Persimmon Hill Campground at Enid Lake MS May 2017

My husband's company held their picnic this year at Enid Lake.  We took this opportunity to stay at one of the COE campgrounds for the weekend.  Persimmon Hill campground is a very nice COE campground that recently got upgraded with sewer hookups.  It has been a couple of years since we have been here.  For my first review, see Persimmon Hill Campground - Enid Lake MS.

On this trip, we stayed at site #16.  Like most of the sites here, there is ample room between the sites.  

Enid Lake is known for its crappie fishing and since we got a new boat this year, we scouted out some of the boat ramps around the lake.  McCurdy Point is the

boat ramp behind the ranger station.  It has a large fish cleaning station and a floating dock.

The company picnic was held at one of the group shelters below the dam.  It was a great picnic with a live band, bouncies for the kids, corn hole games, bingo, homemade ice cream, a cake walk and a petting zoo.

Regular price is $20 per night for full hookups (elec, water, sewer).  There is a dump station and 2 bath house buildings.  Some of the sites are reserveable and some are first-come, first-served.  There is an information island in the campground that is updated with available sites for campers without a reservation.

We really like this campground and will most certainly be back in the future.

Oak Grove Campground at Sardis Lake Revisited

Our first camping trip of 2017 was Easter weekend at Oak Grove campground at Sardis Lake in Mississippi.  We have stayed at this campground several times and I have written about it before here and here 

This is an Army COE first-come, first-serve only campground, for now anyway.  It looks like they are making some improvements like sewer hookups.  It makes me wonder if they will start taking reservations like the other COE campgrounds in the North MS area.  

As schools were out for Good Friday, this was a busy camping weekend at Sardis Lake.  We arrived Thursday afternoon and by Friday, the campground was near capacity.

This time we stayed at site #21.  It was a nice spacious site but had little shade on the "living room" side in the afternoon.


In addition to the sewer improvements that are underway, a boat dock with benches was added for Oak Grove campers only.

The weather was near perfect and we really enjoyed getting away for the weekend.

Oak Grove at Sardis October 2016

Yeah!!!!  Our first weekend of low humidity, early fall-like weather hit north Mississippi this weekend (Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2016).  Our camper has been sitting unused all summer and we were anxious to start camping again.  This weekend was an absolutely perfect weekend for it.




We decided to go to one of our favorite close-by spots, Oak Grove campground at Sardis Lake.  I have written about this COE campground the first time we camped here.  Previously I have had Fridays off which enabled us to camp on Thursday night-Sunday but I now have a full-time job so camping trips are a little shorter for me.  Fortunately, my husband was able to take Friday off so he set up camp, then texted me where to come after work.

This weekend, we stayed in spot #25.  This was a great spot on an outside loop with a large yard area with plenty of shade trees.  

With lots of mature trees come lots of squirrels, Sally Mae's nemesis.  She spent some time in campground "jail" (the pen) for running after the squirrels.

Right behind our spot was the driveway to the lower lake boat dock.  Just on the other side of the driveway is John Kyle State Park campground.  This is an unusual set up with a state park campground and a COE campground right next to each other separated by a boat dock.  




We never could figure out when "check-in" time was, but "check-out" time is 2:30pm.   

Each site has 20/30/50 amp and water.  There are no sewer hookups but there is a dump station at the entrance/exit.  There are 3 bathrooms with showers which are kept pretty clean.  The handicap shower has a showerhead with a hose that you can take off the wall.  




We really enjoy this campground and recommend it if you are thinking about camping near Sardis Lake.

Oak Grove Campground at Sardis Lake

It's ridiculous that it has been so long since I have written in this blog.  We have been camping several times since I last wrote, mainly at South Abutment campground at Arkabutla Lake and Oak Grove Campground at Sardis Lake.

Back in the fall of 2013, we camped at the state park (John W. Kyle) at Sardis and saw the Oak Grove campground right next door.  The two campgrounds are separated by a boat launch ramp and dock.  Kyle is a MS State Park while Oak Grove is a COE.  

We found that we really like Oak Grove.  There are plenty of shady spots and most pads have plenty of room between them.  

The access to the water is great and this campground is very popular with fishermen (& women).  The first time we stayed here, I kept seeing huge fish come out from under the dock when I put my bait (worm) in.  But they wouldn't take it.  I played around with it a little and made it seem like it was jumping around.  One took it and nearly pulled me off the dock.  It snapped my line and got away :(     

All sites have water and 30/50 amp electricity.  There is a dump station at the entrance.  There are 3 bath houses that are kept pretty clean.  

