Best Cabin Camping near Pontotoc, 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 

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 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.

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.

It’s really hard for me to give 1 star for anything, but this place is a dump. This is the 3rd MS State Park (North MS) we have been to and it is clear that MS does not take care of its state parks. Only half of the park is open, the grass was overgrown, trash/garbage is littered every where (especially near the open dumpsters that are randomly placed throughout camp), the ranger only came around to collect fees and then disappeared. The bathroom does not have AC or a fan, so it was a total sweat box. The toilet paper was not replenished, there is no hand soap, there was broken glass on the ground in one of the stalls. The shower portion wasn’t that bad, but again, no AC. The water hook ups are at least 100 foot away from most camp sites, so bring lots of extra hose if you do end up staying here. The site #’s are not clearly marked and they do not post if a site is reserved. No designated fire pits, so people have been just burning where ever they want. The fee is $22 a night, but they will charge you another $16 if you put up a tent. Overall, I paid $39 to stay in the worst campground we have ever gone to. Get it together Mississippi!

Camping between Christmas & New Years 2021, so not busy at all. The weather is in the upper 60’s a little chilly at times and still humid.

We are in the Deer Run camp area. It and Eagle Ridge areas are more rustic and shady than the Warrior Trails area (the Equestrian area). There are less trees and all the sites are concrete including the picnic table area for each site.

The roads need more paving, lots of pot holes but passable. There is no store close by but there are hiking and biking trails which are nice. I’ve put 15 miles on my bike (2 days). 

Ranger review: RoM Outdoors RoM Pack at Trace State Park, Tupelo, Mississippi 

Campground Review: I took the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway from Tennessee down into Mississippi and exited near Tupelo to continue into Trace State Park for a camping event I was attending over the weekend. Once you get into Tupelo the signage directing you to the park is easy to find and follow. 

The park itself needs some work. Recent cuts from the state have left the park in need of road work and the levy repair is taking a while to complete according to locals. Where we camped the lake was dry and full of weeds. You could tell by the shoreline that it would be possible to anchor your water craft very near your campsite in several locations once it is refilled with water. 

That being said 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. The spacing between sites is good too, you have some privacy and depending on your site sparse to full shade.

Disc golf, multi-use trails, fishing, currently limited water sports.

After set up our group met in the multipurpose room and then congregated to a nearby site that had more then enough room for all of us to sit around the fire. 

Tupelo, Mississippi is nearby and I visited Elvis’s birthplace , “Scarlet’s Donuts”(maple bacon donuts, and tamales) and an excellent BBQ place “Clays House of Pig”. So if you like to sneak to town while camping this is a nice area for it. There are thrift and antique stores close too.

Product Review: As a Dyrt Ranger I recently received a **RoM Outdoors ** RoM Pack https://romoutdoors.com/ to use , abuse and review while camping. I explored one of the three main trails in Trace SP. The trails are multi-use (ie. ATV, Horse, Dirt bike, Hikers) so pay attention to the signs and be aware of the area. We hiked 4.5 miles. The first thing you will notice about the RoM****Pack is that it has some weight to it (4.6 lbs)even empty. This is due to the outer water resistant material and the inner, soft, insulated material. There are two detachable bags, and a smaller inner pack to carry them in when you remove them to transform your pack into......a hooded poncho or ground cover , cool idea!

So obviously this is not an overnight type backpack or something a fast packer would use. It is however a versatile option for day hikes, visits to the park or sporting events and I used it to pack my Dachshund when he was done hiking ;)

I haven’t attempted to attach a hydration bladder and decided to just place my entire hydration pack into the main area of the RoM Pack. This works in two ways. First if I don’t need the poncho/blanket I have my hydration in easy reach. Second if I do use the poncho/blanket my hydration pack fits fine under the inner pack on my back with poncho over that. 

Definitely practice folding and unfolding the poncho/blanket . I had my usual dysfunction , just like with the hiking maps, I got it unfolded and user ready but then had issues putting it back into its original folded configuration. I eventually got it back together. There is a video on their site to make it easier. Just remember it will get faster with muscle memory over time.

Once again this is not a pack I would use for extended deep woods adventures. It’s great for your day hikes with the kids, concert in the park or hike into a picnic spot, would work for hunting too.

Pro’s: All in one (ie, carry pack, two secure bags, blanket/poncho, inner pack, Molle straps to add other accessories)

Water resistant outer shell

Soft warm inner lining

_Durable material _

Well made

Con’s: Heavy

Limited packing space( the large middle pocket is gone when you unfold it_)_

_Not for overnight/deep woods(_technically not a con, not the concept of the bag)

This will be my go to bag when adventuring with my grandkids. I would/will suggest this pack to friends with specific uses in mind. There are currently three color options and several other products to explore on the ROM Outdoors site

We heard about this new RV park through a blog email and decided to check it out. Following our GPS from I-22, we had no trouble finding the campground (CG).  We arrived at 3:00 PM to find the office closed, with a sign on the door indicating they would return at 3:30. Although we had prepaid for our reservation, we had not been assigned a site number. We called the contact number and left a message. A few minutes later, we received a call back with our site number and were informed that we could proceed to site 26 and check in once the staff member returned from lunch. Site 26 with FHUs is 1 of 6 pull through cement sites in the CG. The 4 back-in sites are cement pads. The pad was spacious, providing ample room for our 40’ fifth wheel and F-450 truck. There are two sewer connections on both cement and gravel sites, which is a nice convenience. Water and electric hookups are centrally located on the pad, though the electric connection sits low to the ground, requiring us to bend the surge protector to plug in. The water pressure was adequate at around 40 psi. The CG Wi-Fi worked well for basic tasks such as email and web browsing, including Facebook, though we did not attempt to stream. Facilities include a clean shower and restroom area, as well as a laundry room equipped with four washers and four dryers, each costing$3 per use. During our visit, the small dog run was unavailable due to maintenance or AstroTurf installation. A small playground is located adjacent to it. Most of the sites are pull-through, with a few back-in sites near the cabins. There is highway and train noise, but not too bad. The office carries a selection of snacks, drinks, and some RV essentials. Overall, the CG is a few miles west of Tupelo, with limited attractions nearby. While it offers good amenities and a convenient layout, the remote location may not appeal to those looking for nearby entertainment or dining options. This CG worked well for our overnighter.