Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Enid Lake

My girlfriend and I tent camped here for one night. The campground is large and well-kept, with over 100 sites, and the sites are very spacious. Each has a table, water and electric hookups, a hook, and a tent pad. From what I saw, we were the only tent campers in the campground. We camped in site 64, which is near the lake and the bathrooms. The tent pad was covered in pine needles, making it nice and soft. The only complaint I have is that there is a very bright street light that stays on all night near the boat ramp, but I would highly recommend this campground. Enid Lake and its facilities appear to be top-notch.

We were staying at another nearby campground and decided to drive through GPC State Park to scout out campsites for our next camping trip. The park is located about 10 minutes off the interstate and it is also on the shores of Enid Lake.

It seems as if they built the park and haven’t done much else with it since. The sites are rough and close together, although there are a few nice spots on the water.

The day use area is nicer with a new pavilion, nice playground and a bare bones mini golf that would probably entertain very young children. They also have disc golf, but I don’t play so I can’t offer an opinion on the condition of that.

There are several cabins onsite that can be rented.

There is a boat ramp, but no swim beach. For those that are just looking for somewhere to hook up a camper for sleeping purposes only and then head out on the lake to fish or for recreation, then this place would probably be ok for you.

With all the beautiful views and family recreation offered at Persimmon HIll Campground, you’ll be amazed that these sandy beaches are only a little over an hours drive from Memphis. Accessibility and the cleanliness of the park is why this has been a favorite in our family for many years.

Campground Review:

This weekend we celebrated National Hammock Day, in our Bear Butt Hammock, at site #55. You can book sites online up to 24 hours in advance, or you can show up to camp at one of the non-reservable first come sites. Cost was $20 per night. Each site is well kept with a parking pad, picnic table, lantern pole, fire pit and grill. All sites are generously sized with plenty of room and flat spots to put a tent, plus more than half of the sites have a view of the lake. This go around we were in our pop up, however don’t let all the rigs keep you away, we frequent this campground often with our tent when we need a quick getaway. There are two shower houses in the campground that are aIr conditioned, well lit, and kept clean and stocked daily. A playground and basketball court is centrally located and easily accessable to all families. Behind the playground is a nice nature trail that is lit at night for an evening stroll. While this campground is usually well populated, we’ve only had to camp in the overflow section once in all the 11 years we’ve been bringing our family here, and that was during a Fourth of July weekend.

Persimmon Hill Recreation Area is a well maintained picnic/day use area with a sandy beach. (Between here and the campground is where we usually see deer.) Life jackets are provided at the beach if needed. Besides the reservable pavillion, there are many picnic tables along the shoreline. The lake Is great for jet skis, kayaking, and relaxing on an inner tube. A boat launch is located in the campground. Enid Lake is one of the top fishing locations for crappie. The fish are well stocked, and a visit to the hatchery offers some interactive displays, history on the area, and a chance for the kids to feed the fish. Across the dam is a spillway with a handicap accessable fishing pier, a lakeside grocery store, an additional boat ramp, larger sandy swim beach, and the equally clean campground Wallace Creek.

Overall, due to the family feel and cleanliness, we highly recommend the area versus the few lakes closer to Memphis, and we also prefer this campground over others in around the lake with the exception of Wallace Creek.

If interested, check out my reviews of the area on these sites: Trippin’ Southerners website: https://www.trippinsoutherners.com/single-post/2018/03/06/Lake-Life---best-beach-in-the-mid-south

Campground video: https://youtu.be/fEUVvcr3RVQ

I had a horrible experience at this campsite. Rolled up to find one (miserable) couple there. They were blasting music out of their car which is whatever and I waved hello and they just stared. Multiple cars came thru the campsite at night, shining their headlights every which way. Even though it says don’t enter past a certain point unless you are camping, this is clearly a spot for locals to do what they cannot do at home. At 2am I hear barking and one of my dogs busts through my tent. I go out there and there is a pack of wild dogs scouring the campsite. They weren’t terrifying or coming at us, but it was still scary. No more than 10 mins later two cars surround my tent with headlights, which is really scary for anyone, but I am a young woman traveling alone. Apparently the couple called the cops saying my dogs had been barking all night. There was brief barking and it was the wild dogs who were actually eating the trash the evil couple left out. Even if my dogs were barking, why is surrounding my tent with only headlights at 2am appropriate? I couldn’t see anything. Never saw a ranger, immediately left in the morning. Sorry for the essay, just hope to spare someone a similar experience. It is beautiful tho.

