Three COE campgrounds, one Goldilocks Principle
Season 3 of travels started fast-paced. We blitzed to Florida, making one slight detour to get a repair at our dealer. Then we hopped from the Florida RV SuperShow, to Palm Harbor where we met up with some friends, then to Fort Myers where we visited Anthony's family, and then to Devil's Den where we got to check this famous cave swim off our bucket list. By this point, we were itching to slow down, and thankfully we had planned some longer stays as soon as we crossed back over the Florida border. After one more stop in the Panhandle to soak in the ocean breeze, we made our way into Alabama.
Our goals for the southern states were simple:
- Check off Alabama and Mississippi, neither of which had made our "states RVed" list yet
- Slow our pace and live a normal life for a while (this goal sparked a whole other blog post)
- Enjoy off-season camping down South
Because we would be prioritizing home time over exploration, we sought out campsites that would feel comfortable and have natural surroundings. The best bang for our buck is Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds. These are federal campgrounds near waterways, and typically they allow at least partial hookups for very reasonable prices, especially considering that you will undoubtedly be near some kind of water feature or have a water view. The COE campgrounds allow for a 14-day maximum stay, and you can book 6 months out. Because we were traveling through the off-season, we did not need to worry about grabbing spots immediately like we've needed to in the past, but we did book the sites a few months ahead of time, just because we would be looking for longer duration stays and we wanted the best campsites possible.
Three COE campgrounds became our homes as we made our way through Alabama and Mississippi. First was Hardridge Creek, located on Walter F. George Lake on the border of Alabama and Georgia. Next was Whitten Park Campground at Fulton Recreation Area in Fulton, MS, right over the AL-MS border. Third was Hernando Point in Hernando, MS, about 30 minutes south of Memphis, TN. Each of these locations put us close enough to civilization to make a few errands runs, but far enough to get some seclusion. I put a lot of thought into our specific campsites so that we could wake up with beautiful views each day, and for the most part, we were successful. However, something happened with these three COE campgrounds that we did not expect.
You know how in the Goldilocks story, she tastes the porridge and concludes that one is too hot, one is too cold, and the other is just right? In life, this has been termed the Goldilocks Principle, and we experienced one when we visited these three campgrounds. We're not talking about temperature, but rather water levels.
Too wet
If you've been keeping up with the blog, you may already know what happened at Hardridge Creek. A massive rainstorm brought in some floods. Thankfully, our campsite was spared, but the campground loop next to ours was not so lucky. Water levels in the lake rose over the barriers, and the loop needed to be closed.
This situation made for some stressful days as we monitored the water levels at the beach, which was situated right next to our site. However, we ended up tacking on a couple of extra days here because we figured with all the flooding in the region, it would be our safest bet. We also didn't mind staying because the campground was quite nice.
The site: We chose site 49 for its water views out the pleasure side. We had a path that led directly to the beach, though because it was wintertime, we only used it for walking. Our site was spacious and reminded us of many state parks we have stayed at in the past. We had a separate area from our camping pad that contained a picnic table, fire ring, lantern post, grill, and a separate table to use when grilling.
The site pad itself was a bit narrow and unlevel, but our trailer fit just fine.
The facilities: Our site was water and electric, but the campground had a very accessible dump station at the exit. We were in one of the middle loops which did not have its own bathhouse, but two bathhouses were located on each far end of the campground, and they had toilets, showers, and very inexpensive laundry. The only dumpsters were located really far past the dump station on the way out, which was not convenient.
The amenities: A small playground was situated right across from our loop, and the day-use area by the beach had a beautiful picnic pavilion that had lights and electric outlets – perfect for groups. Technically, the campground has a walking trail that leads through the woods from the campground entrance to the far loop, but when we tried using it, we got turned off. The trail ran alongside a fence that served as the border between the federal land and people's houses, and everything was extremely run down. The fences had holes where the local dogs would get loose and chase us down the trail.
The price: $26/night for water and 50amp electric, and if you have an America the Beautiful Pass for seniors, military, or accessibility, your rate would be 50% off.
