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Best Tent Camping near Iuka, MS

251 Reviews

Tent campsites in the Iuka area include several primitive options across northeastern Mississippi and into neighboring Alabama and Tennessee. Second Creek Recreation Area offers free, primitive tent camping with lakefront sites that require minimal setup. The area attracts weekend campers looking for quick getaways with basic amenities. Dismals Canyon in Alabama provides more developed tent camping options about an hour's drive from Iuka, while Stillwaters Farm in Tennessee offers rustic tent sites for those willing to travel slightly farther.

Most primitive tent sites near Iuka feature minimal amenities, with Second Creek providing concrete picnic tables and portable toilets but no running water. Campers should bring their own drinking water, as most areas don't offer potable sources. Sites typically have dirt or grassy surfaces with limited leveling. Second Creek Recreation Area permits campfires and allows pets, making it popular for family camping trips. During summer months, mosquitoes can be abundant, particularly at lakeside locations. The terrain varies from open areas to wooded spots that accommodate hammocks.

Tent camping locations offer different experiences depending on proximity to water features. Second Creek sites provide direct lake access for fishing and kayaking with some areas right at the water's edge. Areas closer to the entrance typically offer better views of the lake while still maintaining relative quiet. A review mentioned, "We have been camping here for years, good spot for fishing, kayaking and just good family time." Most tent sites in this region feature some tree cover for shade during hot Mississippi summers. The Dismals Canyon sites require a quarter-mile walk to reach but reward campers with secluded settings and unique features like small waterfalls near some campsites. Tent campers should note that some primitive sites lack level ground, which can affect comfort during overnight stays.

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Best Tent Sites Near Iuka, Mississippi (4)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Iuka, MS

5 Photos of 4 Iuka Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Iuka, MS

251 Reviews of 4 Iuka 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.

  • 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.

  • Jeremy H.
    Jul. 17, 2019

    Pickwick Landing State Park Campground

    Great Place To Call Home For The Night

    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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

Guide to Iuka

Primitive campsites around Iuka offer multiple options for tent campers seeking natural settings with minimal development. Located in northeastern Mississippi where the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains create varied terrain, this region sits at elevations between 400-600 feet above sea level. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 90°F with high humidity, while winter camping typically sees milder conditions with occasional freezing temperatures.

What to do

Kayaking and fishing: Second Creek Rec Area provides direct water access to Pickwick Lake, with multiple coves for paddling. According to Michael W., "Moved from open area to site 1 at entrance better view right on lake."

Canyon exploration: At Dismals Canyon Cabins and Primitive Campsites, visitors can hike through unique rock formations. Rebekah C. notes, "The canyon was pretty cool! The waterfalls were awesome and I loved all the spur trails. Disclaimer: be prepared to get your feet wet!!"

Night hiking: Dismals Canyon offers guided evening tours to see bioluminescent creatures. Trinity W. explains, "It is absolutely gorgeous, and is one of the few places in the world where you can see the tiny glow worms called Dismalites."

What campers like

Private waterfront sites: Some campers appreciate the seclusion of certain areas. Rebekah C. says of Dismals Canyon, "The site is absolutely gorgeous! Very secluded and very roomy! The waterfall at the campsite is not large, but it still makes noise."

Wildlife viewing: Stillwaters Farm Rustic Campsites provides opportunities for nature observation. Ashley F. reports, "This property is so peaceful and well cared for. You can choose to participate in farm activities or kick your feet up and relax."

Easy access: The proximity to main roads makes weekend trips convenient at some locations. Jake W. mentions about Second Creek, "We camp here regularly on the weekends. Good location and easy to get to."

What you should know

Fees and costs: Some locations near Iuka can be expensive. Sarah C. notes about Dismals Canyon Cabins and Primitive Campsites, "Sites are anywhere from $27/night to $48/night. But then they also charge you a $5 cleaning fee and a 'one time admission fee' of $30."

Site quality varies: Not all tent sites provide level ground. Glynne E. cautions about Dismals Canyon, "Totally recommend seeing the canyon, but the campsites are in rough shape. Totally eroded with no level spot for a tent."

Seasonal limitations: Some activities aren't available year-round. Rebekah C. shares, "I specifically wanted a night tour. They did not tell me that they wouldn't have night tours at that time of year. I wish I would've known."

Tips for camping with families

Bug preparation: Insect repellent is essential, particularly in warmer months. Trinity W. advises about her experience at Dismals Canyon, "There is a nice fairly deep reservoir to swim in, as well as creeks and streams throughout. Also waterfalls, giant trees, and many neat rock structures. Bring bug spray."

Trail difficulty assessment: Most local hiking is accessible for various ages. Trinity W. continues, "The trail through the canyon is not terribly difficult. I hiked it with my 2 year old strapped to my back the last time we went, and my 62 year old mother and 5 year old in tow."

Arrival timing: Plan to reach campsites with adequate daylight for setup. Rebekah C. shares, "We got there pretty late (after dark) for setting up camp, and I do not recommend doing that. It's about a quarter of a mile walk to the campsite."

Tips from RVers

Limited hookups: Most primitive tent camping near Iuka offers no amenities for RVs. At Second Creek Rec Area, Timothy F. notes the basic setup: "Multiple spots to set up camp with concrete tables at each."

Bathroom access: Restroom facilities vary significantly between locations. Summer A. points out about Second Creek, "Portopotty for your bathroom needs," while more developed areas like Dismals Canyon offer shower facilities.

Site selection considerations: When choosing the best tent camping near Iuka, Mississippi, look for level areas. Michael W. describes Second Creek: "Started 3 May 2023, looks like a few permanent residents. One spot looks like party point. Locals keep mowed. So far quiet and friendly."

Frequently Asked Questions

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

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Iuka, MS is Second Creek Rec Area with a 3.8-star rating from 4 reviews.

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

TheDyrt.com has all 4 tent camping locations near Iuka, MS, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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