Best Tent Camping near Hillsboro, GA

Went to High Falls State Park in January. site number 27. We stayed 8 nights There are two campgrounds- lakeside and River camping area. Lakeside is by High falls Lake and is closest to the falls. River camping is across the street we stayed in River camping area. Nice sites but open to neighbors. Sites included table, fire ring, lantern hook. Some sites are 30 amp some 50 amp and had some pull through sites. After the weekend we were one of only a few in the campground in January. Weather may change this time of year we had a lot of rain one day and freezing temperatures overnight but mostly it was good camping weather. Camp hosts were awesome!!! This park is not far off i-75. Dollar general was a few miles other than that not much around. Very easy hiking trail to waterfalls and several trails along Towaliga River, ruins of an old Mill. There is no swimming in falls or river. Afterr rain falls were flowing very fast. This park also has a swimming pool, mini golf, yurts, boat rentals all were closed in January. Bathhouses were well maintained and had laundry facilities. Phone and TV reception we're good at this park. 8 days was too much here I would recommend 4 to 5 days or as a stopover point but would definitely return here.

My wife and I booked site 1 after there was nothing else available, literally, in the entire state. We arrived Friday afternoon, first impression is that the park is extremely well maintained. The hosts were very friendly, and very accommodating after learning that our site actually wasn't suitable for our tent. We moved to site 36, which, unlike site 1, was flat and long enough for our admittedly huge tent. Each site had a grill and either a grated iron fire ring or stone fire ring. The facilities were well maintained although the hardware was fairly dated. There were laundry machines at the facilities as well. The park itself was very quaint and rustic, with some very well maintained trails that catered to both hikers and bikers. There is a very cool rock effigy with a multi story observation tower, and lots of very cool information. It's like an outdoor museum. This campground isn't particularly tent friendly, but it's not a bad option if you want something local or need it as a backup. Definitely choose your site with care if you are in a tent, as not all of the sites are flat or have gravel pads. The campground is far enough from major light pollution to see a good amount of stars in the sky, but they do have huge floodlights at the entrance of the campground. Overall, I'm glad to know that it is there in case we are unable to go to one of our go-to campgrounds, but I wouldn't call it my favorite.

Note to future campers: the campground is NOT located at the address provided. This is the recreational park. The campground is actually up the road, on the opposite side of the park, at the entrance of the graveyard.

This campground is first come, first serve. It is $15 dollars a night. Some of the sites are waterfront. There is a bathroom with a shower that was kept up with and stocked with toilet paper and paper towels. There is also a water spigot near the bathroom and electrical outlets in the bathroom.

We arrived late at night and didn’t see how to pay for the campground so we just set up but the next morning, the campground manager, Raymond, stopped by to welcome us and take our payment. He was very nice and helpful, keeping up with the grounds and the bathroom, and answering any questions we had.

We lucked out and got a waterfront site (site 4) due to the fact somebody checked out early. We had a happy little bonus of getting to watch the beavers play in the river early in the morning. Each of the sites have a raised gravel platform for tents, a grill, trash can, and a fire pit.

The campground was full on Saturday when we arrived but cleared out during the week.

All in all, we enjoyed our stay and would definitely be back if we ever come back to the area.

Thanks again, Raymond, for all that you do to keep up with the place and make it an enjoyable experience for campers like us!

On a final note: this campground is definitely set up for primitive camping, focusing more on tents. We have a 10 foot trailer. We were able to back in to our spot with no problem. The site was not level but that wasn’t a big deal for us in our rooftop tent. We didn’t check out the other sites but an RV would probably have a hard time setting up here.

Just needed a quick stop for the night as we moved from the mountains of Georgia to the coast of South Carolina, and this was the perfect spot just off the highway. Unfortunately, we arrived and left in the rain, so the pictures probably don’t do it justice.

Seemed like a nice place to drop in for an impromptu camping weekend, especially if you want to fish or canoe. Easy access from Athens, GA, which is the closest city north of this campground – plenty of grocery stores, restaurants, and just about everything else you may need.

They have recently upgraded the campground with some new firepits and lantern poles, in addition to a picnic table in each of the half dozen spots. The boat launch is right next to the campground. Pit toilets were decently clean and stocked.

Camping is free with no reservations necessary, or even possible. Note: Due to its location, this could be a "meet up place" as we saw some evidence near the pit toilet, but didn't see any illegal activity firsthand.

High falls SP, GA

Stopped here on an overnight enroute south in September . Weekday and very sparsely occupied, so it was very quiet.

After seeing both campgrounds I wish I had stayed at the upper one near the lake and dam.

The lower campground has a coded gate and was in a separate area across the street and down the road. You can hike to the lake/dam area by way of Tranquility Trail (2.5 miles).

There are basically three areas, (two loops and a circle)with two latrines. The latrine in the circle area had a washer and dryer. I did not go in the other one.

Several of the sites picnic tables and fire rings sat close together so if you don’t know your “neighbors” you will get to know them.

The other sites were good size and you have some privacy. There are big grassy area in each loop and it’s all shaded.

My site was near the river but it’s a somewhat treacherous trail down to water level. The water looked like chocolate milk and was not very inviting. I would guess there had been recent flooding and high water areas. Fishing would have been easy enough.

The staff was ..... interesting. One of the woman at the check in openly voiced her opinion about a much nicer camping area at another location. Then there was the kamikaze guy on the “golf cart” speeding crazily through the campground. I realize they don’t have speedometers, however he was going faster then 15 mph.