Too dry
Now we will skip ahead to Hernando Point, where I booked us another large site with pleasure-side water views of Arkabutla Lake. Only, the lake had to be drained last spring due to a breach in the dam. In order to keep the low-lying areas around the lake from getting flash-flooded, the COE lowered the lake's water levels down to 210ft. This effectively depleted all recreational access to the lake, and now instead of the water view, our site had a puddle view.
What's interesting about the drained reservoir, though, is that we have a glimpse of what lies beneath. I was curious as to whether or not old town remnants could be found here, because in many reservoir constructions, towns need to be drowned by the water. Turns out, the town of Coldwater did need to be displaced about a mile away for the construction of the dam, and some of the old town remains, but we cannot see anything from the campground.
Word is that the repairs to the dam could take years, and by then, the state of recreation for the lake may look very different. The COE owns not only the property, but some of the recreational buildings as well, like the sailing boathouse. The government would need to justify keeping payments up on these buildings, despite their not being used for years.
The site: While the view of the lake would have been spectacular, we still had a vast overlook from above the reservoir boundary. Once again, our camping pad was narrow, but our yard was huge. Our picnic table, lantern post, grill, and firepit were located behind our site, giving us an expansive backyard. We were also on the curve of the campground loop, so our view was never obstructed by our neighbors.
The facilities: For the most part, the campground is unmanned. No one checked us in upon arrival, and it's clear that the sites were not being maintained, as we had lots of trash in our firepit and a few scattered pieces of litter around our campsite. We aren't sure if this is because of the lake drainage, the off-season, or if it's just the way this campground operates. Three bathhouses with showers are available, and near one of them is a little recreational area with a swing set and basketball court. The best facility of all, though, is that the sites are full hookups! Typically, COE campgrounds are water and electric only, and we aren't sure when this one added sewer, but it seems to be fairly recent according to our neighbors who would come here on a regular basis. This is surprising to us, given that we weren't even sure this campground would continue to exist if the lake does not.
The amenities: Besides the basketball court and swings, there is a little pond at the campground entrance. We tried to take a walking trail that is also supposed to be there, but it was overgrown. The day-use area was closed, for obvious reasons.
We don't usually need a lot of amenities where we camp, but we were disappointed by the lack of hiking trails. We did, however, have some incredible bird-watching. The starlings were in abundance, and seeing them fly in their murmuration is always mesmerizing. We also saw tons of blackbirds, cardinals, chickadees, a woodpecker, turkey vultures, and so many small birds I couldn't even identify. Best of all, for the first time ever, we got to see a bald eagle soaring right from our patio. The nest is located right in one of the campground trees.
The price: Ready for this? $24/night for full hookups, plus the 50% discount if you're eligible. It's a steal! We'll be keeping a close eye on this campground to see if prices increase along with the water levels, but as far as we can tell, we seem to have squeezed in after installing sewer and before raising the prices. For this view, the peace and quiet, and being only 30 minutes from Memphis, we couldn't have asked for anything better.
Just right
Whitten Park, aka Fulton Recreation Campground, was my earliest booking of the three COEs because this is where we would be spending Anthony's birthday. Let's face it, Mississippi is not a coveted birthday destination, and so I wanted to make sure we had a killer campsite. In essence, I rented Anthony his own pier, but more on that in a minute. This campground only has one loop open in the winter, but a few of the sites have beautiful views of the Tennessee-Tombigbee (Tenn-Tom) waterway, a manmade canal that is used for commodities transport from Tennessee to Alabama through a series of locks. The waterway has also invited recreational opportunities like boating, swimming, and fishing. The Whitten Park COE was definitely fisherman-friendly. As for the water levels, this was one place where we did not need to worry about floods, or the drastic drainage to avoid floods. The canal was working as intended, which meant we got to sit back and enjoy the view.
The site: Our site was considered premium, due to its proximity to the waterway and the fishing dock. However, we can hardly say we "sprang" for the site, which you will see in the price section. This was one of our wonkiest sites to date. In order to get into the site, we needed to back our way down a 200+-foot driveway, on a decline. Fortunately, the site leveled out at the end, where we parked, but we still had a lot of challenges. First, the camping pad was extremely narrow, even more so than the other two COEs (thank goodness for our Glowsteps!). What made it worse was that the pad was also elevated from the rest of the site, with timbers and steps serving as the connections. Half the timbers were busted, and in order to use our stairs efficiently, we needed to strategically line up our rig so that our steps would join the stairs that were already in the site. This took some trial-and-error.
