If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, look no further. The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest's most popular destinations.
Raven Cliff Falls camping
This trail is one of North Georgia’s most popular camping destinations. Trailhead campsites offer fantastic stream-side camping just steps from the car, and a fantastic base camp for hiking the Raven Cliff Falls Trail during the day. The trail is also dotted with many backpacking campsites on the creek’s level banks, offering a little more solitude for campers willing to backpack it in.
Black bears frequent this wilderness area. Keep all food items and fragrant cosmetics out of reach in a bear canister: many years ago, we lost our camp stove, food and cookware to a trio of bears in a traditionally-hung bear bag along this trail.
Campsites are free and first-come, first-claimed. Pack out everything you pack in: this is one of Georgia’s most beautiful Wilderness areas, so please, please leave no trace. (What is Wilderness, and why is it important? Read more in our guide to Wilderness areas in the South.)
Shady Grove Campground is open seasonally for primitive and RV camping; courtesy boat dock and access to Lake Lanier. Fishing is permitted and hiking trails abound along the lakeshore. The campground is located at 7800 Shadburn Ferry Road in Cumming and has over 110 campsites. Shady Grove Campground amenities include: Tent and RV Sites (30/50 amp) with water, a beach and swim area, a boat ramp with courtesy dock, a group campsites with picnic shelters, a playground, and wash houses.
Bear locker/box is provided, water is available but needs to be filtered/purified.
Springer Mountain Shelter (3700 ft) to trail east on side trail with privy and reliable spring. Established tent sites nearby.
The Blood Mountain Shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia was originally constructed from local stone in 1937 for the Georgia State Parks system by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers stationed at Camp Enotah at Vogel State Park. The shelter was transferred to the US Forest Service in a land exchange agreement in 1956. The basic elements of the rooms, window, and doorways of this stone structure remain unchanged, but modifications to the roof and floor have occurred over the years.
Two Wheels of Suches Motorcycle Campground, Restaurant and Lodge offers riders, traveling in the North Georgia Mountains, a place to stop and grab a bite, camp, stay in the lodge or cabins, meet up with old friends and make new ones.
The campground offers beautiful camp sites by Canada Creek or near the wooded areas backing up to the National Forest. There are charcoal grills, picnic tables and fire rings throughout the campground. The Bathhouse is newly constructed clean and spacious, heated with separate facilities for men and women. Both offer private dressing area and hot showers. Additional outlets provide for use of hair dryers and charging electronics.
All campsites on the Appalachian Trail are first-come, first-camp, so start your hike early the best pick of the campsites.
Lance Creek is a campsite along the iconic Appalachian Trail.
Stay the night with us in our historic building! The Walasi-yi building was completed in 1937, the same year as the Appalachian Trail. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a dining/dance hall and inn it is now a shop and the ground floor of the inn is now our hostel.
Sleep on something soft and dry! Experience real plumbing! At the shop we have a full pantry, pizzas and more.
Here's the deets:
Open 364 Days / 7 days a week (Except Christmas)
Sorry, no reservations. First come, first in.
Late arrival? - Don't worry, if there is a bunk you are welcome to walk in and get settled. Simply pay at the shop in the morning.
HOSTEL RATE: $25.00 per night (including tax)
Rate Includes bunk, shower, and a towel. Bring your own bedding/sleeping bag.
Sorry but there are absolutely no animals allowed in hostel. Leaving your animal outside while you stay in the hostel is NOT an option.
If no bunks are available, or if you have a pet, there is free camping available just off of our property. It's 200 yards behind the building on the AT, just beyond the "Raven Cliffs Wilderness" sign. You are welcome to get water from the tap under the bay window on the south side of the shop.
Camping anywhere on our property is not permitted. This includes behind the hostel and on the lookout.See ya soon!
$25 / night
We really enjoyed our stay at Black Rock. Despite being at full capacity for Labor Day weekend, the park did not feel overly crowded. The staff attending the lodge store were welcoming and knowledgeable. There was a good selection of necessities available, along with ice and firewood. The comfort station was clean and well-appointed and there was never a wait for facilities. While privacy of sites varied, we spotted a few with really lovely mountainside views. The Tennessee Rock Trail to the summit and overlook is the perfect distance for a morning hike and not too strenuous. The Black Rock Lake Trail is very scenic and well worth the 20–30 minutes it takes to walk the circuit. There are also day facilities such as picnic tables and grills. Highly recommend.
