Best Equestrian Camping near University, MS

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). 

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.

The road leading to the park could be improved a bit but it wasn't too bad. The park was nice and clean and the loop we stayed on was kept up pretty well. Sites were nice and level and it's hard to beat full hookups for the price!

The bathrooms were obviously older but still kept clean.

The lake had been drained at some point for repairs and it's still very low. There's not a whole lot to do in the park unless you bring horses or an ATV. Great place for a nice quiet getaway.

The neat thing is there's actually a special camping loop just for those that do have horses and ATVs, and it keeps the noise away from everyone else.

There's not a ton to do in nearby Tupelo but we did have a nice dinner at Harvey's, The zoo seemed rather expensive for its size.

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

Camped for two weeks in mid fall, October 2020. Full hookups, clean bath house. Family friendly. It is dated though. Play area available, small and quant. Roads are drivable of course but need to be funded, come on Mississippi and step up.. 15-20 minutes from a supercenter on West Main Street in Tupelo. Tupelo is lovely and where we actually live. This is the nearest campground my children 13, 10, and 4 stay at. The 4yo loves is, hiking and bike riding is what the older kids do. Nice lake for fishing, no swimming or wake.

Site we stayed at was level, and fully shaded.

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