This campground does not take reservations, it is strictly first come, first served.  It operates on a self-pay system with the camp host coming around and checking every evening.  Since it is first come, first served, we try to get here on a Thursday before it starts filling up.  This worked out well, but Memorial Day weekend 2016 we ran into a problem.  We checked the state park next door several weeks ahead of time and found that they were booked up.  So, we decided to head out to Oak Grove on Wednesday, May 25 to get ahead of the weekend crowd...Wrong!  There was not a single site to be had on Wednesday :(  This campground is close enough to home so we just came back and decided to spend the Memorial Day holiday at home.

If TV reception is important to you, this isn't the place for you.  We could only pick up the public tv stations out of Oxford.  My Sprint service did not work well here, but Rick's C-Spire service did.

South Abutment Campground - Arkabutla Lake, MS

Wow...have fallen way behind on writing but have not had the opportunity to camp near as much as we would like.  I am taking full-time classes at Northwest MS CC and have to fit camping into school holidays or weekends.  That's going to go on for 2 more semesters :(  

We were able to get away a couple of weeks ago to one of our favorite campgrounds near to home - South Abutment at Arkabutla Lake.  I still had to leave on Friday morning and go to my Calculus class, but we needed a few more supplies so I did a little shopping on my way back to the campground.

We camped in a new spot this time - an interior slot, not backed up to the water.  It can get very windy on the water spots and this one had good shade and lots of side yard area.

We were able to do a little bike riding around the campground loops and even went across the dam into Dub Patton campground.  On one of our walks around the campground loops, we met the volunteer camp host and found out she had lived not too far from us before her husband and she had sold their house to workcamp at Arkabutla.  Had a great surprise Saturday morning as youngest stepson and grandson came for a visit.

If the weather holds up, we hope to squeeze in another outing here before Thanksgiving.  This park is very close to home, but it's just so much more relaxing to spend your time in a chair next to the campfire.

Blue Bluff Campground Review

Blue Bluff Campground is a Corps of Engineers campground on the Tennessee Tombigbee waterway just north of Aberdeen, MS.  In addition to the campground,

the recreation area has a swim beach, day use picnic areas, playgrounds, boat launch and dock and there is a Lock and Dam for barge traffic.

To get to the campground, you have to go through an old section of Aberdeen, MS.  I got a picture of this great old house as we were driving by.  If you need to pick up a few groceries, there is a Piggly Wiggly close by but it appears that they roll up the sidewalks at 7pm.


The campground consists of 92 campsites, each with water and electric hookups.  The central dump station can accommodate 2 RVs at a time.  The campsites are arranged in 2 loops, each with a shower facility and laundry.  Most of the campsites are shaded.

This was our favorite campground out of the 3 we stayed at on this trip.  The other 2 campgrounds were Paul B. Johnson and Fort Pickens.  The main reason was that this was the only campground where our site was shaded.  It was a welcome relief in the hot summers we have in the south.  Our site (#84) backed up to the waterway and we were able to sit out under the shade canopy and enjoy the view.

The RV pad was level side-to-side and the picnic table area was white rock gravel.  Most of the sites looked large enough to accommodate whatever size RV you have.  Some of the sites were a little close together, but the abundance of trees made them seem a little more private than they would have with no trees.

There were plenty of fishing piers and places to dock your boat close to the campsites.  The majority of the waterway in the campground has a seawall which Sally Mae loved to peer over.

The swim beach is fairly small and not in the campground.  You have to drive a bit down the road to get to it.  When we went to look at it one morning, no one else was there but when we drove by later in the afternoon on our way to see the locks, it was packed.


This is the second campground we have stayed in along the Tennessee Tombigbee waterway (the other was Pickensville in Alabama).  These campgrounds are very 

nice and tend to be very popular with boaters and campers.  I hope we can camp at more campgrounds along this waterway in eastern MS.

Hernando Point COE Campground Arkabutla Lake, MS

We have had an unusually cold and long winter in north Mississippi this year and did not have a chance to go camping after our stay at John Kyle State Park at Sardis, MS last fall.  We decided to stay close to home for our first trip out this year so we chose Hernando Point COE campground at Arkabutla Lake.


The Army Corps of Engineers operate several campgrounds around Arkabutla Lake.  The one we usually stay at is at the South Abutment but we decided to stay somewhere we have never camped at this time.

We had a site (#7) right on the lake.  It turned out not to be such a great weekend to be on the lake.  It was extremely windy with constant wind and gusts over 20 mph. The wind made it impossible to enjoy sitting outside for any length of time.


