Best Tent Camping near Lavonia, GA

Tent campers visiting Lavonia, Georgia can find several established campgrounds within a short drive, including Panther Creek Recreation Area and Raven Cliff Falls. These tent-friendly sites are situated in the surrounding forests and near waterways, offering a mix of primitive and more developed options for overnight stays. Most sites are located within Chattahoochee National Forest or nearby South Carolina wilderness areas, providing natural settings for tent camping experiences.

Most tent sites near Lavonia feature basic amenities like fire rings and some have picnic tables, though facilities vary widely between locations. Campers should bring their own water or water filtration systems, as drinking water is limited at primitive sites. Many campgrounds have vault toilets, particularly at trailheads and parking areas, but backcountry sites typically lack facilities entirely. "We found a semi-secluded campsite beside the river equipped with firepit and lantern post," noted one visitor to Burrells Ford, highlighting the typical setup. Access varies from drive-up sites to walk-in areas requiring hikes of a quarter-mile to over a mile, with some roads demanding high-clearance vehicles.

The tent camping experience near Lavonia offers genuine forest immersion with sites often positioned along creeks and rivers. Many locations provide good tree cover for shade and hammock setups, with established tent pads at some sites. According to one camper, "It feels like a very primitive spot with the ease of car camping. You have the choice to walk in further but it accommodates all campers." Wildlife encounters are common, including bears, so proper food storage is essential. Most tent sites are spaced adequately for privacy, though popular areas like Raven Cliff Falls can become crowded on weekends. Backcountry tent camping options provide more solitude, particularly at locations like Riley Moore Falls Campsite, which requires a hike-in approach but rewards with peaceful waterside camping.

Best Tent Sites Near Lavonia, Georgia (54)

    1. Sunset Campground

    1 Review
    Lavonia, GA
    4 miles
    +1 (706) 356-8932

    2. Panther Creek Recreation Area Camping

    9 Reviews
    Turnerville, GA
    26 miles
    Website
    +1 (706) 745-6221

    $4 / night

    "Leave no trace!"

    "Panther Creek was honestly my trip into the world of hiking and backpacking (aside from my military experience). But mice wife got me into hiking again and now we are backpacking a lot!"

    4. Riley Moore Falls Campsite

    1 Review
    Long Creek, SC
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (864) 638-9568

    "Trail to river is well maintained and about 1 mile. It is a steep climb out. Multiple options as it is dispersed, just note restrictions on distance from river and trail."

    5. Raven Cliff Falls

    28 Reviews
    Helen, GA
    43 miles
    Website

    "I’ve camped at this location multiple times and each time was better than the last. It feels like a very primitive spot with the ease of car camping."

    "Raven Cliff Falls is another popular spot in Northeast Georgia. Its on one one of the most scenic highways and s in a great location if you want to venture into Helen, Brasstown, Bald, or Hiawassee."

    6. Grapevine

    6 Reviews
    Long Creek, SC
    29 miles
    Website
    +1 (803) 561-4000

    "It is right next to the Chauga River, which makes it really nice for swimming and fishing. I actually saw some people cooking up fish in their campsite that they caught that day."

    "Vault toilet was clean and maintained. Most campsites are River side"

    7. Burrells Ford

    18 Reviews
    Highlands, SC
    37 miles
    Website

    "Campground Review:

    In March 2017, our family of 6 went on our 1st overnight backpacking trip. A friend had recommended the Chattooga River Trail in South Carolina."

    "Trail/Campground Review:

    The East Fork trail at the end of Burrells Ford is quite an easy trail! "

    8. Weldon Island

    Be the first to review!
    Hartwell Lake, SC
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 893-0678

    9. Miltown

    Be the first to review!
    Hartwell, GA
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 893-0678

    10. Denver Downs Farm

    1 Review
    Pendleton, SC
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (864) 305-1268

    $30 / night

    "Just a giant field to set up and camp. There is no water or any hookups. You will need to pack in and pack out everything.

    Very close to I-85 and easy to get to. Feels very safe."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Lavonia, GA

1249 Reviews of 54 Lavonia Campgrounds


  • Courtney B.
    Aug. 1, 2020

    Devils Fork State Park Campground

    Loved it so much, we've planned another trip there!

