Best Tent Camping near Columbus, GA

Providence Canyon State Park, Lumpkin, GA

https://gastateparks.org/ProvidenceCanyon 

Providence Canyon State Park is tucked away in the southwest corner of Georgia...but offers a surprising beauty as a result of erosion. As you enter the State Park, it is fairly linear running alongside the roadway. Day use appears to be the high volume. 

Two children’s playgrounds, two picnic pavilions and two restrooms are positioned along the upper rim as you head to the visitor center. The visitor center offers location specific clothing, souvenirs and some snack items...along with additional restrooms. 

Opposite the first playground, on the right side of the roadway when you enter the park is a Methodist church from 1832 and a small pioneer cemetery that offers a realistic view of the hardships faced by these adventurous folks. 

The actual“Georgia Grand Canyon” is barely visible as you make your way to the visitors center. But once you’ve paid the daily use fee($5) and signed in...you can choose the trails you desire to explore. An upper rim trail, fenced by split rail, travels the canyon rim... is easiest and offers a splendid Birdseye view and wonderful photo opportunities.. 

Hiking down into the shallow canyon affords a worthwhile close-up view and nicer photographs (in my opinion) especially with the backdrop of azure skies. Because the canyon and formations are merely sand and clay, they are fragile. As I briefly climb upon my soapbox, the plethora of posted warning signs are not heeded, so violators climb and scramble for their coveted selfies...defacing the natural beauty and causing more damage. While warning signs make threat of prosecution, without consistent or constant enforcement it will continue. 

Once on the canyon floor, you have a few options...but for the best views hang a left and follow the small wooden Canyon 1-5 signs. All the reviews state canyons 4 and 5 are the nicest...and they are...but if you explore the canyons in numerical sequence, each gets better as you go. With fully leafed trees and foliage, viewing is tough in canyons 1-3. Signage is absent as to where the trails end, as past hikers tread further and higher in each canyon. Canyons 4 and 5 offer more prohibitive signage. 

The canyon floor is a mixture of wet and dry sand. In areas a steady stream of water flows. It was dry weather on my visit so I can only assume the water would be deeper during or immediately following rains. During my late October visit, water wasn’t deep enough to enter your hiking shoes. Heed the heat and drinking water warnings during hot days, Little to no breeze in the canyon. 

I did not travel the longer backcountry trail on this visit, so defer to other reviewers comments on its enjoyment.

 Camping: You have two choices...a handful of Backcountry Primitive Camping that require a backpack into the canyon and 3 Pioneer Group Campsites. It’s easy to miss Pioneer Campsites 1& 2, as they are located beyond the gated park and down a two track gravel drive. Unfortunately, from the campsite, the roadway can be seen through the trees and traffic noise is loud when traveling by. During normal sleep hours (midweek) night traffic was sparse, but still disruptive. Because of road construction during my visit, it wasn’t excessive during daylight hours. 

Pioneer 1-3 are essentially group sites designed to accommodate larger camping parties. But for one tent and two people $43.00 was an exorbitant price, especially with merely a pit toilet, two picnic tables and a fire ring...NO electric, NO water. But I’ve found Georgia parks a tad steep in cost in comparison to other State’s parks. 

Interestingly, time zones shift from Eastern at the visitors center to Central Time at Pioneer Campsites 1& 2...so be cognizant of the switch. Pioneer 1 group site boasts a newer pit latrine with a solar spot light for nighttime...and was amply stocked. Previous campers removed the two large picnic tables from beneath the shed style shelter to the campfire ring area. The picnic tables are large and heavy, so without a group present, you won’t be moving them back to their rightful location. 

For a tent camping location...there is negligible flat ground to pitch a tent, but if you are a hammock camper there are plenty of trees. The grounds at Pioneer 1 where strewn with plastic and pop tops, cigarette butts, partially melted plastic ware and snack food wrappers littered the wooded area. Not cool. A lidded plastic garbage can is tethered to the shelter so there is no excuse.

 Pioneer site 2 had a grassy field, flatter area for tents and further down into the canyon past Pioneer site 1. 

Pioneer site 3 is appears to be the coveted group site with ample flat, grassy field for tents, area for parking and a huge shelter. The long winding gravel two-track is also located immediately to the left upon entering the main entrance so you have the“security” of the park’s front gate being locked at 6:00 p.m.(A pavement sensor permits egress if you need to exit, but you won’t be driving back in til morning when they reopen.) 

Overall, if you shared the site as a group, defraying the cost...midweek camping would not be bad. After visiting the canyon for a couple hours, there is not much else to visit in the immediate area, so bring a book. 

Wildlife: you’ll likely hear some owls calling out throughout the night and woodpeckers in early morning. Small yellow finch’s were abundant. Mention of wild hogs in the park as well. 

