Batona — Wharton State Forest

The Batona Campground in Wharton State Forest is a small campground best suited for tent campers. It can get busy (and rowdy) on weekends. The road into the campground is sand.

A water pump provides fresh water but is not available in the winter. There's at least two pit toilets in the campground - don't expect luxury.  Bears frequent this campground so be bear aware and practice proper food storage. 

Best part about the campground is that it's right on the 50 mile Batona Trail so it's a great stop-over assuming you've made reservations. No first-come first-serve. Site 6 is one of the more private sites as it's tucked into the back corner.

Best part of this campground is trailheads begin directly from campsites. Trails vary in length but all are flat and easily accessible.

The road into the campground is about 1 mile of loose sand. It can be accessed by a standard vehicle.

Site are suitable for tents or small campers. The unpaved road into the site is narrow and tree lined. A larger RV would not fit.

Bathrooms are very basic. Fresh water pump is located at entrance to campground.

Each campsite is a cleared area with a fire pit.

Wharton State Forest Batona Campground has some of the best trails I’ve hiked.

Downside is the campsite is tight. You must camp in designated spots and reserve online. Not much distance between sites.

However, with the amount of outdoor activities there really is no reason to stay idle in the daytime. Hiking trails ranging from 1 to 50 miles…. Canoe launches…. Fishing…. Abandoned Atsion Village to explore…

Bathroom facilities at Batona are more like outhouses. My favorite part is the old fashioned hand powered water pump!

Road to the campground is paved. Roads leading to campsites are a loose sand. Sand roads to campsites are traversable by any vehicle. However, I would not head down any other unpaved areas without 4 Wheel or ATV.