If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Tishomingo, look no further. You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Tishomingo campsites are perfect for tent campers.
Cabins Dismals Canyon offers two romantic cabins; "Bringing Up The Moon" and "Bringing Down The Sun" located at the north end of the conservatory. This location ensures maximum privacy. Constructed inside and out of Western Red Cedar, with vaulted ceilings, stone fireplaces and hardwood floors. wine basket The details of hospitality are unsurpassed - comfy throws, Tiffany lamps, books, and magazines, and welcoming refreshments. Everything is furnished from rocking chairs to freshly ironed sheets. A complimentary wine basket (wine, cheese, & grapes) awaits your arrival (for guests that stay 2 or more nights). Primitive Campsites Scattered off the main path and given a wide berth from one another, Dismals Canyon primitive campsites offer the ultimate outdoor experience. The number of campsites is limited by design in order to maintain the splendor of the pristine wilderness. They offer privacy and convenience to the canyon.
Trail 206 snakes through a variety of terrain and passes by two of the Wilderness' better natural attractions – the rock formations known as Eye of the Needle and Ship Rock. Wildflowers adorn the creek-side portions of the trail during the spring. The low-lying sections along Thompson Creek and adjoining Whiteoak Hollow are popular camping areas.
Guide
We tent camped at Tishomingo and it was beautiful. Not only did it have nice campgrounds but the trails along the river were awesome!
GuideWe had one of the primitive tent sites. It was great and hardly anyone else was at the park. Too cold for the water when we went. Bathrooms could have been nicer but better than nothing.
Scout
This was our first camping trip as RV owners, we have been tent camping before. We loved Piney Grove! It was off season so definitely not crowded. It was so peaceful and quiet, we chose a waterfront spot and we literally had our own beach in front of our RV. So beautiful! We’ll be back in the summer.
Guide
We tent camped at Piney Point several times last summer. Even in the summer heat, the shade is enough to keep you comfortable. The bathhouse is close to the campsites. The regulars are welcoming, the lake is close by for swimming. We stayed here while kayaking Bear Creek. It was a nice, quiet place to relax.
Ranger
The Shiloh Military Park nearby kept us busy for a whole day and we spent the evening swimming (real pool, not just a lake) and grilling and campfire at this campground. We loved this tent site among the trees along the lake (I think it was site # teen-something). It wasn’t crowded in June which was a nice surprise.
Ranger
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:
Cons:
This is an A+ for the price, amenities and location to our home base of Memphis. We will definitely be back.
TravelerShaded, 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.
Guide
My two kids tent camped while my parents had their pop up! It was a nice site. There were enough trees that my brother in law was able to set up his hammock system. The site was well kept. There were hardly any blood sucking bugs and no wildlife for protect our stuff from. I think part of that is this site had flooded and rebuilt recently. The staff was very friendly and the area near the dam was really neat. The site is also very close to Pickwick State Park.
Guide
This is a work in progress as I just added this campground and will review as the days progress! So far, it is reasonably priced. It does require a BCDA permit which is $10 a person to make use of the lake and creeks for a three day permit. The website says the daily rate is $6.
There are RV plots with electric and water hook-ups and tent camping too. We have an Airstream on one site and three tents on another.
A picnic table is available at each site and campfire spots. Our sites overlook the lake and it is lovely so far. Super busy for the July 4 weekend!
Guide
We stayed at two cabins at Elliot Branch in August with some friends. It is a short drive to Bear Creek if you want to kayak or canoe, but the cabins are on lakefront property and you can just jump in!
The cabins are clean and quiet. They have a full kitchen, bathroom, and ours slept two in a double bed, but there is room in the living area for cots or sleeping on the couch if you wanted. The couches are huge, and the cabins have cable. WiFi is also available, though it is slow.
The campsites are also nice. We drove through the area, scouting out where we want to tent camp in the future.
RangerThis park is smack in the middle of Memphis, Huntsville, and Nashville so it can get pretty crowded. It is very large though, with a full golf course, hotels, cabins, RV/tent camping, sports, kids programs, swimming, fishing, boating, etc. We went here for a family reunion, which was a great venue for that. There is good birding but the trails are very short, so if you are looking for hiking this is not the best place to go, though it is very pretty.
Yay: Campground is wooded and shady, clean but bustling.
