Best Glamping in Mississippi

Clear Springs Recreation Area,located in the Homochitto National Forest near Roxie, Ms, is probably one of my favorite campgrounds within 3 hours from New Orleans. It's located in a beautiful section of the forest, complete with rolling hills and a lake.

The primitive tent only sites are located about half a mile up the road from the main campground, providing a substantial distance between you and the RVs. The dirt road to the tent only sites is lined with individual camp sites until you reach the back area. The back has a few small hilltops that have about 4 sites per hill. Each hill is about 50 yards from each other, again, providing needed space between you and other campers. All of the sites have fire pits with fold down cast iron grills. The ground was level enough for tents, and there's a good amount of trees for hammock camping.

The RV spots are located near the lake(pond), and have picnic tables and the fire pit. Some of the RV sites are more open air and without much privacy, yet some are nestled amongst the trees on the outer perimeter.

Adjacent to the RV sites are the restrooms, equipped with showers. On a very cold and frozen winter morning, I had decided to visit the facilities. To my great surprise, when I opened the door, I was hit with blast of warm air! So you can rest easy knowing that the restrooms are heated. There is a large pavilion that is open to air on three sides. the open sides have a railing with bench seats. There are also picnic tables located within. Most interesting was the oversized stone fireplace. It looks most welcoming, although I had no chance to use it.next to the pavilion is an open picnic area with charcoal grills and more tables. All of these picnic areas overlook the pond.

I understand that there is 17 miles of hiking trails surrounding the area. It looks like a large circuit with shorter trails interconnecting by the map.

I haven't experienced this campground outside of dead winter. I enjoyed the subfreezing temps next to a hot fire. I have been four times in the last couple of years, twice solo and twice with guests. I very much love this campground.

Unfortunately our trip was clouded by the rain...pun intended.  As is typical for the Gulf Coast South... it rained and rained and rained.  There were breaks that allowed for us to get out and do a few things.  We went to the "beach" and the kids enjoyed it.  Dont think of the beach as the typical sandy beaches on coasts, instead this is a lake beach with grass.  Under water though was fine.  Quite clean and no debris.

There is a pool also, but it was closed at the time because of coronavirus.  Hopefully if we go back, it will be open then.

This particular site was very close to the water, which is why we chose it, however immediately next to our camper was a very steep drop off which made it impossible to set up our camper mat and outdoor cooking supplies next to our outdoor kitchen.  We wouldn't choose that site again.

Spent the weekend camping at one of the improved sites with water on site. Site had picnic table, fire pit, and plenty of room for tents and your camp set-up. Our site had a great view of the creek and was a little more tucked away but right by the bathrooms. Trails are throughout the area, couple of fishing spots, lots of picnic areas with grills and a playground. The place was not very crowded and the US Forest Service ranger (Virginia) was very kind and helpful. We hiked some of Richardson Creek Trail, but decided to turn around because it was overgrown at points and we found ticks on our dog. Otherwise, it was a beautiful walk through the woods. Several large banana spiders set up along the way so keep an eye out! Also, the county is supposed to be under a fire burn until the end of October.

We reserved 4 months ago, only to get there and find out there may be an issue with our dogs (2 max and we have 3...well behaved dachshunds. When we reserved, they "penciled us in". No deposit and no information, other than our name and dates. Got there for our reservation and told that we cant have three dogs there and either have to board one or leave. When i said we had nowhere to go, they were willing to let us stay one night so we could find other accomodations for the next few days, but after that warm welcome, even one night was not an option. Never were we told pets would be an issue, we never got a confirmation email that mentioned pets, and then to arrive and find out we had to find somewhere else to stay was disappointing to say the least. We were able to stay the night at Shield, so we went over there to work on our plans for the next few days. So glad we did, as the sites were much larger, much more private and the office staff was very accomadating with our last minute reservation. Apparently Keesler is adding sites, so it may be better next year, but currently the sites are close together with a fire pit in the center. For the hour we did sit in our site, we had to keep the windows closed because of the smoke. Another issue...the drive in was sketchy for a high profile 5th wheel, with low hanging trees and narrow streets. Lastly, for those lookong for the security and conveniences of staying at a famcamp, this fam camp is off base.