Best Glamping near Austell, GA

This is a wonderful, scenic campground on beautiful Lake Allatoona. The sites are color coded depending on size and there is even a yurt to rent.  We went swimming and hiking.  Close to Cartersville to enjoy great restaurants and shopping.

This State Park has only 10 yurts and 5 walk in tent sites. There are no RV sites and no dump station. Check the website to verify.

I think people are mixing Sweetwater Creek State Park up with Sweetwater Campground (which is 54 miles away on Lake Allatoona)

We went here to meet up with family from out of state. Great affordable and updated cabins with close by parking for campers. Beautiful hiking loops with beach access for swimming. They are doing lots of construction on the camping loops so sites are limited but what was completed looks amazing! New yurts looked close to being ready.

There's only limited camping here. There's several yurts and 5 walk-in tent sites. Yes, some of the reviews here are confusing this park with another. There's NO RV or TRAILER camping here. 

The Yurts look awesome but do attract gaggles of families so be warned that if you're looking for a quiet get away then you may find yourself in the middle of a large family reunion that has no care for other campers. 

The camping is isolated from the bustling 'core' of the park too. That's a nice change from other parks in the area. But you will also need to drive to the trailheads more than likely so take that into consideration when packing etc. 

The tent sites run a little parallel to each other. I didn't go any look at the lake views from 5 at the back but expected it to be partial if that. Site 1 and 2 would be my first choice when I go back.

There is also full cell reception given its proximity to Atlanta.

Update: - Something else to know is that the visitor center called for 'check in' before we arrived and organized a wood drop off service.

Red Top Mountain State Park has it all - Allatoona Lake, a marina, fishing, boating, kayaking, camping, lakeside cottages, yurt, camp store, beach, miniature golf, food vendor, etc. i’ve Done it all now including a 2-bedroom Cottage for my birthday celebration. Travel 40 minutes north of Atlanta & 10 minutes from historic Cartersville and you’re in another world. I’ve visited at least 5 times and can’t wait for my next visit.

The tent sites and the yurts are very close together. Both of which are right on the lake. Plenty to do for the family,Playground, Fishing, and tons trails by the huge river. All of which are kept up in great condition including the restrooms. This is a 5 star spot for families who don’t mind a social setting. If you wanting a very quiet or secluded experience this may not be the place for you.

Red Top Mountain State Park is an incredible spot for a camping getaway. I love campgrounds that offer both nature and comfort, good hiking trails, a peaceful lake, and hot showers are definitely a win. The fact that they have rental cottages and yurts makes it a great choice for people who want a more relaxed camping experience too. The only thing I’d be cautious about is those narrow roads, but once you're set up, it seems totally worth it. If anyone needs to sort out travel plans to get there, you can always call Avianca customer service for flights.

Loved this campground! There are 5 wall up sites - (bring a wagon) - can’t park at your site and the campsites are up a small hill hidden in the woods. Private sites - water and electric - fireflys everywhere! There are also 10 yurts - overlooking the lake. The bathhouse is clean and there are two showers. There is a playground and a picnic camping area. The staff are extremely friendly! There are 15 miles of hiking trails and they are alongside the creek! Beautiful views. Also the lake has kayak / canoe rentals and fishing! 30 minutes from Atlanta/15 from six flags! Very convenient to grocery stores and small town restaurants!

15 miles West of Atlanta, Ga off I20 Sweetwater Creek State Park offers history, trails, water activities and peace and quiet.

Realize there are limited sites. 10 Yurts for glampers and 5 walkin sites for tent campers. The walkin sites are in the woods but not to far a walk to the lake. Tent pads with picnic tables and fire rings, if you have a hammocks plenty of trees to use. Kayak....you will have to drive to a spot or portage. The facilities (showerhouse)look very new and is well maintained. Also keyed limited access for glampers and campers only. No day use which is nice.

The hiking is a mixture of trails and old gravel roads. There is a large loop to see everything that is intersected by shorter cross trails. Very busy down near the ruins, but worth the hike to see the area.

Watercraft rentals and fishing galore. Little crowded for my liking but not surprising with Atlanta so close.

Wow! Mother Nature is sure the baddest of them all… This place have everything from hiking trails, camping and daily picnics, it’s not over crowded to where it’s uncomfortable but it’s so still and an essence of such a chill vibe. If I could move here I would! Clean and well kept.

If you want to go to day use they do charge 5 dollars for parking.

When camping you have free range of the water for kayaks, canoes, etc. Just NO swimming’s allowed. They have yurts, walk up tent camping and regular spots available. Nice covered areas where the group table is and grill. Each yurt spot had a table which is very nice, lantern holders and charcoal grill. That have very well and defined paths that are lighted at night. Oh and did I mention the most amazing park for your children…

Clean bathrooms and potable water and trash cans available

Super impressed and the camp host is nice.

Here are my star ratings based on my lifestyle and what I like. I'm also a mother, dog mama, and a wife so it's not just me it's my crew and i. 1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate… the property is no longer there, trashed or/and I could never have my children there and I wouldn't ever think about staying no matter what. 2 star- Not really my jam, and would NEVER go to again… It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure…Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and I love the Trees and the Green more than anything. 3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style, the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location… but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch. 4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure. 5 star- MY FAVORITE… love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc….. I would not only come back but would live if I could!!! Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last! CHEERS!