    We had a wonderful time camping at Devil's Fork State Park. Our group took up rustic tent sites T1, T3, and T5. On the map, these sites seem not ideal, as they are not on the water. However, they are more isolated, more wooded (plenty of trees for hammocking), and seemingly larger than the other tent sites. They are a short walk from the tent-camper parking area, a short walk from the two water spigots in the parking area, and a short walk from the restrooms. The bonus is that, behind sites T1 and T3, is a jumping rock into a gorgeous cove of Lake Jocassee with beautiful blue-green water. It's a great place to enjoy kayaks, rafts, and other inflatables. 

    While site T13 books up quick because of its waterfront location on the point, the walk from the parking lot is no joke. 

    Notes about the rustic tent sites: They have been recently renovated. Each has a picnic table and a fire ring. Only 1 vehicle is allowed to park, per site, unless you pay for the extra vehicle and park in the overflow lot. There is no electricity, and two water spigots located in the parking area. The entire camping area (25 tent sites and 59 RV sites) share 2 restrooms (which were muddy and gross while we were there). No generators are allowed in the tent area. We did have a bear visit us multiple times in one night, putting teeth puncture marks in our cooler. And if the bear don't get ya, the raccoons will!

  • Katie H.
    Jul. 10, 2018

    Raven Cliff Falls

    Underrated Camping Spot

    I’ve camped at this location multiple times and each time was better than the last. It feels like a very primitive spot with the ease of car camping. You have the choice to walk in further but it accommodates all campers. Be careful of the bears and always leave no trace.

  • Everette G.
    Oct. 18, 2020

    Victoria Bryant State Park Campground

    Great Camping in any Season

    Victoria Bryant State Park is probably one of my most frequented camping spots in the last few years. All of the tent sites are sheltered platforms, with electricity, potable water and an overhead light. Rain or shine, you can have a good time (and stay dry) at Victoria Bryant. There are only about 8 platforms, and one is ADA only, so they book up quick. They are all spaced pretty far apart, privacy isn't too hard to maintain (except maybe site 7&8). 1-4 are down a hill, 4 being the furthest away at about 40 feet, down the steepest incline. There are facilities right across the parking lot, that have always been clean and well maintained, and heated in the colder months. Camp hosts and office have firewood. There are several miles of trails that are lower difficulty, save for some hilly spots. In October, the park does a pretty cool little haunted trail. There's obvious reasons we enjoy VBSP, staying dry in the rain, nice, dense forested areas, and awesome campgrounds make it an easy choice.

  • B+J S.
    Sep. 17, 2021

    Hearthstone Cabins and Camping

    Ever Evolving Wonderland

    Less than a mile from the heart of Helen, Georgia. This campground is a one woman show. Liz, the owner, has done it all and theres no sign of stopping her - to the cabins, the decor, and expanding campsites. 

    Cabins: 

    There are three cabins on this property that are fully set up(everything provided) and ready for you. Two cabins are nice couple cabins while the third is a beautiful three bedroom home with a full yard and outdoor space with room for an RV or tenting, perfect for a group or reunion. 

    RV spaces: 

    Five spaces are towards the front of the property and are all large. When we were there each space was filled with 30+’ trailers there for Oktoberfest. Each site has water and electric, picnic tables, fire rings and some have hammocks. 

    Further on the property are 5 more sites. Each with water, electric, and tables. The three furthest are a bit smaller, but are being expanded upon each day. We stayed in the smaller of the spaces in the back as we have a small trailer. The spot had a perfect mix of shade and sun for our solar panels to charge if we had needed them, but the electric was clean and ample. The wifi was strong and our T-Mobile service also worked. Since we are a small trailer, we do not have our own facilities, so we did have to walk to the bathroom. 

    Tent camping: 

    Think primitive. They’re dirt spots with fire rings. I can see in the future they’ll be expanded upon and significantly improved. The owner has really amazing ideas for these spots and I’ll be very interested in seeing them say a year from now. 

