UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI CAMPUS, OXFORD, MS

Our Opinion: Rave!  A great place to park while visiting Oxford and the University of Mississippi - but pick your dates carefully to avoid football season.

Date of Stay: April 30 and May 1 , 2010.

Weather During Stay:  Scary.  Severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches and warnings and flash flood watches.  Heavy rain; lots of lightening and thunder.

Site Description:  This is not really a campground, but our “site” has 50 amp E, water, and cable TV.  We parked in one of the two parking lots on the University of Mississippi’s (Ole Miss) campus that have RV hookups.  These sites are leased by football fans during the football season ($1,400 per season), but are available to RV’ers during off season when no other big events are going on (in which case the lots would be filled with cars and unavailable to travelers).

Our lot is on Taylor Road, just north of the traffic circle and south of University Ave. on the west side, across from the baseball stadium.  For information on availability and directions, call Reed Russell (Physical Plant) at 662-915-7051 or 662-915-2131 during normal weekday working hours.

Rate: $25/night, payable by check to University of Mississippi.  Deliver to the physical plant or mail to Physical Plant Department, 700 Hathorn Rd., University, MS 38677.  Mark your check “for RV Parking”.

Phone/radio/TV: Strong Verizon signal for the aircard and phones.  No obstacles for our roof-mounted satellite - and 80+ channels including local networks are available on the included cable TV.   NPR is available at 89.5.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  Slightly rolling terrain at 500 ft elevation.  Views are of cars in the lot, the baseball stadium, and many green trees.

Lighting/Noise:  The parking lot is lit at night with high streetlights, but we parked in such a way as to minimize the glare.  Quiet at night.

Favorite Sites:  If you are lucky enough to arrive at a time that the lot is available, pick based on slope and which direction you prefer to face.

Hiking/Walking:  Great walking on this historic campus, or walk a mile to the lively square in adjacent Oxford.

Comments: In spite of the terrible, dangerous weather when we were here, we would return.  The friendly town of Oxford is vibrant and lively, and the Ole Miss campus is beautiful.  With good internet, cable TV, and solid shelter nearby, it felt like a secure place to wait out the bad weather.