Sam Houston Jones State Park Campground Review: RV Camping Near Lake Charles, Louisiana
While exploring southwest Louisiana, we spent several days camping at Sam Houston Jones State Park, located in Moss Bluff just outside Lake Charles.
This turned out to be an interesting campground to review because our feelings about the campground and the state park itself were a little different.
The state park was beautiful and we loved its location. The campground, however, was older, somewhat tight, and showing its age in places.
Would we still consider it a good place to stay while exploring Lake Charles?
Yes—with a few things RVers should know before booking.
Camping at Sam Houston Jones State Park
Sam Houston Jones State Park has a relatively small campground with around 40 campsites.
Our site included a paved parking pad along with a separate tent pad behind our RV. We had water and electric hookups, with the connections located on the opposite side of the campsite.
The campground was obviously older, and some of the pavement and concrete had seen better days.
That didn’t make it unusable by any means, but this isn’t one of those campgrounds filled with large, modern RV sites and freshly poured concrete pads.
It has a much more established, older state park feel.
A Tight Campground for Larger RVs
One of the biggest things we’d caution RVers about is the amount of room available for maneuvering.
There are plenty of mature trees throughout the campground—which makes it pretty—but those trees can also make getting into some of the sites challenging.
We had to maneuver our trailer between trees to get into our campsite, and we knew we’d have to get back between them again when it was time to leave.
We managed it with our rig, but someone traveling with a much larger RV could have more difficulty.
If you have a big rig, we’d definitely recommend looking carefully at campsite length and campground photos before choosing your site.
Campsite Spacing
Site spacing varied throughout the campground.
We happened to have a nice amount of open space between our site and one of our neighbors, but many of the other campsites appeared to be closer together.
This isn’t a campground we’d choose specifically because we wanted an enormous private campsite.
For us, its biggest advantages were the surrounding state park and the convenient location.
Water, Electric and Dump Station
Our campsite had water and electric hookups, and there was a dump station nearby.
That worked perfectly well for the way we travel.
Having water at the campsite is always nice, especially when we’re staying long enough to use a campground as a base for sightseeing.
Free Laundry!
Now here was an amenity we really appreciated.
The campground had a laundry room, and when we stayed there, the laundry was free.
Free!
When you’re living and traveling full-time in an RV, little discoveries like that can make your day.
There was also a bathhouse at the campground. We didn’t use it during our stay, so we can’t give you an honest assessment of the showers or restroom facilities.
What We Paid to Camp
At the time of our visit, camping was $20 per night during the week and $28 per night on Friday and Saturday.
As always, campground rates and amenities can change, so check the current rates when planning your own trip.
For us, the price was reasonable considering the hookups, state park setting, and especially the location.
The State Park Is the Real Star
While the campground itself wasn’t our favorite campground we’d encountered, Sam Houston Jones State Park was another story.
We thought the park was beautiful.
There were numerous trails, picnic areas and places to explore. The main park road continued well beyond the campground and took us through some lovely Louisiana scenery.
We especially enjoyed seeing the cypress trees and their distinctive cypress knees growing around the water.
After traveling through parts of the country with very different landscapes, seeing all that water and greenery again was wonderful.
Trails, Cypress Trees and Louisiana Wildlife
There are several opportunities for walking and exploring within the park.
One trail followed the river through an area where signs warned that alligators could be present.
We skipped that one.
We had absolutely no experience with alligators at the time and weren’t sure what we were supposed to do if we encountered one on a trail.
We decided discretion was the better part of valor!
Even without venturing onto that particular trail, there was plenty of scenery around the park to enjoy.
A Great Base Camp for Exploring Lake Charles
This was probably the biggest advantage of staying at Sam Houston Jones State Park.
We were only about 10 minutes from Lake Charles, which made it very easy to use the campground as our home base while exploring the area.
And we found plenty to explore.
During our stay, we visited the Mardi Gras Museum, tried Cajun food, explored the historic areas of Lake Charles, visited Sabine National Wildlife Refuge and drove all the way down to Holly Beach on the Gulf of Mexico.
After a full day of sightseeing, we could return to a quiet state park instead of staying in the middle of town.
That arrangement worked very well for us.
What We Liked About Sam Houston Jones State Park
There were several things that made this campground work for us:
- Water and electric hookups
- Convenient dump station
- Free laundry during our visit
- Beautiful state park surroundings
- Cypress trees and Louisiana scenery
- Hiking and walking opportunities
- Picnic areas
- Small campground
- Convenient location near Lake Charles
The location was especially important because sightseeing was the main reason we were in the area.
Things to Know Before You Reserve
There were also a few drawbacks.
The campground was older and showing some wear. Some campsites were relatively close together, and the trees and narrow maneuvering areas could potentially be difficult for larger RVs.
This is one campground where we’d pay close attention to the individual campsite before making a reservation.
A site that works perfectly well for a 25- or 30-foot travel trailer might be a completely different experience for someone maneuvering a much larger fifth wheel or motorhome.
Would We Stay at Sam Houston Jones State Park Again?
We would consider staying here again, especially if we wanted to spend more time exploring Lake Charles.
We wouldn’t return because the campground itself was spectacular.
We’d return because the state park was beautiful, the price was reasonable, and the location was excellent for exploring southwest Louisiana.
Sometimes that’s exactly what we need from a campground.
Give us a safe place to park our home, water and electricity, a pleasant environment and easy access to the places we want to explore, and we’re pretty happy campers.
Sam Houston Jones State Park checked those boxes.
If you’re planning an RV trip to Lake Charles, Louisiana, it’s worth considering—just take a close look at your campsite before reserving if you’re traveling with a larger rig.
We’ll see you down the road…and Over The Hills!
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