Big Biloxi Campground

The Big Biloxi Campground was my saving grace one weekend.  If you’ve spent a lot of time running around camping you’ll find parks often only let you book a minimum of two nights in a row on weekends.  This does not seem to apply to National Forests however, at least for the DeSoto National Forest in this case.  So I couldn’t use any state parks and decided to take a gamble on this, the most southern campground area in the DeSoto, on a Saturday night, knowing in advance that there’s no reservations, it is first come, first served.  Arriving around 8pm there were plenty of sites, I just had to throw $20 in an envelop and toss it in an iron ranger device and that was it.  No hassle.

Most national forest campgrounds I’ve stayed at have been fairly primitive ones, I’ve always avoided the ones like this that offer water and power in the sites, and have a fully functional bathroom.  Since I was just passing through, that was wonderful.  Only drawback of this place is that it is next to some major roads so traffic noises never cease.  But otherwise, it is a lovely place with well spaced out sites, friendly to either tent or RV, and has a little walkway down to the Biloxi River and a nature trail from the campground itself that I believe is about a half mile long.  For a better hike just a few miles up the road within the forest check out the Tuxachanie Trail.

A few minor notes:

1.  The signs say no guns, no horses and no glass or bottles.  Luckily I had a BOX of wine, so that was a great loop hole for having drinks after setting up the tent!
2.  The showers are push button style, meaning you get a button, you press it, water comes out for a limited time, then you must press the button again.  So it’s not the most ideal thing, but at least it’s a shower.
3. Search for the “Big Biloxi Recreation Area” on a map to find this place.  It’s only a few miles off of I-10.  This is the DeSoto Ranger District part of the forest.  654 W. Frontage Road, Wiggins, MS 39577.