We tent camped for the weekend at George Payne Cossar State Park in March.  It was still a bit cold and the pollen had come out - looked like snow falling in my headlamp.  There is a playground for kids and dogs are allowed at the campgrounds.  We had a nice fire, roasted marshmallows, and wanted to play disc golf but the lake was too high and covered some of them!

Camped 4days/3nights. Really nice wooded sites. Water and Electric on site. Wifi-Tmobile worked fine whole trip. Not a lot of campers while I was here. Quiet and Peaceful. I did not use bathroom facilities. No one available at check-in however I had reserved and paid ahead. Staff drove around regularly. Felt safe here as a solo female tent camper with a dog. Would visit again

Pretty bare bones, dirt sites were easy to maneuver in and out of, but I had to disconnect for my overnight here and I did not feel very safe. The only neighbor I met was selling 5 week old pit bulls, which was very concerning if you are a dog lover or advocate. The next morning, I had a 10” rod deep in the side of my wheel - coincidence? I was ready to get out of there!

Small, quiet campground on reservoir. Plenty of space and privacy between sites. Concrete pad was level and ample. Any size rig could fit into these sites. Each site has its own garbage cans. Water and electric at each site. Dump station in campground. Verizon signal was good. Bathrooms had prison style toilets and showers were functional but dirty. Showers were in dire need of repair to floor and deep cleaning. Bathrooms were maintained daily but not adequately cleaned. No soap in bathroom, only air dryer for hands, no paper towels, no garbage can in bathrooms. There were unattended dogs on leashes/in crates at a couple of sites that barked aggressively when people passed by. Owners were absent for good part of day. Nearby lake access road passes right by campground is routinely used by locals. Not staffed by COE official.

Teckville was a good place to stay. And it could still be. Nice Boat ramps Bathroom. But a person can not get no one to answer the phones in Mississippi

Mississippi needs to put some funding behind the park, could be a real gem. Overall we had a great stay and I would recommend the campground.

This campground does not appear to be maintained. Many sites are in an area that is subject to flooding. There are a handful of sites along the spillway channel that are decent, but I wouldn’t stay here unless I was able to get one of those sites. Unfortunately, this is another disappointing Mississippi State Park.

Mississippi does a great job of maintaining their COE campgrounds. Nice, spacious spots underneath large Pine trees. Water views and access to the Lower Lake. There is a popular swim beach, boat launch and boat dock. The spillway is also close by for fishing. Do not get this park confused with the John Kyle State Park Campground that is directly next to this one. This park is much nicer!

My stay won't likely be like yours. First, I drove in while Mississippi was under a blanket of snow. All the roads in Holly Springs and the rest of the state were treacherous with packed snow and ice following a week of unseasonably frigid weather across the southern midwest.

That said, the 2 rangers working at Wall Doxey went out of their way to set me up with a parking place in the practically empty campground, putting me in the youth camp, finding me an extension cord to hook up to power and allowing me access to the group camp for a bathroom and shower.

This was necessary because many areas were either in the middle of renovation, inaccessible or out of service due to frozen pipes. To say these ladies went out of their way to get me situated is an understatement. They were heroines!

The camp has loads of retro charm. A big mid-century lodge, picnic area, swimming lake, frisbee golf and a 2 mile hiking trail around the lake. I enjoyed a walk thru the snow and the comfort of having a safe and caring place to stay during my trip through Mississippi.

I suspect it will be the same for you even if your visit is under far different circumstances.