Best Cabin Camping near Guntown, MS

Trace State Park near Tupelo, MS. Once you get into Tupelo the signage directing you to the park is easy to find and follow.

The road in is in terrible shape, the lake is missing, the levy being worked on. They have horse, ATV and mountain bike trails which are in okay shape but could use some TLC. There are rental cabins and the store is limited to souvenir type merchandise and disc’s.

The staff at the park were very helpful and the facilities, which included a showerhouse/multipurpose room and screened porch were very well taken care of. I definitely liked the large shower stalls!

The sites are spacious, including a fire area, picnic table, electric hookup, water and sewer hook up. You have some privacy and depending on your site sparse to full shade.

There is Disc golf, fishing, and currently limited water sports.We used the multipurpose room and a nearby site that had more then enough room for all of us to sit around the fire.

Tupelo, Mississippi is nearby with Elvis’s birthplace. In addition there are several recreation areas to visit on the Natchez Trace with historical information and trails to explore.

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

My son Conner and I stayed at Pickwick Landing State Park on Monday night, July 15. We arrived after dark, but thanks to a park staff member I called earlier, we had an amazing campsite(#18) waiting for us when we arrived. Campsite#18 is located near the bathrooms and shower areas. The restroom and shower building had 8 individual shower rooms with fold down benches. Each of them were big enough to allow someone in a wheelchair to use them. Both the bathrooms and the shower rooms were clean and well stocked. The park staff cleaned them thoroughly the next morning as we prepared to leave. Each campsite has a picnic table, asphalt drive, a fire ring, grill, and lantern post. These sites also have power and water, but they do not have trash cans at the campsite. Trash must be taken from the campsite to the dump station by the campers. If you’re camping here make sure to bring your own trash bags. The sites seemed well spaced and all of them probably have full shade most of the day due to the mixture of pine and hardwood trees that fill the camp. A gas station/bait shop/oyster bar is about a mile away from the camp grounds. Grocery stores and other restaurants are within 5 miles. Though this was a quick camping trip for us(we went to see the Shiloh Battlefield and Shiloh Indian Mounds), the trip was made a little easier by having an efficient, comfortable, and peaceful campsite to call home for a few hours. Be on the lookout for our nighttime visitor Lester the curious racoon. He checked out our campsite after we went to bed looking for an easy meal. Luckily, we had put all of our food securely in the car before calling it a night. This is another 5 star Tennessee State Park campground. Sidenote: We enjoyed a good lunch at a place called the Rib Cage just a few miles from camp. Conner recommends the ribs but not the hot sauce.

The sites are rather narrow with varying sizes and locations for outdoor living space. Pay close attention to the states website regarding vehicle size maximums. As I walk through the park, it appears that all spots are full hookup and paved. We are on site 43 and anything longer than 30 ft will be pushing it. As it is, our 25ft trailer fits nicely, but the truck is parallel parked across the end of my site in order to be off the road. The picnic table is behind the camper instead of on camp side, which isn’t my favorite setup but we are making due. Some sites have metal fire rings, while others (like ours) have rock circle pits. Some campsites on the hill side have no picnic table OR fire pits. They also have almost no room to walk around the RV without tumbling down the hill. Sites 62 and 64 aren’t terrible, but everything else from 59 and up is pretty bad. 25-34 and 51-54 are short and back up to a a hill. Would be great for Class B or smaller travel trailers. Sites 10-24 are in a separate area from the rest. 35-50 are down on a low flat area near the water and are the best if you like a view of the lake.

Bath house in our loop is clean, not completely out of date, and heated for cold weather camping. There is a small area with 2 set of pay washers/dryers and a few vending machines.

All in all, well worth the State’s $32/night charge.

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

We camped here for a weekend. There are actually 2 different campgrounds. We stayed at the one with with electric hook ups. The campsite also had a fire pit, lantern pole, and picnic bench. The sites are spacious and not too close together. The bathhouse was very clean. The showers are separate but in the same building. They are a little outdated but had a good water pressure. There is also a little check in booth where you can purchase firewood, ice, and other little things. From the campground you can start hike a 2.8 mile loop on the water. We also stopped at the lodge for dinner one night. It was very nice and the food was good. If you wanna do anything in the water, we saw a sign for a kayak and boat rental. If you bring your own, the park has a nice marina. If you don't feel like cooking, there are nice places around to check out. The dam is very impressive and we saw a lot of people fishing. The park has something for everybody to do and we enjoyed out weekend here.

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.