Best Cabin Camping near Petal, MS

We have heard great things about Paul B. Johnson for years, even before we began our own camping adventures. It was definitely a campground we were excited to check out, so we booked a long weekend getaway with the promise of beautiful spring weather. Unfortunately, our trip here was cut short due to a family emergency, but we were able to scope things out for future adventures.

It was a bit of a trek from our home on a work night, so we arrived after dark at site 67. This campground does not lock up at night, so this was not a major issue. We entered the campground through what we later learned was a back entrance off of Geiger Lake Road, so we didn’t check in until the next morning at the visitor center. The sites were not well marked with numbers, so we had to drive around a time or two to locate our site (with me occasionally getting out of the truck to read the site numbers painted in yellow on the road). The main entrance to the park has a much “fancier” building than the back entrance and leads you to drive over a spillway (which is TOTALLY safe, so no worries). The roads in the campground are narrow, two-lane roads but are not conducive to two RVs passing one another. We had to get off of the road for others to pass.

Our site was lakeside on a hill leading down to a pier that jutted into the lake. It also had a grill and wooden picnic table that was movable. Having full hook up was nice! However, the connections were quite spread out with the water pretty far back from the other connections at this site (we needed two water hoses). There was no dedicated fire ring but there was evidence of camp fires, so we just cleared a space and set up our chairs. However, some sites had a metal fire ring and concrete picnic tables. Lower numbered sites are older with newer sites being those in the 100s. The newer sites are more level and have concrete pads instead of asphalt pavement. However, the views aren’t nearly as nice. Site 16 is next to a pier that leads to an island (super cool but everyone can access that, so you’d lose privacy). Many sites have decks, but that really sacrifices “yard space” if that’s an important factor for you. Some sites we were interested in for our next visit included 71 and 84, but we really loved site 67 and would give it another go for a future visit.

Camp Shelby is nearby, so you’ll hear various noises from that (not overly distracting but I wish I would have known before arriving). There is a splash pad, lake swimming, and several picnic areas near the visitor center that would be awesome for kids and families when the weather is warmer. There are so many species of birds if you enjoy bird watching like we do. We enjoyed watching geese and ducks on Geiger Lake in the morning. There’s also a nature trail that we didn’t get to check out. The views from our camper were beautiful at Paul B, and we would love to visit this campground again soon!

We have camped here in tents and in our travel trailer and this place is great for both! Spots are spread out for the most part and have picnic tables, grills and some have fire rings.

The lake is nice in the summer for fishing and swimming, but if you’re looking for a large boating area this ain’t it.

If you want to just get out and chill, then this is the spot. What we like about Paul B is that if you have a group of friends, you can probably get a bunch of spots in the same area and take over a section of the park and hang out all weekend nearby.

Ok so I just tent camped here this past weekend in June. When I got to my campsite there was still trash everywhere. Mainly charcoal coals dumped next to the picnic table loaded with cigarettes. There was no fire ring so you could basically start a fire anywhere which I thought was strange. My neighbors were fine but there are no rules on what people can do. Trucks with boat trails were all over the place and most halfway on the road. I was fine driving around but I couldn’t imagine pulling a trailer through it. No camp store so that was a bummer. The registration office was so old and smelly I didn’t want to be in there. Not that there was much to it. The bathrooms were ok. Not dirty but old and hot. What I did like was the night sky. I saw lots of stars. Riding my bike around. Lots of roads for cruising. If you have a boat air Jets skis you would like this better. It just wasn’t for me.

My boyfriend and I car camp and try to stay in primitive areas for the lesser (or no) fees. This site was $15 for primitive camping but included a water spigot as well as port-o-potties. There were also fire rings at each camping site.

We stayed here during Halloween and it was pretty crowded. We prefer more secluded camping sites, and this campground provides plenty of space despite being so packed. There were several RV campgrounds that had decorations and trick-or-treating.

We didn’t have any problems with rowdy kids or quiet time. Everybody was mostly respectful. We did encounter coyote, deer, and lots of talkative geese, so be prepared for some wildlife interaction.

We were evacuated to North LA for hurricane Ida. We wanted to find something closer after the storm passed. Found this place in a Google search and called to check availability. We figured we'd be out of luck being that we were trying to book labor day weekend. Luckily, a couple spots were available for us and our friends. As soon as we pulled in Kim greeted us and escorted us to our site, helped us back in, and made sure all of our plugs and hoses were long enough to reach. She even had extras available to lend us if needed. She made sure we were all settled in and everything was good before leaving. We couldn't have been luckier to have found this great little campground! After being cooped up in the camper and leashed outside, we were able to bring all of our pups to the enclosed dog play area that had a great big shade tree to run and run and run. Poop bags and garbage cans were convenient there and throughout the park. They had a nice little pool. Nothing fancy, but just what the kids needed. It wasn't busy in there so they had free reign to wear themselves out(after being cooped up in the campers too). There was a playground area right there between the pool and dog run. Then right next to there was the bath house and laundry room. The restrooms and showers were always clean, and I like that a code was needed to get in, I felt safe going there at night by myself. Since we were evacuating for much longer than we expected, we needed to do laundry too. 4 washers, 4 dryers. We were all so upset since between the 2 campers we had at least 5 or 6 loads of laundry needing to be done(between dogs and sick kids). We asked Kim about it, and the appliance people were there the very next day to fix all of them. She did say they come out once a week to check them all, but I'm sure she had something to do with their quick arrival. The campground is only a few minutes away from the city. There's walmart, walgreens, multiple grocery stores, dollar stores, and so much more. I was even able to bring our pup to a vet'soffice to get his nails clipped. Since we were there for so long we even found specialty coffee shops, nail shops, and an RV supply store all within about a 10 or so minute drive. They also have great wifi! Many of the spots were cement and beautifully leveled. We met a few really great people there, some that were camping, others that were also evacuated, and a couple that were staying there long term for various reasons. We were so lucky to have found Sleepy Hollow to stay when we needed a place most and we can't go back! Thank you Kim for being so gracious and welcoming!

Mostly filled with full-timers / trade workers they don't do reservations but they do reserve 5 pull thru sites for people passing through.

We had a good experience checking in and the staff was very friendly. The restrooms were clean at the main office and there is a lake onsite. Fishing is catch-and-release during the week but you can keep a certain number of fish on the weekends.

The sites were soft/sandy and not super level. My in laws had their front tires of the RV off the ground after leveling.

Fires are allowed but no fire pit is provided.