Oh, and we had to set up in the dark.
You can see in some of the photos that it looks like timber replacement has already begun. We imagine that our site will close soon for the rest of the reconstruction to take place. The site next door was closed when we arrived, for this very reason. It reopened part-way through our stay.
Once we settled in, though, we got to enjoy this:
We need to talk about this fishing dock. There was a dock for every three premium sites, but we hardly had neighbors, and so we were the only people using the dock from the three sites. Once in a while, other campers would walk down there, which we imagine was technically condoned, but also kind of felt like our site was being invaded. We didn't mind, except for the couple of guys who decided it was appropriate to also walk behind our rig. No no.
The rest of the time, though, we had our dock, and a little offshoot of that path led to the main fishing pier. Fun to walk on, but even more fun to sit and watch the waves flowing under it all day.
A few times throughout the day, we would hear the sounds of a barge approaching, as it made its way through the waterway.
Similar to the other COEs, this was a large site with a fire ring, picnic table, lantern post, and grill. We easily had the best and biggest campsite in this loop, and as we explored the campground, only a few sites in the third loop would be competition, as some had access to the beach and others to a gazebo. But, that loop wasn't open anyway, so we definitely picked a good one out of the available options.
We had some of the best sunsets here, which also led to some equally gorgeous night photography.
We waited patiently for nice enough weather to put down our patio, because as difficult as it would be to get the ramp door down over those timbers, we knew it would be a sight to behold. The slope of the land made our patio very high up, so in this case, we prefer to call it a balcony.
The facilities: Each campground loop had a bathhouse, plus a few more were scattered around the day-use areas. However, our loop's seemed to be the only one open. Our bathhouse also had a laundry room, but that was closed too. The site was water and electric, with another convenient dump station on the way out. This time, the dumpsters were right next to the dump station, which was much better than Hardridge! Best of all, though, were the attentive camp hosts. Of the three COEs, there is no comparison. We had lots of great chats with our camp hosts, and they even let us get packages delivered there. We kept telling them that we would go to the gate and pick them up, but they kept insisting on delivering every package to our doorstep. Southern hospitality at its finest.
The amenities: Whitten Park is named for Jamie Whitten, a former U.S. Representative for Mississippi, who played a major role in the development of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. The recreation area has a historical center with tons of information on Whitten's career and the waterway's construction. We stopped in one day after our morning walk. Some of the interactive exhibits weren't working, but we still learned a lot about the local region and its history. The building is gorgeous, with high ceilings and a back patio with views of the water, plus a hill dotted with picnic tables.
The day-use area had tons of amenities, including a basketball court, volleyball court (albeit with a pretty gnarly looking net), and a playground. Near the boat launch parking area is also a picnic pavilion and one heck of a disc golf course that takes you through the forest. If you read this blog, you also know that, unlike the other two COEs, we had ample walking trails here, which we utilized maybe a little too much, according to our camp host. We were also within biking distance to the Fulton recreational path that runs along the waterway, so one day we took the ebikes out for their first ride of the year and rode them to the Fulton Lock.
The price: Our premium site was only $2/night more than the other sites, and so for water, 50amp electric, and that stellar view, we paid $30/night. As with all of the federal campgrounds, the 50% senior, military, or access pass discount would apply, so if you qualify, you could get this site for just $15/night. Not too shabby, especially if you fish!
COE campgrounds have so much of what we love about the camping life. We get space to spread out and relax, we get to meet the locals, and we get to immerse ourselves in nature, all for a very reasonable price. Up until now, we hadn't been able to book COEs easily because we only looked in busy places during the busy season, so being able to dot our travels through the South with these campgrounds was truly wonderful. We already have a couple more COEs booked as we finish traveling the South and voyage into the Midwest. We can't wait to see what they will bring to the table.
All campgrounds can be booked on rec.gov