Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Augusta? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Georgia tent camping excursion.
Enjoy a stroll in nature along one of our relaxing forest trails and if you want to try your hand at primitive camping let us know since we have several tent camping sites available.
We are booking reservations for our pioneer camping. Sites are $15 per campsite per night. Please note sites do not have access to fresh water or bathrooms. There is limited access to electricity in the common area but roughing it is meant to be part of the experience. Of course if you do need supplies, you are in the middle of Augusta, GA with a Family Dollar conveniently located next door. Once you step foot in the forest though you will feel as though you are miles away from it all! Our forest trails are free to the public and a great way to get out in nature!
$15 / night
Clarks Hill is a popular park on J. Strom Thurmond Lake, just off Georgia State Highway 221 near the dam. The 70,000 acre lake and its 1,000+ miles of shoreline provide excellent boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking and picnicking opportunities.
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. Hikers have access to many miles of trails in the area. The 1.8-mile Lake Springs Loop and the 27-mile Bartram Trail, which meanders along the scenic shoreline and through Wildwood Park, are nearby. Shorter sections can be hiked from several intersecting trailheads.
Clarks Hill is a wooded day-use area with several picnic shelters, some with electrical hookups. The shelters can accommodate groups as small as 6 and as large as 48. Amenities include flush and vault toilets, drinking water, a beach, boat ramp and dock.
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. Elevation is 345' above sea level. Wildlife is abundant around the lake. Visitors regularly see southern bald eagles, migratory waterfowl, wild turkeys and whitetail deer.
Numerous parks and recreation areas lie around Thurmond Lake, providing additional boating, swimming, hunting, and hiking opportunities. Nearby cities house museums, art galleries, zoos, restaurants, and shopping areas. The Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters Golf Tournament annually the first week of April.
$25 / night
This recreation area is part of J. Strom Thurmond Lake
$10 / night
This recreation area is part of J. Strom Thurmond Lake
West Dam Recreation Area is one of the most popular parks on J. Strom Thurmond Lake. With 70,000 acres of surface-area and 1,000+ miles of shoreline, J. Strom Thurmond Lake provides excellent boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking and picnicking opportunities.
Thurmond Lake provides some of the best fishing, hunting, and water sports in the southeastern US. 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. Hikers have access to many miles of trails in the area. The 1.8-mile Lake Springs Loop and the 27-mile Bartram Trail, which meanders along the scenic shoreline and through Wildwood Park, are nearby. Shorter sections can be hiked from several intersecting trailheads.
West Dam Recreation Area is a wooded day-use area with several mini picnic shelters accommodating up to six people each. One large shelter for up to 68 people is available as well. Amenities include flush toilets, drinking water, a playground, beach and hiking trail.
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. Elevation is 335' above sea level. Wildlife is abundant around the lake. Visitors regularly see southern bald eagles, migratory waterfowl, wild turkeys and whitetail deer.
Numerous parks and recreation areas lie around Thurmond Lake, providing additional boating, swimming, hunting and hiking opportunities. Nearby cities house museums, art galleries, zoos, restaurants and shopping areas. The Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters Golf Tournament annually the first week of April.
$125 / night
Parksville Recreation Area is a rural park in McCormick County, South Carolina on J. Strom Thurmond Lake. It is located along South Carolina State Highway 28/221 and features 70,000 surface-acres of water and 1,000+ miles of shoreline for boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking and picnicking.
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.
Parksville Recreation Area is a wooded day-use area with two group picnic shelters. Amenities include flush toilets, drinking water, a boat ramp, dock, playground and a grassy field. Shelter 1 (Beach Shelter) has electrical hookups and can accommodate up to 90 people; Shelter 2 (Hillside Shelter) can accommodate up to 36 people but has no electrical hookups.
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. Elevation is 335' above sea level. Wildlife is abundant around the lake. Visitors regularly see southern bald eagles, osprey, migratory waterfowl, wild turkeys and whitetail deer.
Numerous parks and recreation areas lie around Thurmond Lake, providing additional boating, swimming, hunting, and hiking opportunities. Nearby cities house museums, art galleries, zoos, restaurants, and shopping areas. The Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters Golf Tournament annually the first week of April.
$125 / night
Morrow Bridge and Midway seasonal camps, located in the western and northern portions of the Long Cane Ranger District, offer primitive facilities in a setting ideal for hunting.The surrounding forest sustains abundant populations of deer, turkey and quail, placing it among the most desirable hunting areas in the upstate. Several check stations and supply stores are located in the area. Click here for a printable guide and vicinity map of Morrow Bridge Camp. Click here for a printable guide and vicinity map of Midway Camp.
