Paul B Johnson State Park

I have been coming here since my toddler years. This is full ofmy childhood memories. I come as often as possible. It's beautiful. And they are getting ready to do some upgrades, super excited. I miss the floating docks/what's that use to be there behind the club house.

Enjoyed our visit in June 2023. State Parks really are a great deal. We had a 2 room cabin on the lake with its own pier and small sandy beach for much less than any two bed hotel would have cost. Master bed looked out over the lake. The usual bare necessities were present in the kitchen, and appreciated.

Staff was friendly and even found a discount we had not seen or was not available to us online for 100% Disability, which was credited back to the account we made our reservation on.

While we only brought kayaks, we saw others in several types of watercraft – so if that is your thing be sure to look it up.

Sadly, you can hear the nearby Highway 49 – but we didn’t find it too distracting. We also got to watch, but not hear, several aircraft land at the nearby Camp Shelby.

Get your head out of everything having to be “top end” by staying in a fancy hotel and instead enjoy a much larger private space and an outdoors to die for, right out the back door.

Beautiful lake. Lots of camping sites. Many cabins to rent from. Main house has a room that can be rented for meetings/reunions - accommodates about 50-60 folks. Restrooms. Several individual, covered picnic areas with grills. Main house has about 6 video games and 2 pool tables. Coke machines. Splash Pad. Good for biking and fishing. Disc golf course. The day I went they were having a disc golf tournament. Gas station right up to e road for fuel, snacks, ice etc.

This park was an unexpected gem! We are snow birds just migrating from one warm state park to another and we try not to have any expectations from any, but this one definitely exceeded them! Roomy full service sites, beautiful lake views, well kept grounds and facilities. Very accessible roads, full Internet/cell access, and within half hour to a delightful city, Hattiesburg, where there is everything you could possibly need. We will definitely be coming back here, but will stay a lot longer!

Can't say enough about this park. Absolutely gorgeous and very very clean. I can't wait to go back and I highly recommend it. This park spoiled me from the others. Even came with a Lil old car show that weekend. Definitely will be back.

Such a beautiful park! Easy reservation process, clean and peaceful environment, and friendly staff. Just watch for the very curious resident geese.

$28 a night for full hook ups with water, electric and sewer. On site laundry machines at each of the shower houses, the laundry machines are coin-operated. We had plenty of space between our site and our neighbors. The park has 1 trail, lake activities and a disc golf course. There is plenty of room to walk around and docs over the lake to enjoy the beautiful view. The shower house/bathroom was clean. We enjoyed our stay here and had a lakeside view.

Beautiful lake albeit a bit small still plenty of space to pull a raft or just chill on the water. Launch $7 $2 per additional person. No alcohol. A good time had by all.

We loved our stay at Paul B. Johnson State Park Campground in Hattiesburg, MS.

Very peaceful and quiet location except for the geese at night. 😆

We had great cellphone service. (Verizon)

We camped during the winter months when bad weather was moving through to the East Coast. Had a bit of rain. Cold and windy. We were unable to go on any trails and too cold to do anything at the water.

We had views of the beautiful lake from almost every window in our 5th wheel.

We didn’t use the facilities or see any of the rangers/hosts.

The site we had was a back in site long enough for our 34’ 5th wheel and GMC 2500 diesel truck. It was partially paved and almost level. Had a slight incline. The site was equipped with 20/30/50 amp full hookup w/h2o and sewage.

The campground was relatively clean and well maintained. It had a charcoal grill and picnic table. There is no fire pit at the site. Someone had burned directly on the grass and pine straw. Which was stupid because it obviously burned way out of hand since about 12’ of grass/straw had been burned. So dangerous. They left their firewood remnants. (No host/ranger removed the debris.) We only stayed one night, so we didn’t care because we didn’t really use that area. However, it was quite unsightly.

This location is very convenient to just about everything. Downtown Hattiesburg restaurants and shopping are within 25 minutes. It’s less than 2 hours away from New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS.

We were surprised at how quiet and peaceful this location was considering that they were at about 75% capacity. Very surprised at how many people were there during winter months with overcast weather. We got a good nights sleep. Very pleased with our stay.

