Lake Lowndes State Park

About this park

Lake Lowndes State Park, built around a 150-acre freshwater lake roughly eight miles southeast of Columbus, offers one of the most complete recreational facility sets found anywhere in the Mississippi state park system. Beyond the standard fishing, camping, and boating typical of Mississippi lake parks, Lake Lowndes maintains dedicated facilities for organized sports including football, tennis, and softball, plus an indoor basketball court inside its Multi-Sports Center, giving the park a genuinely different character from the more purely nature-focused parks elsewhere in the state. The Whispering Pines Disc Golf Course, part of the Southern National Disc Golf Association's competitive circuit, draws serious disc golfers from across the region for sanctioned tournaments held throughout the year, adding a niche but dedicated visitor base to the park's broader family and group recreation offerings. Equestrian trails further diversify the park's activity list beyond what most Mississippi state parks provide, reflecting Lake Lowndes' deliberate design as a multi-sport, multi-interest facility rather than a purely passive nature retreat. With Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi State University both just a short drive west, Lake Lowndes has become a popular overnight base for visitors attending football weekends or campus events at either school, giving the park a college-town rhythm distinct from its usual family-camping crowd. Largemouth bass, bream, catfish, and crappie fill the lake for anglers, while hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails wind through the surrounding wooded terrain for visitors seeking a more active outdoor experience.