Traveler
I was originally a little nervous about booking this because I tent camp and the only sites available were full RV ones. I like to be more alone and tucked in the back somewhere. The RV sites do not offer much for privacy as the trees are spread out and far between, however each site is spread out enough that it’s not terrible. The sites were shaded and the whole park was very clean and well maintained. Even the trails after days of heavy rain was cleared and looked good. Camp host was super nice and offered us his axe to help us with wood. You had the option to rent kayaks and little paddle boats that was closed due to Covid 19. There was like 6 different trails to choose from that we enjoyed. We took advantage of the lake and did a lot of fishing. I would definitely go back and hopefully will have the opportunity to stay in a tent site because they looked awesome!
Guide
Whether camping in a tent or renting a cabin, all are $20 per night. 🤔 Beautiful lake, flushing toilets and hot showers. I am passing through but see others boating, fishing and hunting. Laundry available upon request and current availability.
Guide
I was passing thru SC on the SCAR headed down to the Palmetto Rally and stopped here to camp. It was a very nice campground with level pads, picnic table and fire ring (bring your own wood). As well there were several vault toilets and there was even a water faucet. It was a good campground and I would stay here again. It is not reservable so first come first served. There was some cell coverage as well. I tent camped so can not comment on RV as the others in the campground were tent camping as well.
Traveler
This State Park is large with camping for everyone, RV’s, tent camping. On lake Thurmond between Plum S. C. And Modoc S. C. On hey 28.
Scout
Stayed here this past weekend and what a wonderful tent site! Slept in the hammock and woke up to a beautiful view!
Guide
Mistletoe takes very good care of their sites. There are plenty of RV/tent sites to choose from as well as a few walk-in sites, a group site, and even a few back country sites. The facilities are always extremely clean. They also have laundry facilities available.
Scout
We tent camped and stayed right on the water. Sites were very clean and spacious. Bath houses were pretty clean. There is water and electric at each site for those who are in a RV but the dump sites are pretty close by. We will definitely be back! We saw quite a lot of wildlife during our stay and enjoy taking the trail around the lake.
Traveler
We tent camped here and were definitely the minority. Lots of RVs and pull behinds. Sites were well spaced. We had 15 and it was great, I would stay at the same site again. Water and electric at all sites. Access to water from majority of sites. Bath house was clean enough. Front desk attendants were wonderful. We loved this place and plan to return!
Traveler
This campground is 20 miles from town. it is a long way out. The site is a loop for 35 foot or less and it has tent sites! it has one bathhouse with 2 showers and two toilets. it is not enough when it is full. It does not have sewer but a dump site. No phone or internet use. It was very quiet and it offered walking trails, small beach area on lake.
GuideMagnolia Springs State Park is a nice Georgia State Park. Located just north of Millen, GA, the park offers ample camping for both RVs and tents.
Spots are flat and easy to park campers and set up tents with enough room between each for a bit of privacy and a few walk-in tent sites for increased privacy. Cabin rentals are available as well as a group lodge. There is a bath house in the main campground that is well kept complete with flush toilets and showers, as well as a coin laundry machines.
Kayak, canoe, pedal boat and bike rentals are all available from the visitor center to explore the spring fed lake and mostly flat trails in the park.
This is a lovely park to camp and spend time in, but is a 2-3 hour drive to Atlanta or Savannah if you are interested in exploring GA. The town of Millen has fast food options, as well as ample opportunity to pick up essential goods.
TravelerA lot of the sites are on the waters edge and offers beautiful views. The red clay was horrible though, especially with a white dog and after it rained. We had site 145, beautiful views but difficult to maneuver into the site and access the water, but we made it work. We would return though. Site 144 and 143 had gorgeous views of the sunset...I’ve heard 108 and 77 are prime spots. Be aware of booking a site and how you’re awning will face! Bathhouse is about 1/2 mile away, so too far to walk when you have to go. Not many bathhouses either so there was a line for the shower (only 2 shower stalls and 3 toilets for at least 75 campsites with the tent sites included). Only 2 single access dump stations for the entire park, so there was a line of 8-10 campers at both on a Sunday morning!
Ranger
This is a typical state park, not exciting, but mostly quiet.
The road going into the campground is horrible if you are towing a camper and full of potholes but is manageable. We are tent campers, so this didn’t affect us.
We tent camped in site #1, and the park was full this weekend. There are only 25 spots here, so it fills regularly. Our site was mostly level.