Nay: There’s a conference center, so if there’s an event going on then, it will be extremely busy.
Surprise: There are a lot of roads in the park that would be great for biking.
Legend
We brought our small Aliner camper here to primitive camp for the first time and we couldn’t have picked a better place! The campsites have been redone in the last couple of years. Fresh gravel and wooden railing. The bathhouse is clean and easy access from all campsites.
There is a small playground close to the entrance. Lots of hiking trails and a fire tower that you can climb! We love the boardwalk trail! Unfortunately, this is our second time to visit the park and the visitors center has been closed both times. Kayaks and fishing boats available for rent.
You can’t go wrong tent camping or bringing a small RV here!
Bonus tip: This is a dark sky area, so come during the new moon phase for views of the Milky Way!
RangerThere is a lot of history here and a lot ot learn about Native Americans, geology, plants, animals, etc. Great park for a weekend or a whole week. We mostly did hiking and canoeing, also lots of fishing. Great hiking trails for kids since there are a lot of neat geologic features, bridges, etc. to keep their attention during a hike.
Yay: This park has a lot of extras like playing fields, kayak rentals, ranger programs, educational signage (history and nature), etc. We stayed at a tent site near the little lake and it was just lovely. There are also adorable cabins to rent.
**Nay: some campsites are a little crowded but nothing unusual. **
Surprise: absolutely beautiful old stonework, bridge, buildings, etc. add so much to the natural scenery!
TravelerThis campground is a nice quiet campground. They have about 90 spots for you to camp which includes primitive spots. The campground is very shaded with tall pine trees, for most of the day depending on what site you are on. Most sites have very nice views of the water also. Most sites a spacious and have plenty of room behind them. There’s several RV sites right on the water and all tent sites are on the water. The tent sites didn’t look to level to me but there were some places that I saw that wasn’t bad. All the approved sites had water and electric hook ups, concrete picnic tables that were on a slab so that didn’t move. One downside was no grills or fire rings at the sites. However previous campers had makeshift rings out of rocks that were at several sites and you can make your own so fires are permitted. They did have a couple of bathhouses which had only one shower for each gender. They did not have doors going into them. Water was hot but no pressure. There was a huge open grass area were all the kids would gather and play. To use the lake or go to the beach area that was down the road you had to purchase a BCDA permit for ages 16-65. $3 a day or $10 for 3 day for each individual. There is a play ground at the entrance that has a pavilion, and a basketball court. There’s a boat ramp at the entrance as well. The dump station and garbage dumpsters are at least a 1/4 mile from any of the sites. There is no store to purchase things but there is a Dollar General about a mile from the campground if you need something. This campground is a first come first serve and do not take reservations, but if you call the day of you can pay over the phone to ensure you have a spot. The attendant was very friendly and helpful. Overall we enjoyed our stay and will definitely be back.
Guide
I have camped here twice so far and it is a nice, basic campground. We tent camped but there were a couple of RV's there, so I know there are places for them. It is on a nice stretch of the Tennessee River, and you can swim, fish, and boat there. Plenty of camp sites and very spacious. Popular with the locals and fairly secluded. Pretty woodland all around. There is a bathhouse with toilets, sinks, and cold showers. The bathhouse is pretty centrally located and there are electric lights around it. Usually not crowded. Plenty of dead wood to collect for firewood. There is a covered area with picnic tables near the bathhouse. Also a few picnic tables around the grounds. There are also plenty of trash cans and fire pits. You can park right next to your site. Very good for family camping. Within a few miles there are a couple of gas stations/convenience stores. Some cell service works out there, some not so much.
TravelerI had never really heard about this wonderful place until it was suggested to me on a comment asking about finding the elusive Hellbender salamander. Tucked in the northeast corner of Mississippi are the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Range. You all know how much I love mountains. So we had to go check it out. And I'm so glad we did.
The landscape is like no other you'll find in MS. The various rock formations, trails and creeks that make up the park provide numerous opportunities for exploring all aspects of this well kept secret. The park is also steeped in a rich history of the Native Americans who once walked the lands and the Civilian Conservation Corps who constructed the park. If you're into geology, the rock formations are pretty fascinating.
Whether you're a small kid or a kid trapped in an adult's body like myself, you'll find something to do here. The pictures in the link will give you an idea of what to look forward to along with a few nearby spots. My only minimal complaint was that the standard campsites were a little too close together, in my opinion. Otherwise, I was uber impressed.
