A Walk In The Park With Parker | J.P. Coleman State Park

TISHOMINGO COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – With weather reaching the closest you can get to triple digits, it might be time to break the boat out on the water.

If you’d like the opportunity for an affordable stay out on the water, while also seeing three states at the same time, look no further than J.P. Coleman State Park, and it’s our next park on our series of ‘A Walk in The Park with: Parker.’

“JP has been here since the mid-60’s,” said Park Manager, Gary Ray.

RELATED: A Walk In The Park With Parker | Legion State Park

Named after Former Mississippi Governor, James P. Coleman, this park has offers a fun stay to all who visit.

Their services may not involve biking or nature trails, but they make up for it with almost forty-eight thousand acres of water, known as Pickwick lake.

“It’s all about the lake,” said Ray. “This is some of the best bass fishing, some of the cleanest water in the state, some of the cleanest water in the Southeast. It’s probably the best bass lake in the Southeast.”

If you get tired of being out on the water, JP Coleman does have other outlets for everyone, some you may not expect a state park to have.

“We’ve got a minigolf course, and we’ve got a swimming pool,” said Assistant Park Manager, John Williams.

If you like the park enough to stay for the weekend, Ray says there are places for campers of all kinds to stay.

“We’ve got 69 campsites, a motel with 16 rooms, and three town houses. We’ve got 20 cabins and three cottages.”

Some motel rooms are a little more like condos, with downstairs living areas, a fully stocked kitchen, and two balconies to look out on the lake.

These, along with the cottages and townhouses, have all the comforts of home.

For large events, J.P. Coleman can accommodate crowds of over 100 people.

“First birthday parties to the hundredth birthday parties, just a lot of different things,” said Williams.

Williams also told us the the park on the lakefront combined with the reception hall can make a great time for a certain special day.

“I’ve seen some really nice weddings,” Williams said. “They’ll have the weddings right out here, and then they’ll come in here, have the reception, and have a good time.”

J.P. Coleman may give all these different experiences to visitors, but Ray tells us it also provides an escape from the usual sites and weather of Mississippi.

“This area is completely different than most of the areas in Mississippi,” said the park manager. “I say this is almost like going to the mountains. The fall is beautiful, the foliage. It’s different than any part of the state I’ve been to, probably the prettiest corner of the state there is.”

Those are his words not ours.

You might want to take a look for yourself and see if his words hold water.

The park does, for sure.

That’ll do for us here.

Be sure to tune in next time for another walk in the park.

You can find more information on J.P. Coleman here.

As always you can find the fascinating stories we found at each park, on our website, A Walk In The Park With Parker.