Piney Grove Campground

We are spending a week at Piney Grove as we travel from SC to TX. We love COE campgrounds; they're always our first choice if available, so we were well aware that the check-in times vary and can be quite late in the day (4 pm in this case). Not an issue as there was a parking lot we could wait in until our site was available (just after 3, as it turned out). Even though the previous night's campers hadn't yet checked out, the very helpful gentleman at the gate even drove out to the site for us right at check-out time to see if the site had been vacated. On first glance, this looked like a tight campground for our 42-foot fifth wheel, but the layout of our particular site made it actually a very easy back-in. We had a huge site right on the water, and almost 180 degrees of lake views. The site was paved, and level enough that we didn't need to use our levelers, which I always appreciate, and there was a large gravel tent pad with a fire ring, picnic table, charcoal grill, lantern post, and a really handy concrete side table beside the grill. We had lots of shade, and a sandy beach just behind our site; this would make a gorgeous summer site.

My one caveat - and it didn't ruin the park for me, and it's not even something that would necessarily bother everyone - but as it happened, we landed here during the local spring break, and the campground was at capacity. I have to say, we have been camping for more than 20 years, from tents to hammocks to our current setup, including the last three years as full-timers, and this week has been by far, without question, the loudest week of camping I've ever experienced in my life. The kids that are here this week have played basketball essentially 10 am to 10 pm every single day, on the court conveniently located right in the center of the campground loops, and it turns out basketball involves a great deal more screaming than I ever knew. There are also children everywhere, on bikes, scooters, skates, hoverboards, etc., and many of them have no hesitation about rolling through the campground playing music at top volume. I feel like I'm in the middle of a junior-high field trip. To everyone's credit, all the noise stops promptly at 10, when quiet hours start, and everyone (kids included!) has been nothing but polite. There just hasn't been any opportunity for us (two boring adults) to sit outside by the fire in the evening and enjoy the peace. It almost seems like everyone else here came together, and we are the only outsiders among a massive family reunion. Maybe it's just this week, but to me it seems to be an outcome of the way the campground itself is designed.

If you have littles, this seems like a great place for them to make friends and get lots of fresh air and exercise. And to be clear, I would personally return to this campground in a split second. There are birds and trees and beauty everywhere, and I had enough cell signal (with my MiMo antenna) to work without issue. It just isn't the kind of experience that I try to seek out, so personally I wouldn't come here during a school break, including summer. Your mileage may vary.

Also, if your GPS sends you the "southerly" route, beware, because it's a gravel road. Our RV Garmin didn't send us that way, but when my husband went out for groceries he ended up there.

We arrived at dusk right before the office closed. The gentleman was very helpful. Our site (10) was level and easy to back I . Quickly noticed that we were 1 of 3 campers there. We set up and took showers in the bathhouse. Bathrooms were dated but clean. We were walking distance to the park and bathhouses.
The park was very quiet.
We had come from camping and needed to wash clothes. I read that there were laundry facilities on site. Perfect!
The next morning we rode our bikes and quickly found the laundry facilities but they were in use, so we decided to go back later. We waved to the couple sitting at the table waiting for their clothes to dry and continued exploring.
When we went back there was a sign on the door that said, due to Covid (that’s still a thing) these facilities are closed. Ugh, that sucks.
Our first day at piney grove was spent biking and looking for a place in town to do laundry.
There was one nature trail in the campground so we drove to tishimingo. Beautiful. Their campsites are the best, I was glad we chose piney grove. We hiked and explored and really enjoyed ourselves.

Piney grove is beautiful and I’m assuming it’s real busy in the summer. There was a beach and a nice day use area.
Each night, about 15 deer came out to eat in groups. My kids were super excited.

Our internet was spotty, but that’s ok.
Someone left firewood at our campsite and we utilized it on the first night. It was great.

I took a star off for the laundry facilities only being able to be used by the camp hosts. Not very fair.

Great Sites. Very Good Bath Houses. Typically Over-engineered Corp Of engineers Construction. One Warning—you Need To Reserve And Pay For Your Site In Advance. Even 5 Minutes In Advance. They Don’t Have A Lot Of Autonomy At The Front Office And Can Only Check You In If You Have Purchased The Site Online In Advance. We Spoke to The Very Friendly Folks At The Front Office, Chose And Available Spot, And Then Sat In Our Van In The Parking Lot And Booked It.

We were in Mississippi and no campgrounds that weren’t like in the middle of a pasture with no trees, except for this one 42 miles away. We decided the tree shade was worth it, plus it was was on a lake.
You must reserve online at www.Recreation.gov. $28-30 sites but 1/2 price if you have your Senior Pass for the National Parks! So we paid $15!
But in the meantime, they showed us the 3 available pull-thru spots on the lake!
Large roomy sites with asphalt parking. Pea gravel areas have picnic table, bon fire ring, and a charcoal grill. And we overlooked the lake!
There’s swimming,fishing and boating.
140 sites in 3 loops. A hidden gem we should keep secret!!

Stopped here to recharge on a long road trip. Spent 5 days there and really fell in love with the place. When we first arrived on a Friday, the place was packed. The road leading to our site was a little tight for a rig our size but was workable. Got backed into site 37 which was uneven front to back but level side to side. The site was a bit narrow once we put our slides out but the picnic area for the site was a nice gravel area behind the camper with a fire pit and a grill in it. There were a lot of kids around which was nice for my kids to go play and hang out. By Sunday afternoon the campground emptied significantly and close to 2/3 of the sites were then vacant.

