Jackson Lake Island

This place lived up to it’s wonderful reviews! We were looking for something outside of the city and this was perfect. Jackson Lake Island was the set for the 2003 film Big Fish, by Tim Burton. You will still find the run down buildings on site. It’s a pleasant little island run by Bobby & Lynn. It is well maintained, Bobby said their morning exercise is to pick up any trash left behind by patrons. The day use fee is $3 a person and camping is $10 a person per night. There are a few full hook up sites but they are mostly taken unless you call ahead of time. Dry camping is perfectly acceptable and there are several great spots to chose from. The atmosphere is laid back, the owners are very friendly, and people come and go for fishing, swimming, photography, and of course the goats! Did I mention the goats!? They have about 30 or 40 goats milling around the property. They are adorable and friendly, they seem to be copasetic with all the guests. Pets are allowed but must be on a leash and the phone reception for T-Mobile isn’t that great. But you can literally pick a spot anywhere! Most spots are along the water with access to the river. We launched our paddle boards right from our campsite and had a great day paddling a section of the Alabama River. The nights are quiet except for the train every once in a while and the dang mockingbirds. We love this place, would definitely recommend, and will return when we find ourselves in this area again.

Spectre/Jackson Island Lake is a special place. Camping here is either with hookups (both on the mainland & the island) or dry (on the island). The hookup sites are mostly filled by longer-term visitors - "no limit" the owner Bobby says, "as long as you follow the rules", which are pretty straight forward (be nice). Dry camping around the perimeter of the island offers great views, shade under the moss-draped trees, and water access for fishing or paddling. Freshwater fill is available at the shed by the main gate. Dump access depends on if a hookup site is unoccupied. The goats meander around during the day, coming and going in waves as goats do. Definitely watch Big Fish while there if you can. It's really cool to see the very spot you're camped on the screen.

WARNING: This is not a typical campground or RV park - and the owners don't intend it to be. It is private land, shared with the community for fishing, photographing, petting goats, exploring, and yes, camping. While there are some sites with hook-ups, don't arrive expecting one. You may get lucky - but there are a slew of folks who reside here longer term in their rigs who have staked out many of the full-hook-up spots. However, the owners of the island invite you to stake a tent or park a rig (self-contained) where you deem fit on the island - so long as you don't injure the land. It's a really neat place - and we lucked out and grabbed the last open FHU spot on the mainland (the causeway to the island was due to flood - but there were 3 more FHU sites over there too).

There are free roaming goats on Jackson Lake Island - which is also home to the slowly decaying movie set for the Town of Spectre from Tim's Burton's Big Fish.

Camping options: Tent/rig/motorhomes - whatever you want to camp in. FHU, Partial hook-up, or dry camping - depending on your tastes and what's available. A options involve goats.

Bobby and Lynn, the owners of the Island and all that the Island entails, are true gems of people for offering their sweet little goat island up for camping and exploring. The general rule is that you can camp anywhere on property in a self-contained or tent manner, or you can utilize the partial or full-hook-up sites that are both on the mainland (5 sites, FHU - 50A only) or on the island (a few more FHU sites) - if they are available.

We called about 45minutes prior to our arrival, with some trepidation on whether we could fit our big butt onto the property. Bobby answered and said, "well, we'll give it a shot. I think we can fit ya, and if not, you can just mosey along". He met us at the gate, and after a brief chat, and a warning that "this is more of a camping situation, not an RV park", he let us know that he foresaw the causeway to the island flooding over in the next few hours, but he had a FHU spot that he thought might fit us on the mainland overlooking the island. He lead us over to the spot, an after we assessed it, we thought we'd be fine. After chatting with Bobby and his wife (super interesting people with big community lives), and being offered to use their personal kayaks if we wanted to check out the island after it had been cut-off by flooding, they then left us to it. Ee spent some time jimmying ourselves into the site, but were ultimately successful. He checked back later, and let us know where we could deposit trash.

If require hook-ups, I'd recommend talking to Bobby (his number is listed on this page, or at the front gate) to get a feel for what's available and suggestions of best places to park yourselves. Otherwise, this island area is a 'self-pay' situation - $10/per person for per night of camping, or $3/per person to explore the island and old movie set or fish during the day. Just don't 'off road' or desecrate the land, and you're good.

We got the last spot involving hook-ups on the mainland and we parked head in so that we could view the river and Goat Island out of our front windshield, choosing to run our water hose under the rig for this view. The 5 mainland sites are pretty darned level, and graveled over. Again, 50A only - but also water and sewer hook-ups. The other 4 rigs on the mainland are mostly full-time placements, but they are fully capable of moving and are very well-kept.

The only downfall of this camping space is the train which runs close by. It's active, and it's loud - with a crossing (aka, horn blasting) several times each night. Otherwise, during the day you can hear some highway noise - but at night it's literally crickets - only interrupted by that blasted blasting train.

Like Bobby said - this is not an RV park - or really a campground. Do not expect pristine roads to your site. However, the roads are completely passable, and with some patience you can get a 40'er in any of the spaces on the mainland (if there is one available). And if you're willing to go self-contained, and the island is accessible - you can choose your fantasy of where to park your rig (or tent).

Verizon is decent enough - 3-6DOWN/.5-1UP