Final thoughts: A one time camping visit is sufficient for my tastes. Even at half the price, I’m not sure I’d camp here solo. However, I will likely visit the canyon in the future to see possible changes due to further erosion.

Traveling back east, we found Chewacla State Park campground on The Dyrt. Due to heavy rain, did not make it as far as we wanted, so this was a last minute same day reservation, which we made online.

Total fees were $42 for a full hookup site. We got site 34 which is an 80' long back in spot. Super easy to back in, even in super dark conditions with heavy cloud cover and no street lights of any kind.

Water pressure is awesome and they have both 30 & 50 amp electric. Sewage is nicely placed in a low spot so you won't need a hose lifter (a rarity in our experience).

Out spot is across from the bath house, but also the dump station. No smells, but I would imagine mornings might be a bit congested and noisy as other campers are leaving and dumping.

Also directly across from the site is a large picnic shelter. Sites are decently spaced apart, though site 35 is a pull through, and though unoccupied on our nights stay, might make it feel a bit more cramped.

Our site had a fire ring and picnic table. And even though it's close to the highway, no noticeable traffic noise. Only thing we could hear were some kids playing across the campground.

It's about 5 minutes off the interstate and very easy access (just watch out for the staggered speed bumps at the campground entrance...it's narrow, too.

No wi-fi in the park. But Verizon 4G was 3 out of 5 bars on my Samsung S20+. 

Overall a great spot and easy to reserver online for those looking for a calm and peaceful overnight. Looking forward to getting a run on the trails in the morning!

We were on site 213 and 214. Beautiful wooded site lots of space between sites in this loop. Very short walk to lake. Loop 1 sites are lake front and lake view but more close together than we like. Sites pretty level and gravel. Concrete picnic table, fire ring and light pole with lots of room fir our dogs. Bathroom facilities were very clean, with showers and laundry. Placed well around the campground. Playground but not opened at this time. Lots of hiking trails, pool, can rent canoes and paddle boats on the lake. Dog friendly. Close to Calloway Gardens and little town of Pine Mountain.

Loved the area. We had lake front site #6. Had our kayak and small fishing boat at site shore. Our golden retrievers loved being at the water. Sites are very large with good space between them. Most are shaded, level, gravel with picnic tables, large fire ring, lots of space for chairs. Had plenty of space for our grill as well. This Harding Lake runs into/part of Chattahoochee River. No wake zone around the campground area so it was perfect for kayaking and small boat fishing. Nice bathroom facility and laundry area too. Very clean. Bob was a great camp host and was informative about the park. Will have to try in the fall with leaf change. Still ok for 90 plus temps. 🥵 Slight breeze off lake. Highly recommend this Georgia Power campground!

We camped at Bluff Creek during the Independence Day holiday weekend, the campground was near 100% capacity. Our reservations were easily made online using the www.recreation.gov website. The campground is located near the town of Pittsview, Alabama which is on the Alabama state line boundary with Georgia. The states are separated by the Chattahoochee River and also the boundary of the Eastern and Central time zones. I mention this because the town of Columbus, GA (23 miles away) is a popular nearby attraction for the area and the time is one hour ahead of the campground times. This can also cause confusion if your mobile phone is set to automatically detect time zone changes. 

The road into the campground has a railroad crossing that is a very rough transition for crossing, slow speed will be required when crossing these tracks. We arrived late afternoon and were greeted by friendly and well prepared Camp Hosts that quickly completed our check in. We were given a campground map and complete rules/regulations that pertain to the campground. 

We camped on site 34 which is a pull through site. It was a typical site that would accommodate any size rig in my opinion. The site included water, 50/30/20 amp electricity, table, grill and fire pit. The parking pad was paved and level, the table area was freshly graveled. There are many sites located on the river banks that offer wonderful views of the Chattahoochee River and sunsets. Most sites do not support parking or launching boats due to the height of the river banks above the water’s edge. 

There are three bath houses on the campground supporting the 88 campsites, the showers were never overly crowded even with the park at capacity. The bathrooms were cleaned and restocked daily by the park attendants. 

The only negative comment is related to the nearby paper mill located across the river near by the campground. This is of course a needed and appreciated industry to the local area. However, there is a noticeable noise and smell generated by the facility. If you are expecting a dark sky for stargazing, this is also affected by the mill's lighting. 

There were several over the air TV channels available broadcasting from Columbus, GA and the surrounding area. We had usable Verizon service for text and calls but internet access was very limited. 

There is one dump station with only one lane, on Sunday afternoon the line was backed up as expected with a full campground. 

Overall, we enjoyed this campground, it was well maintained and operated by the park staff. The hosts were friendly, approachable and visible during our stay.