We did have a group of about 10,000 scouts camp right behind us in the group site. This never bothers us, it’s always good to see kids out in nature. They were mostly quiet for such a large group.
The bathroom / shower house is centrally located in the middle of the loop that the campground is arranged into. It was clean and had plenty of hot water.
They do lock the gate at night, so if you are arriving late, call for the code to the lock on the gate. We made it before the gate closed, but the ranger did call us while on the road (we live about 2 hrs away) to see if we needed the code.
Nothing much to do here as far as we saw, but that’s why we camped here this time. Just sat and read while enjoying the weather.
GuideThe main campground is flat making it easy to back up campers or RV’s in slots. Some pull through spots. We were tent camping and choose a walk in slot. 27, 28 & 29. Our site was 29 it is about 100 yards from the main campground down a single lane sandy road that leads into a wooded area. We saw vehicles on the other 2 spots and decided to just pull in by our space as well. I really like the walk in spaces because they are away from the main campground. I do like seeing stars at night but the tree canopy blocked them. The spigot on this spot was leaky. We did watch chickadees take an evening bath in the puddle. We noticed some little pieces of broken glass on the tent pad. The bathhouse was clean.
The 28 acre lake and trails throughout the property are well maintained. Signs to watch out for gators are posted. We saw 2. The springs are so pretty and clear, so many turtles and fish to see. I would’ve liked to paddle board in the springs but wasn’t sure if that was permitted. We did paddle board and kayak in the lake.
If you are up to a history lesson the Camp Lawton museum is a bargain at $2 ! It is very informative.
We had lovely weather and would return in the fall or spring. Summer may be to buggy and hot.
Scout
We have tent camped here twice at the walk in camp sites. The first time we were on sites 2 and 3 during a busy weekend. Second time we were on 3 and 4. I would definitely recommend 4 as the best walk in site by far. We had a group of 8 and 2 large tents that we were able to put side by side in between 2&3 and 3&4. There is a lot of room to spread out. Just a few yards away from 4 is a water bank where you can row a canoe up to easily if you decide to rent or bring your own canoe. They have canoes and kayaks for rent. $15 for 4 hours. $25 for 8 hours (8-5). The kids had so much fun with that. It is first come first serve starting at 8 am. Campsites 1-4 are all waterfront. I would not recommend the other sites at all. Very small and on a hill. You have to park at a designated area but you are able to bring your car down to unload. The bathrooms are a short walk up a hill which is fine but when you have to go badly it can feel like forever. The bathrooms in the walk-in site are bad compared to the RV sites. The showers are very small and pretty gross. There is a leak in the ceiling above the women's bathroom that drips over both stalls which is very unpleasant because everything is just so wet and dripping on you. Ended up having to use the men's at one point. Overall we really enjoyed our trips. The water view is beautiful. Despite the bathroom I would highly recommend this park.
GuideWe had a great experience that unfortunately ended a day early due to some heavy rain. We checked in on a Thursday evening from the drive from Florida. Campsite was chosen from a map, which seemed to have an upfront water access. Apron arrival, we found out there was actually another campsite squeezed directly in front of us and a RV showed up to obstruct the breeze and view of the water. We wanted our own water entrance and the view, so we moved to campsite 103. Best decision we made was moving to campsite 103, highly recommend. It’s on its own point, more secluded from the other sites, almost no visibility from your neighbors. The best part was the view, sunsets over the water were beautiful. There is a slightly steep step down to get to a lower ridge that walks into the water, be careful in the rain, but that’s where we scattered our hammocks throughout. Campground wise, we had 2 tents set up, trucks parked about 20’ away and still had room for Cornhole boards, fire pit and tables. The lake access was awesome because we bring inflatable paddle boards and there was a small island about 1/2 mile out that we would paddle around and back
The drive in is easy and paved. I do always hope for that off-road, overland kind of drive in but not here. Campground is huge with multiple sections so pay attention to the signs. Campsite #s where spray painted yellow on the ground if I recall correctly.
Overall, great getaway, the cell service was almost gone, every now and then a bar would pop up so just throw it in airplane mode to truly escape. Make sure you get a site on the water if you are tent camping. It would suck to have your view impeded and not have a back up campsite so choose wisely.
Seclusion might be an issue at some sites but they do have a couple sets of bathrooms around that are well maintained at the campground. Nothing crazy but they are clean.
TravelerThis is a review of the four walk-in tent sites at Mistletoe State Park. I personally stayed in #4 and had a look at the others.
The best site is definitely #2 -- feet from the water, spacious, suitable for more than one tent or hammock (better for tents as it is mostly open, but there are places for hammocks along the edges).
