Best Tent Camping near Cordele, GA

Georgia Veterans State Park sits next to Lake Blackshear and shares the lake front with a resort. There is a marina , condos and a golf course on resort side. On the Park side there is the much more desirable campground:) 

There are plenty of options to choose from in the three camping “loops”. Some lakeside sites have direct access to the water and in camping area 1 you can get pretty close to the fishing pier. A lot of the sites are pull through , in area 3 all sites are pull through and several of the sites border one of the Nature trails. The primitive walk in tent sites are in area 3. There are two handicap accessible sites and two double sites for group camping(the other sites are close together so this just puts you on the same “pad”)There is shade but definitely more on some sites then others. Not a lot of privacy. It wasn’t real busy or noisy so the open layout wasn’t a major hang up for me. This is definitely more of a “organized”, well maintained, military feel campground. I didn’t get the State Park in the woods vibe at all :) 

There are rental Cottages which overlook the water some with screen porches. There is a fishing pier behind Cottage one and two.

In addition there are boocoo recreation activities: 

Disc golf (a little over grown)

Pioneer Group campsite

Aviation and Combat Arms equipment 

A museum 

Model airplane field

Outdoor exercise equipment along with an exercise trail

Nature trails

Archery range

Fishing piers

Large boat ramp

Small boat ramp

Excursion Train

A beach with facilities and shaded picnic area

We only took the time to camp and hike but you could easily spend some time here and do something different every day. I’m unfamiliar with the area and wildlife so I kept the boys on short leashes when we walked in the woods , especially near the water. The trails were nice, somewhat maintained and there was old signage plus benches. Not my favorite this trip but nice enough.

A little background: I used to live five minutes from this park, and it used to be the first campground we visited every year to work out all the gear details. Back then (2012-2015), it was great! Absolutely beautiful, well maintained, gorgeous.

Now... the park itself is still great. Obviously it was hit by a hurricane, but the cleanup and improvements are coming along in those areas. They playground has always been amazing and they’ve added a Splash Pad right next to it. (We were in town to visit family so we didn’t get to enjoy those this time).

But y’all are here for a campground review, so here it is.

Registration. You cannot register online, you must do it on the phone or in person. All of the sites with full hook-ups are taken by long-term folks (probably staying there while their homes are being rebuilt from the tornadoes and hurricane?), so they are $20 a night for water/electric. When you register over the phone, you are charged an additional $15 fee. (When I checked in, they said I would receive a refund of that $15 as a check in the mail...?). When I called the day of check-in to get the gate code, they had no idea who I was and initially wanted me to pay for a site, again. After some shuffling they finally found my paperwork.

The tent-only side still looks fine. Plush grass, large spaced out sites.

However, the RV side looks a bit rough. The sites are no longer gravel, just dirt (or, this weekend, mud) and some grass. The sites aren’t maintained between campers (as I got a half burned log, empty pack of smokes, and paper plates in mine). I was actually placed on site 7, which on the campground map is NOT a “buddy” (shared) site, and told to just plug into the same pole as the guy on Actual Site 7. Thankfully he was 50A and I was 30A so it worked out. (Although oddly enough, several full sites remained empty the whole time I was there). It rained most of the weekend, and everything was covered in wet dirt chunks when I left.

The bath house... could use a little love and a fresh coat of paint. If you can avoid the side bathrooms (maybe handicapped? The ones with just a toilet and shower), then do so. Aside from teeming with flying wildlife (which, it’s South Georgia, you have to kind of expect that), it could have used a good cleaning. The regular restrooms were passable (better than some gas stations but not as clean as state/national park I usually visit).

I understand that the area was impacted by a hurricane last year... but a little bit of cleanliness and care goes a long way.

