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Clear Springs

There are no other words to describe the beauty of one of our favorite camping spots of all time.  Clear Springs.  They flow through the sandy soils of the Mississippi hills, emptying into a 12 acre lake.  Clear Springs Recreation Area is a National Forest Service park, currently ranked as one of the top ten Forest Service properties in the nation.  Located just off State Highway 84, halfway between Natchez and Brookhaven, Mississippi,  Clear Springs is another of those wonderful gifts built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930’s.

Clear Springs is a small park, set up for day use for picnicking and swimming in the lake;  but camping is the best.  We first camped there as children during the 1950’s, when there were only 22 sites, one bathhouse, and a central water spicket that all the kids had to go to to haul water back to the campsites. Electricity was taboo in the campgrounds. By the time we returned with our own children during the 1970’s and 80’s, there was water at all the sites, and electricity at some.  Now that we are returning with our grandchildren, there are still 22 sites, all with water and 30/50 amp service.  It just keeps getting better and better.  There are no reservations; but if you call the ranger station in nearby Meadville, MS, (601)- 384-5876, they can give you the number for the campground host, always on duty, who can tell you how full the park is when you call.

What a special place.  Small, sandy-bottomed creeks flow into Clear Springs Lake, along with the artesian springs that rise from the lake bottom.  This is absolutely the best swimming experience in the whole wide world during the hot summer months.  If you use a float, and just drift around the lake, you pass through a warm spot, then an icy current.  A spillway at one end of the lake leads to a creek that is filled with old-fashioned swimming holes for the kids, and one sandy, rocky beach after another with treasures of agates, petrified wood, fossils, and quartz waiting to be discovered by rockhounds of all ages.

Hiking and mountain biking are favorite activities.  The one-mile trail around Clear Springs Lake is hilly, picturesque and just a little challenging.  Over 30 miles of mountain biking trails traverse up and down the steep hills.

Our favorite hiking trip is one that almost didn’t end!  Maps of the area are available, and we had one.  We set out about 1 pm in the afternoon for what we thought would be about a 3 hour hike on one of the many trails shared by bikes and legs alike. The trail was beautiful.  We were watching the trail markers carefully.   A small foot bridge that crossed a creek had been washed out and not yet repaired.  So, we had to detour.  Aha!  Therein was our downfall!  As we walked on, we began to realize that the path we were on looked nothing like the map we were following.

When we thought the trail should have led us right back to the campground, there was more trail, and the sun was getting low.  Truth be told, we were thinking, “Can we really drink out of the creek?” and, “Can you really survive by eating pine bark?”  Then, we came out onto a small gravel road.  It was NOT on our map.  We seriously hoped a local would come along and give us a ride in the back of his pickup truck.  But apparently, the road was not used often.  No luck there.  Deciding that the road must lead to somewhere, we followed it.  Just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, we saw lights, and heard the sounds of children. Following the sounds over the top of the nearest hill, we looked down and saw the campground nestled by the lake.  What a relief!!!

Don’t let our hiking experience scare you off.  The fault there was absolutely hiker error!  Even lost on the trail, it was a beautiful hike. Clear Springs is a special place to put on your Bucket List.