Site 7 is separate from the others and has the whole point except there is a trail behind the site. No easy, sandy water access unless you go to the nice beach they have.
It took us about 1.5 hours to reach the campground from where the pavement ended. It gets rough in places, but a sedan can do it if it's dry. Once you finally reach the campground, it is nice. Nestled way back in the woods. No power or water hookups. A couple of water hydrates throughout the campground. No alcohol permitted. It is a wildlife management area. There is a host in the campground. Beautiful scenery!
We stayed at site 125 with a full view of the lake. We could watch the sunset & the sunrise each day and it was incredible. There is plenty of tree cover & wilderness surrounding you. Bath houses were decent (albeit a little outdated). Our spot had a pretty bad ant infestation & they ended up getting into our trailer, which I had to scour with spray, etc. But what can you do? Just bring some supplies in case. What we really liked about this campground is how natural the surroundings are. You're really immersed in the wooded area with a view of the beautiful lake & the sounds of birdsong, etc. Good campground for bikes as things are spread out (swimming beach, bathhouses). We would certainly come back!
This is a primitive campground with a picnic table, lantern pole and a firepit with a grate. It is pack in-pack out as there are no trashcans or dumpsters. Water is available via a hand water pump across from site#8 and the toilets are vault toilets but were well kept and did not smell horrible. The stream is gorgeous stream and loud enough to drown out most road noise. There are some hazardous trees and one 6inch tree did fall while we were there this weekend during a thunderstorm. At the back of the campground is a~2 mile trail that connects to the AT. Most sites have a tent pad that will accommodate a 10’x10’ tent. Sites 2, 4, and 8 driveways can really only accommodate 1 car and there are no extra parking spots. Driveways for sites 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 can accommodate 2 cars. Site 1 is adjacent to the road and is going to be impacted by road noise. There is no campground host so be prepared to either scavenge wood or buy it in town, same goes for ice.
Nice campsites with water and electricity. Almost all the sites have view of lake and many have access to the lake for swimming or paddle boarding or boating. Nice breeze off the lake. Will be back many times.
It was a nice campground. But it is set up to be too crowded. Not my kind of camping. But they stated was friendly. The restrooms weren’t so bad considering how many kids was there. Couldn’t let the dogs walk free so that sucked.
I called and was told this is a membership ONLY campground resort! Please delete this resort
We stayed in site 7 and we really enjoyed it. The site was clean and the pad was very level.
We had a minor issue popping the 30amp breaker but switched over to the 50 amp adapter and all worked fine.
Didn’t use the bath house but I did go check them out and they looked clean.
I would caution big rigs on the first loop (sites 2 - 9) the loop at the back is pretty tight. We did fine with our 28’ TT but anyone over 30’ might want to consider the other loops.
Driving through and looking at the other sites some of the picnic areas need to be reworked or at the very least mowed and weeded. If it wasn’t for that sort of stuff I would give it 5 stars.
We just finished our third RV trip at 411 River Rest CG—which was our seventh trip there over the past few years. The campground is pretty and extremely well maintained. The Coosawattee River is beautiful, as are the big trees that are a part of the facility. The exceptionally large and tall sycamores are particularly nice! The owners are friendly and they’re involved on a daily basis with the operations. We already have two trips scheduled for 411 RR CG for next year!
The campground road access continues to be closed as of July 10, 2024.
Tons of things to do train rides, gondola ride to the top, hiking and fireworks. Stayed in a safari tent a little worn down with duck tape on the screen. However, clean bathroom/showers and fun pool. A couple of crazy squirrels visit us every morning.
Great place to camp and just relax and watch all children play and laugh.
Beautiful campground with a small lake and wooded sites. A little hilly but that provides some space between sites. Campground staff were very nice and facilities were clean and in good repair. Dog friendly with trails on site, as well as stables adjoining.
Well kept and clean. I was there on Wednesday and no one was there. Please be kind and do not leave trash behind.
Great open lake for small fishing boats and plenty of campsites.
I didn’t get the chance to have an experience because they would not even rent to me because I have mixed breed rescue dogs.