Campground Review:

Red Top Mountain State Park is located in Acworth, GA. The park is located around 12,000-acre Lake Allatoona, which made it perfect for summer camping. The park has about 15 miles worth of shaded trails for hiking and mountain biking. The park also has RV, yurt, and cottage options for camping. We rented a first come first serve RV/Tent campsite during our visit, and the price was $35 for one night. The campsite was gate access and had electric/water hookups with 2 car spaces, a BBQ grill, picnic table, and a lot of trees. We had access to a public restroom, showers, and laundry. There were also primitive campsites available to rent, which were closer to the lake. Our group decided to stay at this park because we wanted to utilize the lake. The lake is beautiful; however, it was very crowded the weekend we went. The park overall has a lot of “things to do” and is family friendly, but it was given 4 stars because of how busy and crowded it was during our visit.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I had the opportunity to test the Tentsile Flite +, which is a tent and hammock fusion. I was super excited to use this product because I am a hammock camper and there are times I wish I had the option of tent camping. The design and uniqueness of Tentsile Flite + is amazing, and I would consider it more of a tent instead of a hammock, because of how flat it lays when suspended in the air.

Pros:

• Comfortable to lay in and no need for sleeping pads or cushions.
• If you are a hammock camper, you can share this tent with another person comfortably.
• The rainfly is clutch and depending on preference it can be attached to the tent, staked to the ground, or tied to the trees.
• The Tensile Flite + is light and can be ideal for backpacking.
• The tent roof is all netting which is great for having ventilation during the summer, keeping bugs out, and also good for sky gazing.

Cons:

• Setup time and the difficulty of getting the right angle and tension.
• It was difficult finding the right trees suspend to.

Overall the Tentsile Flite + is perfect for someone who loves hammock camping, but want to enjoy some of the features tents have. I love the design and the wow factor it has on people. Also the company’s mission is very noble and how they help people in need and the environment.

Here is a video of setting up the Tensile Flite +

This the second campground that we stayed in Woodstock Georgia. Payne on Kellogg Creek Road was another great experience. We will be returning soon.

The campground is quiet with well laid out sites. I stayed in site 02, which is a pull through site with full hookups. Everything was clean and well maintained. I camped at Red Top regularly when I lived in Georgia 28 years ago. I’ll definitely be returning.

Chattahoochee Bend State Park is located on bend of the Chattahoochee River southeast of Atlanta, near Columbus GA. This is one of Georgia’s largest and newest state parks, with five miles of river frontage on the Chattahoochee. The campground has about 40 sites, some pull-they, but little shade. There are also some walk-in tent sites, and platform sites. The standard sites are water & electric, there is a bathroom/shower, and a dump station. There are cabins if you are not a camper. This is mostly a fishing/hiking park. A boat ramp provides access to the river for boaters and canoeing and there are six miles of wooded trails are open for hiking. There is an observation platform with views of the river and forest, but visibility was limited because of the trees. There isn’t much here but the river trail. But it is close to Columbus, GA, there are some zip-line places near by, and Roosevelt’s Little White House are close.

I made reservations online and it said you would be assigned a site on arrival. We were driving fro about 500 miles away so we knew we would be arriving late. I called the reservation number to check on the late arrival procedure and they informed me that if we arrived after 10pm that they close the gates and we forfeit our site.

This is not stated anywhere on the GA state parks reservation website nor in the confirmation email. I did find it on the Red Top Mountain specific site tucked into one of the general description paragraphs.

Anyway I called the information number and was able to find the Assistant Managers phone number and called them. They said that they have a gate but it's usually open. Arriving late was not an issue. He said to grab our packet of info from the registration booth and then choose any open site. He stressed to try to be courteous to other campers when arriving so late.

We arrived after midnight. Grabbed our packet then headed into the campground. Long story short... we couldn't find an open site. We drove around and around, which we really didn't want to because it was so late. In the dark it was hard to see the markings and some sites had long driveways so you couldn't see if it was taken or not. We would have to get out and walk into the site only to find it was taken. After 40 minutes of looking, and feeling like we were disturbing the whole campground we left and got a hotel for $67 about 10 minutes north of the campground.

The next morning we went back. I told the clerk/ranger what happened. She was pretty unsympathetic. She just said to go into the campground now and find a spot for our 2nd night of 2-night stay. She advised us to attach our name card to the site number post and leave some of our gear at the site so it was clear that the site was taken. We did that. We attached our reservation card to the post and left some of our camp chairs and a table at the site. We then headed into Atlanta for the day.

When we returned around 8:30pm we found that our site now had a huge camper parked in it and all of our stuff was gone. You got to be kidding me! This time we called the manager. Apparently, they do a sweep of the sites and mark whose names are on each site. He soon found our name on a totally different site. The people with the trailer had moved our reservation ticket and all our stuff to a different site and taken the site we had reserved. Very rude. By this time is was past 9pm and dark... I didn't want to argue anymore. So we just set up camp at the other site which was fine...just not as nice as the one that was swiped from us. The manager did end up crediting us the first night and 25% of the 2nd night for all the trouble.

Anyway... sorry for the rant. Needed to vent.

The park was nice. Well maintained. Wish we had more time to check out the lake. The cicadas were very loud! If you are a light sleeper bring some ear plugs. It was also very hot and humid but that's camping in July in Georgia.