Things to do:
Tent camp - Standard & Primitive
RV or Car/Truck camping
Hammock camping
Group camping & Family Cabins
Fishing, Hiking, Kayaking, Canoeing, Rock Climbing (with permit), Bike Riding, Herping, Birding, Disc Golf or just plain Relaxing
Amenities:
Power connections at all camping slots with the exception of the primitive sites
Bathroom and Shower facilities
Pavillions
Picnic tables & grills
Park office
(You can view my photos via FB on Crazy Camping Chick.)
Legend
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.
GuideTishomingo State park is one of the beautiful places Mississippi has to offer. So many hiking trails, cliffs and sites to see. Also you can visit Mississippi’s highest point only a few short miles away in the neighboring town of Iuka.
GuideWe've camped to Tishomingo State at least 3 times in the last 6 months. It's the first site we visited after purchasing our Wildwood Travel Trailer. Sites are level and most are easy to back the trailer into. No full hookups but all the sites have electricity and water. Plenty of trees and amazing views from all the site. Cellphone coverage is not good here for Verizon or AT&T. Better at front of camp.
I can't state enough how much there is to do in Tishomingo! Plenty of trails that would satisfy an Ultramarathoner. A lake for fishing (honestly never seen anyone catch a fish 🐟) and canoeing. Tishomingo has disc golf, large pavilions, and historic sites to visit.
Overall it's always clean when we've been there but there is quite a bit of age on the campsite. Roads are pretty rough in areas as well.
Spots We Like --- 19, 31, 30, 32 (waterside), 38 (private), 44, 48
TravelerWas able to take a trip to Tishomingo to camp and enjoy the nice cool weather moving into MS. Love this little place. Great for families with many hiking trails and 3 disc golf courses.
GuideWe've visited Tishomingo State Park twice in the last few months. The first was in February when we stayed at the cabins. They have big porches, a kitchen, bathroom, and two beds which was perfect for two couples to visit. They are quite old, but it adds to the charm of the cabins. We had a fire in the fire pit at night, played disc golf, hiked, and walked down to the river to sit a bit. Such a nice weekend!
Easter weekend we took our camper to Tishomingo State Park. It was a lovely time despite the rain on Friday night! We spent one afternoon playing disc golf and hiking. The hiking trails are lovely! Our dog enjoyed it too. On Easter weekend, there is a huge Easter egg hunt for children which drew a lot of people.
GuideTishomingo is a great , beautiful park. It is the beginning of the applachian mountains. The campsites are nestled by a cool lake. I believe about 20 miles of hiking trails. A few small rock faces to climb. Very clean and quite place.
RangerWe visited Tishomingo State Park in May, 2020. Generally, the park was ok. While the pads on the camper sites were level, almost all of them had a serious drop off almost immediately, so it was almost impossible to enjoy sitting under the awning near the camper. The facilities were closed due to Covid-19. The hiking nearby was fabulous, make sure to see the swinging bridge.
LegendCamped & Hiked Tishomingo State Park last weekend. Beautiful fall colors and the hike was gorgeous! This place seems so out of place for Mississippi! With that being said…The campground was a disappointment. There was a handful of decent sites, but overall, it is in disrepair. The bathroom towards the back of the loop was already closed for the season. The middle bathroom only had one toilet working in the women’s and men’s restroom (we don’t have a bathroom in our Aliner popup and there were also lots of tent campers). I literally had to wait in line a couple of times to use the bathroom. Many sites were washing out under the pads and had steep drop offs on the sides (especially the single digit site #’s). The tables and fire pits (some sites didn’t even have a real pit, just a spot on the ground where there was signs of a fire) were really far away and some sites appeared to be in a soggy bottom area. We got semi lucky and had a decent spot. (Site 33). The sites that back up to the woods instead of the pond are flatter for those who find that more important. Maybe we are just spoiled to nicer state parks where they take more pride in the upkeep? Just the little details that don’t cost extra money, but instead just needs someone to do it (blowing leaves off the major roads and parking areas - we couldn't see the road to turn into the campground!!!, cleaning graffiti, clearing massive mounds of debris, etc…) I don’t know if they are suffering from budget cuts, if someone is robbing the place blind or if the staff just works there because it’s a job but doesn’t really care about the park itself. It’s sad because this should be a premier destination spot in Mississippi! I don’t want to deter anyone from going here because the landscape is really nice. I just got worked up because I don’t understand how other parks are able to maintain, but this one seems to really be struggling with how to keep this place nice.
