restaurants and you are 25-30 minutes from the larger town of Meridian.

After nixing two flooded campgrounds, we arrived here at 5:30 pm on a Saturday in late February hoping there would be an available spot; we were lucky that just a handful were left (out of 109) as there was a bluegrass festival going on! 

The campground is divided into an “old” section and a “new” one. Arriving after hours directs you to the office and the old section, however, the office was closed when we arrived. We flagged down a ranger, who directed us to the first available spot and told us to pay the next morning. The rate of $16 (senior rate) was very reasonable for an electric hook-up, although there was nothing special about the spot. Premium lakefront sites go for $28 (no senior discounts given) and these were nicer. Not all the sites are level but they are generous in size. Laundry is available in both campgrounds.

We drove to the new section the next morning (which is several miles away around the other side of Shadow Lake). Aside from the lakefront sites having closer access to the lake, we could see no appreciable difference between the old and new sections. There is a reasonable separation between the sites, with some trees. The picnic tables in both sections appeared to be very weathered. The restrooms/showers were ok – the soap dispenser was empty, and some very disrespectful campers made one of the two toilets unusable (not the fault of the campground).

There are also cabins and a motel, plus a group campsite, but we did not check these out. Activities (again, we did not avail ourselves of any of them) include a sports field, water slide and pool, disc golf, boating (there is a boat launch), and a performing arts center.

This is a great option for large groups particularly if Willow Springs area is full.  It is not the most scenic area, but it is a great staging area for large groups.  This was also a great flat safe area for the kids to play on the motos while we prepared dinners and relaxed.