South Mountains State Park Campground
Reviewed May. 31, 2022

Great state park!

Beautiful place with a lot to offer! The hikes near the falls were quite busy on Memorial Day weekend, but the backcountry campsites were quiet and well-kept. Lots of places to play on the river, rock hopping or swimming around the Jacob Fork Parking area. We were able to park there since we had campsite reservations but others were waiting in a long line to park for day-use, so be aware. We stayed at the Little River backcountry campground, which requires a 1.5 mile hike in, and has a pit toilet but no running water, bathrooms, or trash cans. The Reserve America site lacked some site specifics— From the Little River campground, the closest water source is a creek 0.6 miles (1.2 miles round trip) away- filter it- the walk back to camp is a steep uphill. There is no firewood provided up at the campground but there’s lots of deadfall, bring a saw if you have one. The pit toilet had plenty of TP when we were there, and there was a central bear bin for use by all campers. The four sites were well-spaced so we did not see other campers, with the exception of site 1 which is right off the entrance trail to the campground. Be aware that the hike up to the campground, though only 1.5 miles, is pretty steep from the Jacob Fork parking area (600ft elevation gain) and most of the day hikes (the falls, chestnut knob) leave out of that parking area. So one option would be to hike down to your cooler in the car and grill lunch or dinner at one of the shady picnic areas near the parking lot and river while day-hiking, then hike back up to camp overnight. Overall, recommend!

SiteLittle River Backcountry Campground site 2
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of South Mountains State Park Campground by Danielle T., May 31, 2022
  • Review photo of South Mountains State Park Campground by Danielle T., May 31, 2022