On our walks and bike rides through the campground, we found that there were several sites in the "interior" sections as well as along the back loop that were protected from the wind by trees.  If we ever go back to camp here again, we will opt to choose one of these sites instead of a lakeside site.

This is a nice COE park with 83 sites and 3 bathhouses with hot showers.  Each site has water/electric hookup with most being able to accommodate large RVs.  Sites 25-64 are non-reservable (walk-up) only sites.  The rest can be reserved through recreation.gov.

There is a day use area with a swim beach but it was closed.  There is also a well-used boat launch area.  This campground does not offer a lot in the way of

things to do.  No hiking trails, disc golf, etc.  But, you can take a very nice walk along the beach or walk and/or bike ride through the campground.

We stayed here April 11-13, 2014.

Persimmon Hill Campground - Enid Lake, MS

Summertime is our LEAST favorite time to camp.  The heat and humidity in Mississippi just makes you want to stay inside in the air condition and well...that's just not what camping is about.  So, this past weekend is the first time we have been out since our trip to Pickensville during the Memorial Day weekend.

We decided to stay at a nearby campground at Enid Lake.  Like a lot of lakes around the northwest MS area, Enid Lake has both a MS State Park as well as

Army Corps of Engineer parks.  One of my favorite campgrounds is the State Park at Enid (Cossar State Park) but this time we camped at Persimmon Hill Campground, an Army Corps of Engineer campground.

Persimmon Hill has 72 campsites, some are reservable (www.recreation.gov) and some are first-come, first serve.  They have "fairly" level concrete pads with water and electric.  Each site has a picnic table, fire ring, grill, and a large tent pad.  There are 2 very well maintained bathrooms with showers.  There is a playground with swings, slide and basketball court.  There is also a paved walking / bike riding trail that connects with an adjacent day use area.  The day use area also has a playground along with 2 group picnic shelters.  This is a very popular campground and is packed during holiday weekends and when school is out.  My Sprint cell phone and internet service worked great here.

The campground is laid out in 2 loops, each ending in a turn-around at the lake. Be

aware that even the waterfront sites are not right at the water unless the lake rises significantly.  We really enjoyed our stay at site #2.  It had a large yard area to the back and a very large side yard area.  When we go back to this campground, we will probably stay at this site again.  We camped here Sept. 26-29, 2013.

Pickensville, Alabama COE Campground

This past Memorial Day Weekend, we stayed at the Army Corps of Engineer campground at Pickensville, AL.  This campground is in western Alabama, just a stone's throw from the Mississippi state line.  It is one of  seven campgrounds that the Army Corps of Engineers operate along the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway.


Knowing that campgrounds (especially those with large bodies of water) fill up quickly for Memorial Day weekend, we made reservations a couple of months in advance.  When we arrived on Friday afternoon, there was a sign at the entrance that indicated the campground was full.

Pickensville is a large campground with five camping loops.  All of the site have electric / water and some have sewer hookups.  The most popular sites along the waterway are first-come, first-serve only.  One of

the unique features about this campground (and I guess all along the Tennessee Tombigbee) is that it is a navigable waterway.  During our stay, we saw or heard several tugboats.  The working boats share the waterway with recreational boats of all shapes and sizes.

We camped at site #44, which was a very roomy spot with woods to our "living side".  This was one of the sites with water/elec/sewer priced at $20 per night.  



This campground is great for children.  There are several playground areas with basketball courts, volleyball courts, and playground equipment.

You can walk on a mostly paved trail that crosses through all of the campground loops.  There is also a lot of area to ride bikes.  Since we had full hookups, we did not use the bathhouses at the campground; however, each loop has a clean, well-lit bathhouse with a washer/dryer.


In the middle of the campground, there are many sites that back up to a body of water named "Clear Lake". The name is a bit misleading because the water is so dark that you can't see anything in it.  It is actually a cypress swamp.

On the other side of the big bridge that crosses the waterway, there is a day use area with picnic tables and a swim beach.  Since our campsite was not on the water, we decided to pack a lunch one afternoon and head out to the day use area to sit and watch the boats go by.  While this portion of the waterway does not get barge traffic, there were a number of recreational boats that zoomed by.  It made for a very nice and relaxing afternoon.

A few miles down the road, you can visit the Dam and Welcome Center.






The Welcome Center was fashioned after an antebellum plantation home.  It looked over the waterway and had a very nice courtyard area.  If you stay at this campground, I would highly recommend a visit to the dam, welcome center and day use area.

Even though we would have liked to be right next to the large waterway, we enjoyed our stay at Pickensville COE campground.