Shepard State Park — Attraction in Mississippi

Pros: lots of trails, boardwalk over marsh was exquisite-it was plastic and had cool solar lights on the walkway, most of the trails are shortcuts to the campgrounds, bark park, site markers were highly visible, there are cameras placed throughout the park I assume for safety, the bath houses have key codes so only campers are using them, the bath houses were very nice-clean showers, decent water pressure, the bathrooms by the park looked recently renovated-the doors were very nice, it looked like they were making upgrades to seating using downed trees to make benches. The road is gravel which added to the primitive feel. The sites were very large, most appeared level enough to make it work. The site we had could easily accomodate our 35ft camper, a tent, rug, seating, it was very spacious. There was tons of shade and a great breeze. We have Verizon and had 3-4 bars while there so internet wasn't an issue. Dump station is located for use when leaving the park which is convenient. The water spigot had 2 water hook ups. The electrical panels looked recently upgraded and allowed for your plugs to stay covered from the elements while hooked up-it was a nice box. The roads were pretty wide. The sites are pretty deep, we stayed hooked up to our truck since we only stayed 1 night. Many of the sites appeared long enough you could stay connected. There is very clear signage for navigating through the camp. There are multiple pull through sites Cons: there is no wifi, sites are not full hook up, some sites are not big rig accessible Toss up: the bark park was nice and there was shaded seating for humans but no trees really, the agility ramp had some rough looking boards and there was no other interactive activities for dogs, there was no water bowl/trough to use which I've seen at most parks, but it was a large area. There isn't a dual door entrance so if the gate is open there isn't a second gate to stop dogs. You would have to watch for other dogs if they were in the park when entering. There are lights on the roadway but they didn't seem to be working at night. There is a large playground but there are 2 areas that are broken and they have it rigged up with a stop sign and working sign. That could be problematic because of sharp edges. I imagine replacement plastic or a metal bar could be purchased to repair it more safely. It's probably the only thing that wasn't maintained to the other standards of the park. Check in is at 4 and they close at 5 but there are clear instructions for late check in. There are a lot of amenities such as archery and disc golf that we didn't use.

Overall we absolutely loved our stay here and I wish we had been there more than 1 night. It was quiet, calm, relaxing. There appeared to be some long termers, there were tons of dogs with fenced in yards to play. The camp ground itself was very well maintained and quiet. It was just a really nice camp ground, probably one of if not the best we've been to. I would love to come back here and would encourage anyone to add this to your must...

This is a sketchy, unsafe, and anti-social State park operated by the City of Gautier. I had never seen a police car patrol a state park before I stayed there, for only one night. People live at this park, and some of them are from out of state, I am guessing that the police were monitoring them. The park host is unavailable and closes himself inside a horse trailer. I was stalked by a City Worker of the City of Gautier from the time I pulled in, including when was trying to set up my tent, and then again, by the same man in the morning. Needless to say, I was too scared to set up my tent, the man followed me in a golf car from 5pm onwards. Therefore, I spent the night in my car with the doors locked. At 10pm, a truck spraying a mysterious substance came around with a bullhorn and broke the silence continually. It was very strange, and then worrying, as I did not know what the substance was that the truck emitted in large quantitities. The bathrooms have no plugs, you cannot even charge your phone. The disc golf players made problems about the location of my parked car, after the attendant at the front desk had told me to park there. Overall, a very unfriendly, scary place. This is not a campground for women traveling alone. Answer Please do not try to insult my intelligence by telling me that a "City of Gautier" gardner & maintenance worker is a ranger or a law enforcement officer. Furthermore, there is absolutely no excuse to have a City of Gautier worker follow a female visit or on his golf course for three hours straight and then the next morning as well. In regards to the mosquito spray, for those of us who are highly allergic, like myself, the Park should be obligated by law to post at the entrance the substance it is spraying. Finally, anyone who puts plants, flowers and lawn decorations in masse in front of their RV is not a visitor. The camp hose should be accessible as well. Glad that MS is just a pin on the map, I won't need to camp at...

A hidden gem with just 28 sites with only E/W (though the host site has sewer). Park is off the beaten path, but it has a lot going for it. Lots of opportunity for trail walking. Wildlife does walk through your camp sites at night. Park was in the process of finishing a very nice elevated walkway through the marsh. No fire ring, but most sites we saw had a circle of stones. Sites were large and well-spaced with lots of shade. Given the proximity to water, you may have to fight off the flying no-seeums in the summer, but we didn't have an issue. While the park is wooded, the electrical box at each site as a light and there are light poles spaced throughout along the road. Opportunities to restock are available out in town but not much in the way of tourist stuff. Most of the campers we saw were in town for the Mullet Festival. The roads can be tight, but we saw several large 5th wheelers as well as 30-plus foot self-drives. The address given on the website did not take us to the park, but to a spot about 1/4 mile away. There is a very nice wood Park Office at the entrance that probably houses a store, but everything was closed. A small gate office further in is where you check in. By all appearances, the park is working to get things back to normal. We camped at Shepard State Park in a...