George L. Smith State Park

You can back up to many sites that are on the tannic lake. Since there are many thick stands of cypress and tupelo trees that release tannins in the lake so bug are rarely a problem. 25 sites with a few pull through. Canoe rentals are available and are fun. Water & Elec only with dump station available. Recommend.

We picked this campground because it was halfway between two places we had reservations at - we knew nothing about it. It was off the beaten path, but the private rv parks didn't look great, so we called ahead and made a reservation. So glad we did! It's a beautiful, quiet, small campground with large spots right on the lake. You can rent canoes/kayaks from the office to boat through the 10 miles of waterways and navigate through the cypress trees (locals can also join the Paddler's Club for regular outings). They have a long hiking trail and the ranger leads some hikes when there are certain things to point out happening in the park. There's also a very well preserved and working mill on the lake that the camp uses for events like milling corn or making sugar cane.

We stayed here for 5 nights from Sunday-Friday. We had been on the road for several days and the park ranger on duty graciously allowed us to check in around 10:30am.

Our first day was stressful as there was a very loud family with three barking dogs and four teenagers a couple of sites down. The two adults seemed to be encouraging the dogs to fight each other. However, they left early Sunday evening and it was significantly nicer experience from that point forward.

The campground itself is fairly small, just one loop with the bathhouse, the camp host, and an ADA site in the middle. All sites are next to the water’s edge with steps down and water access except for the camp host and ADA site. Sites were kept very clean and the camp host cleaned out the fire pits and used a leaf blower on each site almost immediately after campers left the site. Sites included a sand pad, fire pit, hanging pole, and picnic table. The bath house was very clean though the shower setup is a little awkward with only one shower in each bathroom having private space to change. Laundry costs $1.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry and the machines were clean and worked well.

There are several walking trails and the road outside the campground was barely traveled, making it ideal for biking. There is a lake with boat rental. We rented a pedal boat for an hour at a cost of $16.40. There is a sugar cane field, syrup shed and an annual sugar cane festival held on park grounds. There is a working Mill house and dam with historical information posted which serves as an entrance to one of the park’s walking trails.

There is currently ongoing construction on a new building next to the bath house. There is a fair amount of construction noise during the work week and at several points, we had to close up the van in order to drown out the noise of the heavy equipment. On Monday morning, a delivery vehicle ran over a water pipe and water was shut off for the entire campground until early afternoon. Otherwise the construction was fairly unobtrusive.

We had excellent data reception on both AT&T and Verizon allowing Mark to work, minimal voice reception on Sprint and no voice or data on T-Mobile.

Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable stay and we would certainly revisit if were in the area.

Nice small campground with most of the sites right on the water. There are a few large pull through sites in the center of the campground but still with views of the lake. This is now a site specific reservable campground. Many of the lakeside sites have a bit of a slope that would make it difficult for a large moterhome to level. I couldn’t fully level my 40’ MH but a smaller camper wouldn’t have an issue. This is in a remote area that appears to cater to local families. Quiet location.

Waking every day to a forest of cypress trees is surreal. This campground is very relaxing, and the sites mostly well spaced out. Many are waterfront with a private terrace with a picnic table.

During our visit, the water levels were low due to upcoming maintenance - so canoe rentals were shut down. So wish we had brought our own paddle boards!

We had a delightful stay here while evacuating for a hurricane and wouldn't hesitate to return.

Cellular service is a bit wonky here however, with variable speeds on both Verizon and AT&T. We could not manage stellar upload speeds and had to cancel a live broadcast - and uploading videos was painfully slow (even with boosters and antennas).

Our site, a long pull through, was nestled in shady pines twenty feet or so from the water. The mill pond, as they call it, is gorgeous, a fairy tale of a thing full of gators and eager fishermen.

Birds and squirrels forage for whatever loose goods they can find. In early March the campground was maybe half full, quiet for the most part, though we were here weekdays only. A ½ mile trail leads from the premium sites campground to the visitors center, which sells souvenirs, ice and soda. Some water, camping supplies or propane canisters would be better as goods than plush teddy bears, but that’s my only complaint.

Should you want to take a bike ride to town, perhaps you don’t feel like packing up your rig or your baby is sleeping and you could use the exercise, it’s 9 miles best navigated via Parrish Pond Road, so as to avoid the shoulderless Highway 80. Town has little to offer, an old Piggley Wiggly sells nothing useful for camping, though the beer store across the Highway does offer craft beers in a moderate amount.

Verizon service was great, wavering from 1-3 bars but sufficient for The Last Kingdom marathons and toiling away at building the Internet.

Lovely experience all around, but note that not all sites are equally private.

Price reflects online reservation fees but doesn’t include the $5 / day it costs to just be in the park.

We loved it here. Heading toward Florida we took a detour and we lucked out with site 15. Right on the water with the cypress trees and their magical reflection in the water was amazing. The site was perfectly level so much so that kids made me take a picture of our level to prove it! We launched the paddle board right there and skimmed through the trees. The playground was great and the trail was fun too. We will be back to do more paddle boarding in thr future. The electrical and water hookups were well maintained and I felt as if the site was nicely spaced with steps down to the picnic table and the water

Visited in Jan 2022. Immediately fell in love with the site when we got here. Plenty of space for us to spread out (2 vehicles and a 14’ camper). Easy access to water if you want to put your kayaks in at your site. Bathrooms very clean. Camp host welcoming and has fire wood for sale (Not many places around had this). There is a small museum that you walk through to get to the three mile deer trail loop. There is not much around for stores except the piggly wiggly, dollar tree and Mill Pond Trading post (all with limited items). We did favor the Mill pond trading post because they could give you cash and have firewood available. There is also a small but good selection of meats frozen veggies and wine! A small restaurant in the back serving breakfast and lunch only, days open unknown. All in all would recommend coming back!

Our site was good. Got busy on the weekend. Secluded. Camp host Craig Boss kept very clean bathrooms. We had an electrical issue and he addressed it with Rooty and we were back in business within an hour.

Clean, friendly host, and great kayaking