This KOA is just off of i75, super convenient for an overnight stop (which was what we did). Our boys loved the early 80s Era playground, but unfortunately it wasn't kept up well and was frankly dangerous- the large swingset wasn't anchored to the ground, the fence was partially torn down near the roadway, and there was rust on the equipment. They didn't kbiw the difference and played on it for an hour having lots of fun, but it is an accident waiting to happen. The woman who we dealt with at check in was awesome- super nice and friendly, and gave me a teacher discount. Our site was a nice large pull through with a picnic table and fire ring. Setup wasn't difficult. There was some wet dirt, could probably use some gravel. The campground looked to be in a retired pecan Grove. Not a ton of privacy but large sites and nice trees. While you can hear the highway, this one is not immediately adjacent but one property away, so it isn't bad. The property between the campground and the highway is a large abandoned building.. slightly shady but not a problem. Overall we enjoyed our stay.

This campground is ok for an overnight stay. There is annuals and seasonal all through the campground. We were in a section behind the office. Set up  was on grass. you picked your own spot. Was level and power was fine ( we use 30 amp ) Some areas have shade and some are in the open. Keep in mine this is Georgia so check for red any's. A couple spots we decided not to take as the ants were right next to water/ electric hookups. You can see they try and keep the any population down, but if you lived in the south you know that's an everyday chore. 

Had a beautiful sunrise as it is next door to a horse ranch of sorts.

We used their laundry and it was fine. $2 a machine. 

Our ATT hot spot nomad internet was strong

Cell phone signal was 4 bars ( T-Mobile )

Road noise sleep able from I75 nearby.

Easy on off to this campground

Campsites #18-19

We stayed at these two campsites for a long birthday weekend. The sites were fairly level and backed up to one of the finger coves off this lake. That ended up having pros and cons... The bugs and gnats were bad in early September on several of the nights there. It have water, cable, 50/30 amp electric, fire ring and picnic table. The site were spacious and very clean. It was an on and off rainy trip and water did come through the site because the site was off an incline. It was a slight walk to the bathrooms and they were very clean although needed a bit of upgrading. The host came up to greet us and make sure all was good with our stay. We bought firewood for $5 a bundle of 5-6 piece. There was golfing and a large swimming pool at the resort that we did not use. You could also rent pontoon boats, kayaks and canoes to explore the lake. One drawback was no sewer hookups. So you have to allow an extra hour to dump and go. We did not like having to ration water usage during out trip. This was a one and done for us as the gnats were a real turnoff and no sewer hookups. So many other parks to explore.

Ranger Review: OOFOS shoes at Cordele KOA Journey

Campground Review:

Right off I75 in Georgia sits a small KOA with TONS of amenities! Being just a block off the interstate I assumed it would be noisy. But all the trees make a great sound barrier and we had a nice quiet weekend and will definitely be back!

This campground accommodates Campers, with spaces up to 90 foot long! (up to 50 amp), Tents, and even offers Cabin Rental! Has a pool, propane fill station, firewood to purchase, laundry room and updated bathhouse. a dog area, wifi and even offers cable, for the people who like to camp inside 😉

Our weekend cost was about $70 for out tent site, there were a few people staying in a camper long term who mentioned they do offer reduced rates. I didn’t get to check on the cabins, but they look super cute from the outside and run $50 a night if you book online.

Nearby attractions (we did not visit) include Lake Blackshear, a manmade lake, with a really cool dam, and Georgia Veterans State Park on one side. They have a marina and beach. And The Andersonville National Historic Site the location of a Confederate prison where 13,000 Union soldiers died.

Product review: OOFOS SHOE

As a Dyrt Ranger I was privileged to get a major discount on an awesome pair of OOFOS shoes.

I'm telling you now, this is the most comfortable thing I've ever put on my feet! It's like walking on pillows every step you take! I have arthritis in both my knees and have been having some trouble lately. The day my shoes got here I was eager to try them on, and once I did, they didnt come off the rest of the night! They help with the pain of walking, and my knees havent hurt in a week. I'm in love!

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They're made of a really squishy, super lightweight foam. And have a breathable mesh top. I ordered the light gray color, and love the tiny pop of lime green in the logo and little tag to help pull them on. I was hesitant when I seen they had no laces and the rubber strap on top was fixed. But i had no problems getting them on, the mesh is stretchy and my foot slid right in!

My only complaint is that small rocks get stuck in the bottom of the shoe, in the middle tread. But, they're easy to pop out.

They also offer flip flops too, so that will be my next purchase. OOFOS will be my go to shoes from now on!

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