    Bathroom facilities: 

    There is a portapotty and an outhouse- no flushing toilets. In the bathhouse, there are two shower stalls with very high pressure hot showers. While the facilities left a bit to be desired, they did the job and remember, this is a one woman show renovating the entire property! If you have your own facilities in your RV or trailer this isn’t an issue.

     The property overall: 

    The property overall is fun to explore! Theres a natural spring that runs down the hill to a little pond where you can swim or fish from your own sandy beach. We were there after one of the last storms really destroyed the GA, SC, and NC general area so the pond was a bit cloudy and a lot of timber/branches have fallen around the property. There are tons of hang out spaces with hammocks and hammock chairs, so if you’re into reading, theres a spot for you. 

    One of the most interesting things about this property is the“Makers Space”, an arts and crafts area where you can paint, create, and share what you’ve made. Hidden throughout the property are amazing little details. From a mini fairy village to faces in the trees, and beautifully painted rocks hidden in nooks and crannies. 

    You can see the creativity and love Liz has put into making this place her vision. Remember to leave no trace, lend a helping hand, and to stay and chat for a while.

  • Thomas R.
    Oct. 28, 2021

    Sarah's Creek Campground (Clayton, Ga) — Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest

    Amazing place

    We arrived Late afternoon took the road about 3 1/2 miles to our site which has a small waterfall actually there are three waterfalls here next to our site the one that can be seen easily the other two a little bit harder to get to by foot but we’ll worth the walk. The was water extremely cold couldn’t stay in it for more than five minutes. Most roads up here are only dirt and helpful if you have 4 Wheel Dr. to get to certain secluded areas we saw blackbear no venomous snakes but did come across a few black racers. As for firewood you can scrounge around there for branches and such but better to buy the wood out on the main stretch in Clayton the town outside of warwoman wildlife management area. We paid $125 for a 8 foot bed of semi seasoned split wood also known as a cord that lasted us the 4 days of tent camping. There are a few places before you head into warwoman wildlife management area that sell wood for a nites fire. There were no bugs and the temperatures were in the low 50s at night and mid 70s during the day. The fall leaves where a little late to show there true colors but still beautiful. Most sites have bear proof food containers that you can utilize and very heavy well built picnic tables. We had a restroom near us that is like portable toilets with toilet paper provided. No internet service but did find certain areas on the roads up there that you could use your cell phone. The only running water is the creeks and no electricity. Everyone we meet had kids and that was during the weekend. No body was camping there during the weekdays.

  • A
    Aug. 19, 2024

    Andrew's Cove Campground — Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest

    Nice primitive camping

    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.

  • Morgan W.
    May. 11, 2018

    Deep Gap Shelter on the AT

    Deep Gap Shelter - AT

    Great shelter with close water access, Bear box for food storage, and a fire pit. Kept us dry in the rain! Note: there is a resident mouse that will pay you a visit (not uncommon for shelters on the AT 😁)

  • Michael C.
    Apr. 12, 2025

    River Forks Park & Campground

    Great views but...

    "SITE# 47, Pull-Thru, Not FHU, 50A, Water, Dump LENGTH OF STAY: Stayed 9 Nights, RATE:$30.56/ Night with No Discount/ 0% Discount BATH HOUSE: Clean but Outdated LAUNDRY: Not Recorded STAFF: Friendly PARK IMPRESSIONS: Nice, We would stay here again RV PAD: Concrete, ESTIMATED RV PAD LENGTH: 40 Feet, Tow Vehicle Could NOT Stay Connected and Parking was away from site SITE SLOPE: Door side Tire Blocks needed ROADS: Adequate, MANEUVERABILITY: Narrow PEDESTAL PLACEMENT: Center of site length, SHADE: 30% GRASS AREA: At-Site, DESIGNATED PET AREA: Not Recorded PICNIC TABLE: Yes, FIRE RING: Yes, VERIZON Signal(bars): 5G-3, SPEED: 394 Mbs Download, 47 Mbs Upload T-MOBILE Signal(bars): 5G-5, SPEED: 714 Mbs Download, 124 Mbs Upload No WiFi, OTA TV CHANNELS: 75, CABLE TV: No, PLAYGROUND: Yes POOL: No, WATER FEATURE: Lake, FIREWOOD: Yes, STORE: No CLUBHOUSE: No, PROPANE AVAILABILITY: No Original site was# 46(back-in) but was VERY small. Moved to site 47(Pull-Thru) but due to road slope pull-thru is un-usable. Lower numbered sites(less than 30) appear somewhat better. Empty camp ground host side byhind 47 cannot be used unless site 47 is emprty due to sloping road. One single use dump station. One campground host presently in the park- their site was not marked. Appears that most sites are back-in and set sideways to a hillside and lakefront leaving very little level space for chairs. Fire rings are frequently located 12-20 feet away from picnic table and 3 to 9 feet below site level on a slope. Reservation Software used by office was down upon Saturday arrival with no IT help until Monday- two days away leaving office staff frustrated and using their own phone to access the reservation system customers use instead of management side of software. Staff stated it goes down frequently with no IT support on weekends. Six bathhouses in park. Bathhouse nearest beach closed awaiting replacement of fixtures after renovation. Shower has outdated fixtures- several shower heads had significant mineral deposits restricting flow. Men's side closed at another bathhouse. Many shower stalls had no hook or fixture to hang a towel or clothing. Several showers had broken shower valves making them unusable. Stayed 9 nights and did not see anyone working on bathhouses. Beach area parking is limited to 6 or 7 spaces and one handicap space however, there is a larger parking lot a little further away. Bathhouse showers have a pull string valve next to the shower head that had to be held down to get water with many strings broken, missing and too short to allow shorter people, children, or handicaped wheel-chair use. Some sites have precarious/dangerous sloping driveways for RVs to get into. Newly installed sites are near completion but they make sites very close together. Many sites do not have a fire pit and many do not have a grill. Many sites arer too small to park a second vhicle even if the camper is small. Parking on dirt or grass is prohibited by rules but appears to be selectively enforced. The campground has a boat ramp and reasonably large parking area. Extra careful site selection is warranted. Four docks in River Forks Park. Firewood is available at the office. CHECK-IN: 01:00 PM CHECK-OUT: 12:00 PM RIG: 42ft- 17,000 lb 5th Wheel"

  • Tommy S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 17, 2022

    Coneross Park Campground

    Lakeside campground

    This campground is huge. A lot of the campsites are close together, but we snagged a site along the west side of the campground, where there’s a little more privacy and seclusion.

    Being right on the water was amazing, the water was so warm and being able to swim from your site is pretty cool. This site had some stairs leading from the parking spot to the site, then slopes down to the lake.

    Dogs need to always be on leash and there’s no alcohol allowed, which is a bit of a bummer.

    Spigots and bathhouse was convenient, except no soap by the sinks.


Guide to Lavonia

Tent camping near Lavonia, Georgia offers a variety of experiences, from serene riverside spots to well-maintained fields. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a place to enjoy outdoor activities, there are options to suit every camper's needs.

Tent campers should check out Denver Downs Farm

  • This location features a spacious 140-acre field for camping, providing a peaceful atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle.
  • Fires are allowed, making it perfect for cozy evenings under the stars.
  • The farm is easily accessible from I-85, ensuring a convenient drive-in experience.

Tips for tent camping near Lavonia

  • Be prepared to pack in and pack out all your supplies at places like Riley Moore Falls Campsite, which offers a beautiful riverside setting but lacks amenities.
  • If you're looking for a more developed site, consider Sunset Campground, which provides electric hookups and picnic tables, though it has received mixed reviews.
  • For a unique experience, check out Bell Acres Nudist Resort, where you can enjoy a clothing-optional environment.

Local activities for adventurous campers

  • Enjoy hiking and exploring the scenic trails leading to the Chauga River at Riley Moore Falls Campsite, where you can also spot lightning bugs in the warmer months.
  • Take advantage of the picnic facilities at Fern Springs Day Use Picnic Area, perfect for a day of relaxation surrounded by nature.
  • For those who enjoy fishing, Lake Yonah Park offers a serene setting to cast a line and unwind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Lavonia, GA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Lavonia, GA is Sunset Campground with a 1-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Lavonia, GA?

TheDyrt.com has all 54 tent camping locations near Lavonia, GA, with real photos and reviews from campers.