Site #4 is probably second best, better for a hammocks probably (which is what I had) as no great level ground. It is not right on the water but has it's own private path to the water(couple hundred feet to the water).
Sites #1 & #3 do not really have access to the water without climbing down something steeply dangerous or through thick trees. (The water access from the other sites is right in the middle of those other sites so you couldn't really share that unless they are empty or occupied by friends.) Still #1 is a pretty good site. #3 is the least interesting and smallest, but still secluded -- I wouldn't call any of these bad.
None of these sites have groomed tent pads -- just gravelly ground. They do each have a table, fire pit, and lantern pole. #1 & #2 are best for tents. There is good separation between all sites. Sites #2 & #3 are within shouting distance of each other and you'd be able to see tents, etc at one from the other. There is an outhouse between sites #1 & #2, and another another between sites #3 & #4. It is a 5 minute (or so) walk to the real bathroom (which also has showers) back in the main campground.
Other than the lake itself at sites #2 & #4, I didn't see any dedicated water source for these sites. (The lake is silty -- pre-filtering recommended if you are using a filter.) So you'd have to bring in water or get it from the bathroom area or maybe from an empty RV site which all have spigots. You'll have to pack out your trash, and there are definitely critters around that will get in your trash so it should be secured somehow. (Hanging it from the lantern pole isn't good enough -- you'll wake up to find a hole in the bag and it strewn around, ask me how I know.)
Everything in the park was very clean and well-maintained, although when I was here in September (during the week), the whole place was basically deserted anyway.
The water access at sites #2 & #4 is nice but it is not a real beach -- it is all large rocks for the most part and they were very slippery even when dry so be careful. The water level was also extremely low when I was there so some of those rocks are probably covered by water earlier in the year.
ScoutWe went camping at Hamilton Branch State Park in October 2019 for a week. There are so many wonderful things to say about this campground.
Almost ALL sites are lakefront- There are very few sites that are not right on the water. There are some sites that have a steep drop off to the water(mostly the tent sites around the sites 123-128 range). We found several sites that we thought were the best. Sites 77, 168, 98, 97, 103, 105, and a couple of others I can’t remember. Nice views and access to the water.
Sites are very spaced out- We were there during a quieter time, so we had several sites around us that were empty, but even if they had been full, we thought there was a lot of space between them, and most faced the water, so they all kind of faced away from each other. So, it seems to be very private.
Park is LARGE- This is a huge park, and even though there are 200 sites, those are all distributed over 9 different areas, each area consisting of at least 1 loop each. So, again, very spaced out and private.
Clean Bath Houses- Obviously we stuck to the bath house closest to our site, but it was extremely clean and appointed. Toilets cleaned every morning. Shower clean with good shower curtains! If you have camped before, you have likely encountered shower curtains that were hanging on by their last 2 or 3 loops. We even brought our own, in case that was the case here. Nope, it was very nice to have the bathroom so well taken care of.
Friendly Staff- We had originally booked a specific site, and when we got there, we wanted to change it(due to the steep drop to the water, that would be hard to do every day with kayaks). We looked around the park to see what else would be available and Amanda at the front office was very helpful in checking for availability and helping us change our site. In addition to the very helpful Amanda, we encountered several camp hosts. Since the park is so big, there are multiple camp hosts. Everyone we encountered was friendly, helpful and seemed to enjoy being there.
Beautiful Lake/Nature- Obviously the big attraction here is the lake. Thurmond Lake is ENORMOUS. And the park is on one small part of it. We kayaked a few days and saw a lot of fish, bald eagles, geese, blue herons, white egrets, etc. At our campsite we saw a couple of deer and a few raccoons. For a 6-night stay, we only saw the raccoons one night. We must not have had very good tidbits ad they gave up on us.
We stated several times that we will be coming back to this campground, and that it might be one of the best we have ever been to. I hope this gave you some info and insight into this park.
LegendMistletoe State Park is just outside of Augusta, GA. It’s on Lake Strom Thurmond, which is good for fishing and boating. The campground was nice, with level sites, and clean showers and bathrooms. When we were there the lake was very low, so the water activity was limited. It is close enough to Augusta for dining and shopping if you need that.
Guide
Park is the home of the VP of the Confederacy and features his home and Civil War artifacts (check for open hours). Hiking trails. Power and water, with dump station. The shower house is new (2019) and is ADA. Also laundry is at shower house. Firewood for sale with camp host. Shady, level, back in and pull thru sites with fire ring and table. Ask camp host for tour of CCC built fire tower. About an hour to Augusta, GA, via interstate (Costco with gas/no diesel), lots of shopping and resturants. Also stables if you are traveling with horses. Can reserve 1 year ahead.