During our stay the camp hosts were fantastic. They spent plenty of time each day walking around making sure the sites were clean for new guests and chatting with the visitors. We did not know what to do around there and got recommended to go take a tour of the Tiffin Motorhome plant, which was an excellent tour. The bathhouses were decent and the playground was nice. There were also several basketball courts to play on and a nice boat ramp if someone brings out their boat or other water toys. Cell service was pretty spotty (2 bars ATT, 3 bars T-Mobile with a WeBoost signal booster)

Overall like many of the COE campgrounds, this one had beautiful scenery and was just overall an enjoyable experience. Would definitely stay here again!!!

***One important note DO NOT FOLLOW THE GPS DIRECTIONS TO COUNTY ROAD 3421 AS IT QUICKLY TURNS INTO A VERY SMALL GRAVEL ROAD, Stay on Route 30 down to County Road 3501 and it will be paved the entire way.***

Reserved online and then adjusted the days online as well. No issues. Check in was easy and friendly. They DO ask to see your pass if you've used a senior pass. They do honor the senior national parks pass so the rate was cut in half.

All sites are paved with water and electric (50/30/15), Charcoal Grill and table, Fire Ring, Picnic Table, and Lantern holder.

Park is very pretty and clean. WiFi hotspots thru out.

Bathrooms are older but clean. Sites are good sized but you will have close neighbors.

The campground features boat ramps, beach, playgrounds, fishing pier, but no hiking trails.

We followed the campground (CG) instructions versus our RV GPS as it wanted to take us down a country road no RV should go on. There was signage where to turn to get to this COE CG as you got close. As this was a Friday and based on our experience going to state parks/COEs at the end of the season when the weather is really nice, we went in early so we could get ahead of the weekend crowd. We were glad we did as after an easy check in at the gate, we proceeded to our loop to site 21 with 50/30 AMP and water. The loops here are a little tight and there are lots of trees so coming in late on a popular weekend could be challenging with trucks, cars, and boats parked about. Site 21 was a bit of a challenge backing our 39' 5th wheel into. There were lots of trees and a little bridge with big drop offs on either side of the road, but we got in without mishap after a few tries. As the afternoon progressed, the locals plus rookie RVers all swarmed in around the same time. We grabbed a beverage and watched the show. This was our first time staying at Piney Grove, but we had come to the area the last three years to get our 5th wheel serviced. The CG was completely full for the weekend. There are quite a few back-ins that would have been much easier. We suggest reading reviews on various websites to find which sites will better fit your rig. The pad lengths on the reservations website seemed to be accurate. In our opinion, the only pull through that would fit a 40’ 5th wheel was site 73. The rest of the pull throughs were the half moon shaped type with too sharp of internal turn and/or trees to deal with. A lot of the sites have some lake view. Sites here are closer together than other COEs we have stayed in. Cell service was spotty with both Verizon and AT&T having two bars. We could text but not receive phone calls (though we did see a few people talking on their phones) and often the internet wouldn’t connect or was too slow to be useful. There are internet hotspots in the CG but we could not get our phones to recognize and/or connect. You get a handful of OTA channels but no major networks. We had to chuckle when several campers here tried and tried to get their satellite dishes to connect. Unless you are maybe near the main road or boat ramp area, doubtful you would get a signal as there are too many trees. We would stay here again, but definitely in a different site.

We have an access pass for a discounted rate.

Campground was nice, clean, friendly staff. A lot of kids playing during the day but very quiet during quiet hours.

Bathrooms were clean. Handicap shower had plenty of room to shower and dress. Handheld showerhead and seat in shower and in dressing area.

There was ice for sale near the gatehouse, which came in handy with the sun and heat. We had to top off our cooler the 2nd day.

We were tent camping (one of the very few tents, most had RVs) and there was not enough shade at our site. We had to keep moving around to find shade, and part of the time had to move our chairs to the trees at the edge of the site to get any shade. Some other sites had more shade.

There was not any grassy level ground on our site for our dog's pen so she had to stay penned on gravel. Some other sites have more level ground.

Most dogs were on leashes. The one or two we saw off leash were well behaved at least. The rule is 6ft leash but we didn't complain since the dogs stayed away from our site. We kept our dog in a pen on our site and no one had a problem with it. It seems allowed even if not listed in the rules.

We did have good access to the water for fishing and a small beach area to take our dog in the water. Beach area was by the site next to us but neighbors were friendly and let us access it. We could get to the water at our site too but it was about a 2 foot step down.

Site 51 is right next to 49, so the two would be good for group camping. Other sites were spaced away a little.

Overall a very nice campground. We will try it again in cooler weather or a site with more shade.

These reviews that say stores are 40 minutes away are not correct .. the nearby town either way is 12 miles.. Tishomingo state park is approximately 12 miles and you go through the town to get to the park.. Booneville city is 12 miles away and it has supercenters and several grocery stores..About three mile from campground is gas and food and a few items for camping .. Dollar Generals not far at all .. please pay attention to locals like myself bc these people who say that food , gas, ice, 30-40 miles away is totally false ..the park has a laundry mat that’s nice.. the camping area has a basketball and volleyball court and nice clean always stocked with toilet bathrooms.. a nice playground for children.. cell service is sketchy but not impossible.. the lake is beautiful and people are extremely friendly.. lots of walking and plenty to see... I love this place and if there’s a lot of rain for several days don’t plan on camping bc it floods very easy ..if the beach ever opens it’s white sand and lovely.. a volleyball net is on the beach area ..