Best Tent Camping near Rising Fawn, GA

We love camping at Fort Mountain. Its usually a good bit cooler due to the elevation, and the private wooded campsites make tent camping in Georgia’s summer heat much more enjoyable. Good hiking and things to do nearby.

As exclusively tent campers, I have always steered away from KOAs. But given how close this one is to my home city of Chattanooga, and how beautiful the Lookout Mountain region is, I decided to do a drive-thru tour just to check out a campground within 30 minutes of home, and this is definitely a place I would love to camp, even in a tent! 

Convenient to I-59, this KOA is in an extremely rural part of northern Georgia, giving it a backcountry feel despite how easy it is to access. And while it is still primarily for RV campers, they do have a some designated tent-only sites that are on their own leg of the road, and spaced out to provide some privacy--site D in particular had more of a feel of a private campground to it.

There are two distinct sections to this campground; when you first enter, there is a turnoff to the right that takes you to lower elevation. These sites are more spaced out, have trees (or bamboo!) in between them, and are generally larger. This is also the side where the tent and group camping sites are. Group camp sites allow one tent per site, and RV sites are all 50A full service except for sites 60 and 61 which are 30A. Tent sites have water and electric available but are for one vehicle and tent only. 

To the left of the welcome center upon entering sites are closer together, with a combination of 30A and 50A full services hookups. There are still plenty of trees, particularly along the uppermost loop (sites 16, 18, 20, and 22). This side is also where the majority of the cabins are. 

The coolest aspect of this campground for me was the massive jumping pad they have, and I had to promise my kids we would take an overnight trip here just so they could use it! It is restricted to ages 16 and under (and appeared to be closed, along with the playground and saltwater pool, due to COVID-19), but looked like an amazing addition, especially for families who may be staying here long-term and need a way for their kids to get some energy out without leaving the campground! 

This would still not be my primary choice for tent camping as it is still largely geared towards RVs, however the group camping, the wooded feel, and the convenience to Chattanooga make this an amazing play to stay, whether it is folks in the city looking to get into nature without a long drive, fulltimers who want long-term accommodations while they take advantage of all the region has to offer, or travelers just looking for a quiet place to stay while passing through.

Conasauga Lake campground is heaven on earth for this country boy. On top of Grassy mountain in North Georgia it is a great small camper / tent camp. Lots of large hemlocks and rotadendren on the trail aroundthe lake. The gravel road up the mountain is not for the faint of heart but worth the effort.

Tent site... full hookups... plenty of space

Tent camped for a night can’t wait to go back. Didn’t get to see the caverns but did visit the gift shop.

Bob has a wonderfully serene campground for both RV’s and tent camping. I invite everybody looking for a quiet place on Mentone to visit 1776 RV.

I slept really well last night here, and the camp host and guests were just great. Heated bathhouse with warm shower was definitely a highlight on a chilly morning!

Only downside in my mind was that I booked a tent site, only to find that the tent sites are down the hill from all the other sites, so if you book them you will have to haul your stuff down to the lake. It did sound like the night-time fishing would be awesome though!

Staff was very helpful in finding the right spot. Campsites are clean and hot showers are abundant. We tent camped, but the park is more suited for RVs or TTs

This is a wonderful spot if you really want to be in nature. Not many people around quite, secluded and very peaceful. Tent camping only with reservations. Lots of hiking near by and great places to explore.

We tent camped on Spot 27. Nice back in RV spot with water and electric. Bathhouse is close by. Gray water dump is across the road. Originally we booked Spot 60. That’s a pull through with little room for a tent. No cell service but that’s okay as we disconnected for a while. You can get service at the top of the park. Clean bathrooms with hot showers. Trails are nicely blazed with colors that match trail map. Georgia apple farms are a short, 20-30 minutes away.

Tent camping and we had s beautiful spot. But big problem, the aggregate for the tent pad was so compressed we could not set a stake. Had to move tent off pad! Bathrooms very clean in tent loop. Shame on government for not putting funds into pool maintenance. It was shut down. Deer wandering all around!!!

Tent camped here on the water, absolutely no shade since the tornadoes brought all the trees down, even with the water nearby, temps hardly ever went below 85 at night. Poor planning on our part, not their fault. Much better for RVing.

This is a great park with a lot to offer and more in the near vicinity. 

Cell reception (T-Mobile) was non-existent in the site. However, there was reception at the trading post and possibly elsewhere. 

They're installing Bear Boxes in tent sites back and front country (as I understood it) and are clearly paying attention to what people want and how to improve visitors experiences. 

A lot of the sites are RV orientated. But the walk in tent sites are really close to the parking area. Also, nearby backcountry platforms and sites can be easily accessed. 

If you want walking access to the trails, it's probably best to choose a site near the lake as that's where most trails are accessed from.

Backpack in , totally primitive sites. Take your own water or filtration system. Hobbs Cabin is available by reservation, close to the tent sites. Bring an air mattress for the wood bunks. Otherwise love, love, loved the adventure, hike, backpack in:)

Stayed at campsite 3, across from the camp host, and in front of playground and bathrooms.

Very large, very widely spaced campsites. Sites were comfortable for tent camping, but there were few tent campers when we were there.

Bathrooms were clean, and had hot showers, but had a lot of deferred maintenance. 

The Fall hiking  was spectacular. It's a beautiful place to see the hardwoods change color. Trails are well maintained.

Great hiking trails, amazing cave, helpful & friendly hosts, large clean shower/bathroom building. The showers are in the area for tent camping which is a bit of a hike from RV sites - less than a quarter mile. There's a great climbing wall for kids. If you want a break from the world it's great since internet is spotty & slow: I'm able to write this while on back roads in Georgia but couldn't do it there. The hills & some rain kept the temperature cooler while we were there - also a nice break in June. We would definitely plan to go back if we're anywhere near!

This campground was right off of the interstate and very easy to get to so that was a benefit. I didn't make a reservation so I just showed up and all the tent sites were taken so I just rented an RV spot. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and neighbors were very friendly and had a permanent site for their RV. Pets allowed too so that was a plus!!

The Pocket in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. Another beautiful place we've never been before! Nice tent camp spot, not sure I would stay several days but we really enjoyed the weekend. This was our last chance since the camp closes on Nov. 9 this year. The sites along the creek are nice but the rest is well laid out with fire rings, lantern poles and tables. No showers but the restrooms were clean and in good order. Cell service is totally nonexistent in the whole area.