Would love to visit again. ❤

#mississippistateparks #wintercamping #rvlife #lakesidecamping #beautifuldestinations #naturelovers

Paul B Johnson State Park is a great place to slow down and enjoy the natural beauty of South Mississippi. There is an entrance fee of $4. per vehicle, up to 6 people.
The lake is large enough to have swimming areas, boating areas and fishing areas. There are plenty of pine and oak trees providing shade and quite a few picnic tables to enjoy a leisurely lunch. There's even a small playground for children and the Splash Pad, a water playground, which is an extra fee.
I just enjoy watching the birds and being outside, and occasionally fishing or hiking.
A hiking trail is kept clear and there's a short hike option that most people can likely navigate. Over the years, I've really enjoyed the quiet serenity of these deeply wooded trails.
Covered pavilions can be rented and there's an air-conditioned Visitor's Center with many amenities.
Lots of people come by for the disc golf.
There's also cabins that can be rented and many campsites, full hook-up as well as primitive, that are often filled well in advance.

Our visit happened in the winter and the lake levels were really low. But this is a wonderful park for fisherman and boaters. The park has bath houses, laundry facilities, cabins, super sites, primitive sites that are wooded and secluded. We were not so close to our neighbors and plenty of room to keep from disturbing them. There were many families in the park that were preparing for Christmas dinner.
The park is rather secluded but we took the hour’s drive to the gulf coast and 20 min drive to eat Mediterranean food in Hattiesburg.

Our site had sewer, water and electricity. The pad was asphalt but it was crumbling and we had to be careful exiting our camper. It was quit a drop down. There is a very nice visitor’s center that we frequented and a boat dock near the visitor center. Don’t forget your fishing license.
We saw the park ranger but not the camp host but it was winter and close to Christmas.

Recently attended a family reunion at the park. The park is large and plenty of spots to cookout, camp or just hangout. The lake is a really nice size and had room for plenty of skiers. The park was well maintained and clean. If I lived closer I’d definitely visit again!

Clean park, reasonable prices, they don't do refunds they do credit vouchers good for any Mississippi state park. 3 on site workers (they live on the property). Office hours 8-5, 7 days a week. Excellent place for a picnic or family outing. 6 rentable pavillions

A very relaxing place to visit. We enjoyed fishing and the scenery. There is plenty of nice green grass for a couple's picnic. But they also have grills and picnic tables. And Frisbee golf. I've never heard of it before visiting here, but apparently, it's pretty popular.

Wonderful!!!! My kids and I go at least once a week!! We have so much fun together swimming, hiking and picnicking at PBJ. The lake is beautiful and the grounds are well kept. I lived around PBJ when I was younger so it holds a nostalgic place on my heart that now i can share with my kids.😍

We had the time of our life . Very nice kept and neat . All areas well maintained. Everyone was kind and friendly. Loved the Environment for my kids . The splash pad was so great and safe. We will be back

Went here in the dorm style group camp for a men’s retreat for NA. The kitchen service is down, but we had plenty of food to cook, many stories to tell, and a great secluded location for fellowship! We used both sides of the dorm and everyone had a bottom bunk! Top used for clothes, towels, and essentials. Pictures added of women’s side of dorm, little chapel, and our covered grilling area!

My Wife and I spent 5 nights here at the end of Feb. 2020. The campground loops are well laid out. The roads and park pads are in OK condition but could use some reconditioning/patching. We camped on site 78 and it has a large burled oak on the driver's side with quite a slope to step down onto from the passenger side doorway. We would try and stay on sites 17, 18, or 20 on our return. The bathrooms are clean with heat and plenty of hot water. We did not use laundry machines ($1.50 ea) but they were in good working order and clean. The campground office has a a game room with a nice pool table. Hattiesburg is only 15 miles away. We really enjoyed our stay and will return next year.

Very nice state park with great views of the lake. Fees to stay there have gone up quite a bit this year. Still a nice place to stay.

♿ ✅
Stayed in a comfy little handicapped accessible cabin. Spacious wheelchair friendly bathroom with handrails and a fold down shower chair.

One bedroom with double beds. Simple kitchen and living room with vaulted ceilings. TV, couch and fireplace in the living room. Nice screened in porch with table and chairs. Outside there is a picnic table and charcoal grill. These cabins are in a duplex/mirrored layout with a door allowing the porches to be connected.

Parks for kids. Vending machines in front of the main office.

Driving through the water on the spillway was interesting.