Site 23 is perfect if you’re looking for a huge, private, creekside site. It was just a short walk to the outhouse and water pump, but a longer trek to the bathhouse, but the other features of this site were worth it. This huge site has the perfect trees for swinging your hammock over the creek, lots of shade, and easy access to wade in the creek. The campground was clean and well maintained, the hosts were friendly, and the weather was pleasant for late June. I can’t wait to go back!
Great location near I-75. Just stayed for a quick overnight.
I returned to Andrew’s Cove in late June for a night in the woods. I had site 3 this time, and it’s my favorite site so far. It’s the most removed from the other sites, but just a quick walk down the campsite driveway to the bathrooms. I really like the privacy of that site despite the street noise. The bathrooms were disgusting, as usual. I highly recommend bringing an alternate option for bathroom use. The temperature was pleasant even in late June, and a rainstorm passed through overnight. It was a glorious way to sleep. I highly recommend Andrew’s Cove.
This place was a nightmare. I booked primitive site #4, that whole site is on a hill, the only flat place is where you park, and that's not really flat either. Needless to say it was difficult to set anything up; tents, food, games, etc... The campsites at this campground are very close together, and unfortunately our neighbors were very inconsiderate blasting country music all night long, they literally pulled an all-nighter, no joke, even after my wife and I asked them to turn the concert down at 3:30am, they got silent for about 1 to 2 minutes, and then started it right back up. The lake area where you swim is pretty gross, there are tons of people in a relatively small area, and pontoon boats pull right up to where the rope is that contains the swim area and cook out on their grills smoking out the swim area while idling petrol fumes and exhaust in to the water. We did manage to have some fun with making a fire, and although the lake was disgusting, it did feel good because it was 100 degrees outside. We decided to pack up and leave a day early, it was that bad. Find another campground to go to, or change your dates of your trip to avoid this place, do whatever you need to do to not end up here.
This is a smaller COE campground than most we have stayed at, which is nice in a way. The playground and beach were never crowded, and it was pretty quiet with the exception of the boat traffic. The campground is right next to a public boat ramp, beach, marina, and restaurant. It's super convenient but not as quiet as some other COE places. We loved it because we brought our boat and tied it up by our site. The sites are not huge but plenty big, and there are many great waterfront spots. Ours was nice for swimming with clean water and a nice drop-off. It is a mixed bag in terms of privacy. While there was plenty of space between us and our neighbors, the sites were laid out so that even with our campers hooked up, we could always see each other. Took away slightly from the experience, but it was still a very fun place. We will go back next summer. I think that 22 is the best spot, followed by the waterfront pull-through spots on the cove.
I absolutely love this place!
Loud music loud voices bright lights generators used on tent site. Party to 2 am. No rules enforced even when you complain to the host. Then this is the place for you. You can get away with whatever you want. Expect No sleep!!
My family and I camped here for the weekend. Our campsite was beautiful and level. We could easily accommodate our pop-up camper and a 4-person tent with room to spare! My son was able to play and explore. My only critic would be that we were a little let down at the condition of the beach and that there was no playground when there was one listed on the grounds map. We will definitely be returning nonetheless.
Made reservation a couple of days in advance. The only lakeside site available was #20. That was probably because it was small (~25' max). But the view was great. Sites are well maintained. The Lakeside sites have well maintained pads but steep drops, so check their lengths. Power and Water were good. Bath house was spacious, clean and warm.
Sites appeared to be staggered well to provide most with good view of lake. Some had their boats pulled up at their sites. It was surprisingly quiet for a full, local campground. Only noise came from the kids having fun swimming, and the geese.
Clean dump station, potable water fill, and dumpster with easy access on the way out.
We are not park people, and we only stayed one night passing through. But would not hesitate to do so again.
Advice: Pay the extra for the lakeside sites, and get up for sunrise.
I always have a great time staying at this campground and meeting many friendly people. The road noise is not as bad as some people say. I mostly hear only the river running. The shower house is always clean, and for $15, it is a great deal. Make reservations on line as it fills up on the weekends.
Camping near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Georgia, offers a fantastic escape into nature with plenty of options for everyone. From serene lakes to hiking trails, there’s something for every outdoor enthusiast.
Camping near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Georgia, is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, with plenty of activities and beautiful scenery to explore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is Raven Cliff Falls with a 4.4-star rating from 27 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 71 tent camping locations near Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
