Bussey Point Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $10From, per site
- Sites
- 14All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Enjoy nature at its finest. Located at the entrance of the Bussey Point wilderness recreation area- a 2,545 acre peninsula on J. Strom Thurmond Lake, the campground provides a relaxing getaway for the nature enthusiast for hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding. The Bussey Point horse trail was created by horseback riders for horseback riders. This trail circles the peninsula and is 12.5 miles long. Along with the horse trail, there are an additional 20 miles of roads and trails located within the area that all are welcome to use (no motor vehicles please). Keep reading
Located within the area are 15 food plots, six hike/bike/ride/boat in camping/picnic sites, and several natural beaches. Ample deer and turkey inhabit the area along with other mammals and birds to provide one of the best opportunities on the lake to view wildlife in its natural setting. Adjacent to the area is the campground with 14 primitive campsites without water or electric, however, there are picnic tables, fire rings, and grills located at each site. There is also a boat launching ramp, hand pump for non-potable water, and rustic toilets located throughout the area.
Recreation
The area has 12.5 miles of equestrian trails that cross through the adjacent wilderness recration area. There is a boat launching ramp on site. Thurmond Lake provides some of the best fishing, hunting, and water sports in the southeastern United States. Anglers fish for largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish and striped bass. The large lake offers endless boating, water skiing, jet skiing, canoeing and swimming opportunities.
Facilities
The campground has two loops of campsites, each with a vaulted pit toilet. There is a hand pump for non-potable water. There is no attendant on duty.
Natural Features
Hot, humid summers and mild, pleasant winters characterize this heavily wooded area on the shore of Thurmond Lake. A mixed pine and hardwood forest covers the site, providing summer shade and fall color. Wildlife is abundant around the lake. Visitors regularly see southern bald eagles, migratory waterfowl, wild turkeys and whitetail deer. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (800) 533-3478.
Nearby Attractions
The campground is just outside of Lincolnton, GA. Cherokee Recreation Area is nearby. Nearby golf course.
What the agency tells you
CFR Title 36, Rules & Regulations Governing Public Use of Corps of Engineers Water Resource Development Projects, contains additional information & requirements; copies of Title 36 are posted on bulletin boards
Maximum occupancy per campsite is ONE (1) wheeled unit & all tents are limited to impact pad with a maximum of FOUR (4) passenger vehicles and TEN (10) people.
All vehicles, RVs, & trailers must be parked on your campsite or driveway, not on grass or in vegetation. Tents also must be set up on the campsite, not on grass or in vegetation. Off road driving and/or parking off road is prohibited.
Everything else this campground posts · 7
All pets must be penned or on a leash no longer than 6 feet at all times. Owners must clean up after their pets.
Discharging firearms or fireworks in the campground is prohibited.
Alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs are prohibited at all J. Strom Thurmond Lake & Dam areas.
Fires are only allowed within designated grills or fire rings. Only dead wood may be gathered for firewood. Fires are to be attended at all times and must be contained within the designated grill or fire ring. Never leave a fire unattended! Extinguish your fire completely prior to departing your campsite.
Reservations can be made by calling 1-877-444-6777 (TDD 877-833-6777), or visiting www.recreation.gov. Reservations can be made up to 240 days in advance of desired date. DO NOT CALL the campground to make, confirm or cancel a reservation(s).
Check-In is at 3:00 PM & Check Out is at 2:00 PM.
Pack In/Pack Out. Dumpsters are not provided.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 14
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- “…loops of campsites, each with a vaulted pit toilet. There is a hand pump for non-potable water. There…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Beach
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horse Camping
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:23 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $10 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 15:23 UTC · rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
14 sites
All 14 sites
| A | 1 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 10 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 2 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 3 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 4 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 5 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 6 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 7 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 8 | standard nonelectric |
| A | 9 | standard nonelectric |
| B | 11 | standard nonelectric |
| B | 12 | standard nonelectric |
| B | 13 | standard nonelectric |
| B | 14 | standard nonelectric |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Leroys Ferry Campground0.0 mi
Hawe Creek3.5 mi
Parksville7.1 mi
Modoc9.7 mi
Ridge Road10 mi
Winfield10 miFrom the HWY 47 Little River bridge in Lincoln Co, GA, go north 1.8 miles and turn right on Ashmore-Barden Rd. Go 3 miles to the stop sign and turn right on Double Branches Rd. Go 3 miles until the pavement ends. COntinue straight on the dirt road .5 miles to the fork in the road. Take a right at the campground sign.
The agency publishes this point for 2 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Lincolnton, GA
Typical weather
Typical October night 52°F, day 75°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 34°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Bussey Point Campground is in Georgia’s 12th congressional district. Its representative, Rick Allen (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →