Searching for a tent camping spot near Menlo? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Menlo campsites are perfect for tent campers.
Situated atop northeast Alabama’s Lookout Mountain, Desoto State Park is a 3,500-acre nature preserve and recreation destination that features vibrant forests, gushing waterfalls, and rugged mountain scenery. The park is located 8 miles northeast of Fort Payne, and approximately 75 miles east of Huntsville making it a great place camping near Atlanta. Dedicated in 1939, the park was named after Hernando de Soto, the renowned 16th century explorer. Prior to its dedication, most of the park’s roads, trails and facilities were constructed through the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a Depression-era works program that improved many of the country’s parks and forests, while providing jobs and skills to millions of struggling Americans. The park boasts many local legends, including one that suggests that the area may have been settled by Welsh explorers, centuries before Columbus’s arrival in the New World. Visitors are invited to learn more about DeSoto State Park by camping in the park.
The campground at DeSoto State Park features 94 full-hookup sites for tent and RV campers. Sites have either back-in or pull-through parking pads, and can accommodate large vehicles/trailers. Each site is equipped with picnic tables and cooking grills, and there are two comfort stations available with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. A dump station is located onsite. The park also has a primitive tent campground that offers 16 sites with fire pits. Picnic tables, cooking grills, potable water, trash receptacles, and vault toilets are located in this campground’s central area. There are also two primitive backpacker camps with sleeping shelters and fire pits, but no water or trash service. In addition to camping, the park also offers a variety of chalets, cabins and motel rooms for those less interested in roughing it. Other amenities include picnic areas, an outdoor pool, tennis courts, and a playground. Campsite rates range from $15–$36/night, plus fees; other accommodation rates vary.
Visitors will find a variety of seasonal activities to enjoy at DeSoto State Park, from hiking and fishing to geocaching and zip-lining. Start your visit by checking out the CCC Museum and Benefield Interpretive Center to learn about the park’s history, flora and fauna. Drop into the country store and purchase a trail map for the park’s 30 miles of hiking and biking paths. Trails range in distance and difficulty, so there’s a path for everyone. There’s even a barrier-free boardwalk trail. Swimming, fishing and kayaking can be enjoyed on the West Fork Little River, which runs right through the park. The park also hosts guided hikes, campfire programs, and community events. Thrill-seekers can get a bird’s eye view over the park on the Aerial Adventure zipline course, which includes six ziplines and seven sky bridges, and golfers can tee off at the DeSoto Golf Course, just a few miles south of the park.
$38 / night
$8 - $110 / night
Tent, RV and Primitive Camping
Daily Use Fee - $8 per vehicle for standard cars and trucks, $16 per vehicle for passenger vans, and $21 per vehicle for buses.
Camping Fee - $19 per vehicle for standard cars and trucks, $26 per vehicle for passenger vans, and $36 per vehicle for buses and RVs.
We are open 24/7 every day. A self-pay box is located at the front entrance to pay for admission after hours. We also have annual passes that are $45 for a year it makes camping half off.
$0 - $35 / night
$55 - $56 / night
This popular park on Lake Allatoona is ideal for swimming, water skiing and fishing. Visitors can bring their own boats or rent from nearby marinas. A sand swimming beach is nestled in a cove and surrounded by trees, providing a great place to cool off during summer. Picnic shelters and group shelters may be rented for meetings, parties, reunions and other celebrations. Guests often stay overnight in rental cottages, a spacious campground, or the park’s lakeside yurt. While best known for the 12,000 acre lake, Red Top Mountain is also a hiker’s haven. More than 15 miles of trails wind through the forested park, providing opportunities for exercise and nature photography. A short, paved trail behind the park office is suitable for wheelchairs and strollers, welcoming guests to explore a reconstructed 1860s homestead. The gravel-topped 4 mile Iron Hill Trail is open to both hikers and bikers, offering pretty views of the lake’s shoreline. Named for the soil’s rich red color caused by high iron-ore content, Red Top Mountain was once an important mining area. Iron pour programs are occasionally held near the Vaughn Cabin behind the park office. The park also maintains Allatoona Pass Battlefield, a historically significant battlefield due to the well-preserved trenches and earthworks.
The Little River Adventure Company features adventure rentals and 40 acres of dispersed tent camping in a natural unimproved property surrounded by Straight Creek and Yellow Creek. Conveniently located near the entrance to the Little River Canyon National Preserve. One mile from Little River Falls, and one mile to the WMA roads trailhead. Close to DeSoto Falls, Yellow Creek Falls, Cherokee Rock Village, Hippie Hole, and many other local attractions. We welcome dogs, cyclists, riders, kayakers, climbers, musicians, and all nature lovers.
$25 - $30 / night
Lake Guntersville State Park offers Town Creek Primitive Campground which provides primitive campsites (boondock camping allowed 7 night maximum) on the water, bathhouses, boat rentals, ethanol-free gas (accessible by water), and the Town Creek Fishing Center.
Fort Mountain State Park is a place of legends. Literally! Home to an mysterious, ancient, rock wall at the peak of a mountain, Fort Mountain’s associated legends include the construction of a Welsh military fort, a honeymoon destination for native newlyweds, and a relation to “moon-eyed people” of Cherokee folklore. Whatever the truth may be, there is no denying that this park’s unique features have made it one of the major draws within the Chattahoochee National Forest.
Located just a short scenic drive off of Highway 52 near the Cohuatta Wilderness, the campground at Fort Mountain State Park hosts 70 campsites for tents and RVs. Campers can bring their paddles to take advantage of all 17 acres of Fort Mountain Lake, or take part in the local rental program for easier travels.
While there is no need to leave the park to find adventure, many campers take a short drive east to a historic site featuring the Chief Vann House. This well-preserved structure was the first Cherokee brick residence and is often referred to as the “showplace” of the Cherokee Nation. Continue your travels to the peak of Fort Mountain where you can take a tour of a stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Enjoy panoramic views and marvel at the legendary beauty of Fort Mountain State Park.
Situated atop northeast Alabama’s Lookout Mountain, Desoto State Park is a 3,500-acre nature preserve and recreation destination that features vibrant forests, gushing waterfalls, and rugged mountain scenery. The park is located 8 miles northeast of Fort Payne, and approximately 75 miles east of Huntsville making it a great place camping near Atlanta. Dedicated in 1939, the park was named after Hernando de Soto, the renowned 16th century explorer. Prior to its dedication, most of the park’s roads, trails and facilities were constructed through the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a Depression-era works program that improved many of the country’s parks and forests, while providing jobs and skills to millions of struggling Americans. The park boasts many local legends, including one that suggests that the area may have been settled by Welsh explorers, centuries before Columbus’s arrival in the New World. Visitors are invited to learn more about DeSoto State Park by camping in the park.
The campground at DeSoto State Park features 94 full-hookup sites for tent and RV campers. Sites have either back-in or pull-through parking pads, and can accommodate large vehicles/trailers. Each site is equipped with picnic tables and cooking grills, and there are two comfort stations available with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. A dump station is located onsite. The park also has a primitive tent campground that offers 16 sites with fire pits. Picnic tables, cooking grills, potable water, trash receptacles, and vault toilets are located in this campground’s central area. There are also two primitive backpacker camps with sleeping shelters and fire pits, but no water or trash service. In addition to camping, the park also offers a variety of chalets, cabins and motel rooms for those less interested in roughing it. Other amenities include picnic areas, an outdoor pool, tennis courts, and a playground. Campsite rates range from $15–$36/night, plus fees; other accommodation rates vary.
Visitors will find a variety of seasonal activities to enjoy at DeSoto State Park, from hiking and fishing to geocaching and zip-lining. Start your visit by checking out the CCC Museum and Benefield Interpretive Center to learn about the park’s history, flora and fauna. Drop into the country store and purchase a trail map for the park’s 30 miles of hiking and biking paths. Trails range in distance and difficulty, so there’s a path for everyone. There’s even a barrier-free boardwalk trail. Swimming, fishing and kayaking can be enjoyed on the West Fork Little River, which runs right through the park. The park also hosts guided hikes, campfire programs, and community events. Thrill-seekers can get a bird’s eye view over the park on the Aerial Adventure zipline course, which includes six ziplines and seven sky bridges, and golfers can tee off at the DeSoto Golf Course, just a few miles south of the park.
$38 / night
$8 - $110 / night
Tent, RV and Primitive Camping
Daily Use Fee - $8 per vehicle for standard cars and trucks, $16 per vehicle for passenger vans, and $21 per vehicle for buses.
Camping Fee - $19 per vehicle for standard cars and trucks, $26 per vehicle for passenger vans, and $36 per vehicle for buses and RVs.
We are open 24/7 every day. A self-pay box is located at the front entrance to pay for admission after hours. We also have annual passes that are $45 for a year it makes camping half off.
$0 - $35 / night
$55 - $56 / night