RangerTishomingo SP is a short drive for us from Memphis. We wanted to give it a shot and booked a site (#32). We were self-contained in our RV and thank goodness because the nearest bathhouse was a hike! The campground was ok. Our site was level. Fire ring, picnic table, etc were fine. We booked there because of the swimming pool. It was one of the first weekends it was open and the pool area was in serious need of some TLC. Pool was fine and the kids loved it, but the chemicals in the water destroyed mine and my wife’s smart watches 😳.
We barely hiked and had to ride out a thunderstorm but we didn’t regret our trip. I don’t believe any sites had sewer. The circle at the end would be great to reserve with a group of friends (assuming you’re self-contained). All sites have access to the lake and if you had a canoe or kayak, it’d be easy to access.
Overall, it’s not the best park I’ve been to but it’s not the worst. Not bad for $22/night.
Legend
We followed the campground(CG) instructions versus our RV GPS as it wanted to take us down a country road no RV should go on. There was signage where to turn to get to this COE CG as you got close. As this was a Friday and based on our experience going to state parks/COEs at the end of the season when the weather is really nice, we went in early so we could get ahead of the weekend crowd. We were glad we did as after an easy check in at the gate, we proceeded to our loop to site 21 with 50/30 AMP and water. The loops here are a little tight and there are lots of trees so coming in late on a popular weekend could be challenging with trucks, cars, and boats parked about. Site 21 was a bit of a challenge backing our 39' 5th wheel into. There were lots of trees and a little bridge with big drop offs on either side of the road, but we got in without mishap after a few tries. As the afternoon progressed, the locals plus rookie RVers all swarmed in around the same time. We grabbed a beverage and watched the show. This was our first time staying at Piney Grove, but we had come to the area the last three years to get our 5th wheel serviced. The CG was completely full for the weekend. There are quite a few back-ins that would have been much easier. We suggest reading reviews on various websites to find which sites will better fit your rig. The pad lengths on the reservations website seemed to be accurate. In our opinion, the only pull through that would fit a 40’ 5th wheel was site 73. The rest of the pull throughs were the half moon shaped type with too sharp of internal turn and/or trees to deal with. A lot of the sites have some lake view. Sites here are closer together than other COEs we have stayed in. Cell service was spotty with both Verizon and AT&T having two bars. We could text but not receive phone calls(though we did see a few people talking on their phones) and often the internet wouldn’t connect or was too slow to be useful. There are internet hotspots in the CG but we could not get our phones to recognize and/or connect. You get a handful of OTA channels but no major networks. We had to chuckle when several campers here tried and tried to get their satellite dishes to connect. Unless you are maybe near the main road or boat ramp area, doubtful you would get a signal as there are too many trees. There’s a gas station with a few convenience items as you turn toward the campground on County Rd 3501. Boonville is 20 or so minutes away with all the major amenities to include a Walmart. Tishomingo is closer going the opposite direction, but only has a Dollar General, small grocery store, and gas stations. We would stay here again, but definitely in a different site.
Legend
Campground Review:
Sipsey is one of the real jewels of Alabama for backpacking and you really feel like you are in another world while wandering though these woods. There are so many different trail loops and through each you can see lots of different streams and waterfalls. The major advantage to backpacking in Sipsey is that there are tons and tons of campgrounds. You hike along the river and almost every quarter mile you come across a set up campground and each is more beautiful than the last. We did a backpacking trip with friends here in the middle of the summer and it sure was hot. Luckily though the rivers made for a great way to cool off. Just make sure to check the weather in advance cause the rivers can be dried up the wrong time of year or you can get heavy rain. The weather in Alabama can change at any moment.
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**Product Review:**
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Tentsile Connect Tree Tent. I got it as a graduation gift and it is one of the coolest tents I have ever used.
After using it both car camping and backpacking my favorite things about the tent are:
Tent camping near Tishomingo, Mississippi, offers a blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure, perfect for those looking to escape into the wilderness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Tishomingo, MS?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Tishomingo, 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 Tishomingo, MS?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 tent camping locations near Tishomingo, MS, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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