Traveler90+ sites with water, 50/30 amp electric, a dozen or so primitive sites. Most have access to water and if the lake level is good, there is usually some beach area at most sites where you can swim, tie off a boat. We love it here and have been coming for Memorial Day and Labor Day for 25 years. Reservations are easy through Reserveusa.gov. Sites are all hard compact dirt/gravel but most are very level. Gate is locked each evening at 10:00 with a combination lock code provided to you for access. Very safe and secure. Just a couple of miles from Clark Hill Dam which has a nice visitor’s center. About 20 minutes north of Augusta suburbs of Martinez and Evans.
GuideWe camped in one of the tent only walk-in sites located on a peninsula jutting into the lake. We had a ton of stuff, not realizing it was an uphill and pretty long trek, but it was totally worth it. We had the whole place to ourselves, no neighbors, in late March. The sun setting over the water was beautiful, it was quiet even as a few motor boats came in for the night. There is a tiny beach on the tip of the peninsula, picnic tables, and an outhouse. It was my favorite spot of everywhere we stayed on an Alabama-Georgia-South Carolina roadtrip including AirBnB and bed and breakfast.
RangerIt is a very small campground. Narrow winding dirt road to small campsites. Bathhouse in the center. Check out the site pictures on their website, they are accurate. We only have a 17 foot camper and it still felt small. We stayed on site 16 which was nice and quiet. Site 18 would have been easier to back in to with the same amount of privacy. We got there early and were able to go right to our site. There were only 4 other campers there and the hosts. The bathhouse was older and could have been cleaner but it was okay. Most importantly it was warm. Our first night it got down to 27 and the water at the hose bib froze but once the sun came up it was fine. Less than 30 minutes to downtown Aiken. We loved the town and it was very pet friendly. Hopelands Gardens was beautiful, free and pet friendly. Had some good beer at Aiken Brewing Company and enjoyed all the shops downtown. We did go into Augusta and that was another 30 minutes from downtown Aiken. We will definitely go back in the warmer months to see some steeplechase horse racing and training, canoe and kayak the Edisto River and go hiking in Hitchcock Woods. There are quite a few museums we did not get to that would be nice to visit as well. I would definitely go back.
RangerWe stayed 3 nights in the “walk in” tent area of this state park. The park called the day prior to our reservation to see if we would need firewood, a big plus. “Walk in” is a little deceiving, because, gladly, you can drive to the 3 tent spots and park a vehicle in this area. We stayed in spot 29. The three tent spots all have water at each site. They all have spacious tent pads in a wooded, heavily shaded area. 29 has the tent pad very close to the “road/trail”, but there was very little traffic on it. We arrived at night, and the camp host was friendly and directed us to the site. The park was full, but the sites were spaced well and the park was pretty quiet. The bathrooms were very clean and did have hot water. There were numerous signs posted for alligators and bears. I didn’t put a lot of stock into the bear signs due to the fact that none of the garbage cans or anything were “bear-proof”. We did finally see one gator as we walked by the spring one of the days. I thought that we had seen on their site that no hammocks were allowed, or anything tied to the trees, so we didn’t take our hammocks. This was not the case, as there were many hammocks up when we were there. You can look up the history of this place on their website. We were there May 8-11 and only had one colder evening and weather in the 70’s during the day. We would definitely go back.
GuideWe had a true adventure when we stayed there.The place was beautiful we camped overlooking the lake.The bathrooms were spotless.We do advise if your in a tent maybe not taking a direct lakefront spot because we literally had to tie down our tent to anything including our car because it got so windy from the winds across the lake.Otherwise it was a great spot to stay.You can go swimming in the summer too we went when it was still cold so no swimming for us.
GuideThis place is awesome! We slept in the primative tent section. It was nice and peaceful. Facilities are clean. Great views ❤️
TravelerThis is our first time here and it was great other than I wish the site we picked was better. We r tent campers and the site was rather uneven and not much room. But the other sites from what I seen are great. A good mix of tent and rvs where here. Easy access to the lake for fishing. We stayed at site 17 might be better if we had a small pull behind for this site but oh well we made the best of it and enjoyed our trip.
Guide
Good grassy place to park. We have great comments from renters from Georgia Power, Pike and gas line campers.
Tent camping near Augusta, Georgia offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying a variety of outdoor activities. With several well-reviewed campgrounds in the area, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
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