Best Equestrian Camping near Rutledge, GA

Hard Labor Creek State Park is one of the Georgia State Park system's best kept secrets! Located just minutes away from Rutledge, GA, HLC seems like a whole world away! Away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, HLC is still convenient to Rutledge and Madison, in case you forgot to pack something.

HLC features hiking trails, mini golf, newly "renovated" campsites that include two BRAND new bathhouses (comfort stations). The comfort stations have restrooms/showers, as well as two family restroom/shower facilities. The comfort stations also feature vending machines (drinks) and a laundry facility!

Kayak rentals, a beach/swimming area and numerous special programs are available!

Cell phone service is very spotty in the park but that is alright with us, camping is about getting AWAY and enjoying the outdoors, not staring at your electronic devices!

If golf is your thing, HLC has a beautiful 18-hole golf course!

We have camped at this beautiful park NUMEROUS times and there is a reason that we keep coming back (actually there are multiple reasons)!

HLC has an amazing staff that is there when you need them and not there when you don't! The camp hosts are friendly, the Ranger rides through on a regular basis and is friendly/outgoing (you can tell that he enjoys his job)!

The campground is not cramped at all and most of the sites are spread apart to provide privacy!

Not long ago, as many of the GA State Parks are doing, HLC swapped over to "site-specific" reservations..meaning that you must choose a particular site when reserving. This is VERY useful if you're familiar with the campground and have a favorite site (such as we do) but it can be a shot in the dark if you're not familiar with the campground.

The bath houses/comfort stations are brand new (including laundry rooms) and the camp hosts keep them spotless! The campground roads are newly paved and there are a couple of new sites.

There are hiking trails, kayak rentals, a beach area (swimming) and two nice lakes! There are equestrian trails and even an equestrian campground!

The park has numerous cottages to rent, a group shelter, picnic pavilions and even a mini-golf course (newly renovated)!

Not far from the campground (in Rutledge, GA) there is a Dollar general in case you forgot something that the park store doesn't have.

If you've never visited this beautiful park, ou are missing out on one of our hidden gems!

Large, well maintained sites. We stayed on 17 and it was very private. We hiked from the campground to Lake Buncombe and also hiked from Sunset Drive trail to Lake Liberty and the office. Equestrian trails are closed to hiking during the weekend. Equestrian campground has a new stable and bathhouse and a campground that is under construction now. The old equestrian campground and stable are still there. The cabins on Federal Lake just reopened after getting new flooring. All of the rangers were friendly and helpful. We did the A. H. Stephens museum tour and that was very nicely done. We did a day trip to Greensboro and walked the shops and went to Oconee Brewery. Everyone was raving about Yesterday Cafe so on our next visit Lucy May have to stay back at the camper. We will definitely return in warmer weather for canoeing and a trip to Warrenton which is close by.

This state park has boats to rent,fishing, swimming equestrian camping,cabins ect..They have this large primitive area that we used..It was a bit of a hike to the bathrooms..but everything else was fantastic We loved the historical museum there too

Very nice quiet park with a small campground (21 sites, all with electric and water). The sites are shaded, and flat with a gravel drive and tent pad. We hadn’t planned on staying here but were pleasantly surprised to find a few vacancies on the first Saturday in November. There is also an equestrian campground located several miles from the main campground. The main feature is a covered bridge, the longest one in Georgia, that is located ¾ of a mile from the campground (an easy walk). 

A nice perk was laundry facilities outside the restrooms. The restrooms were very clean. 

There are seven miles of hiking trails, five miles of bike trails, canoe rentals, and we saw several people fishing. 

There was also a nice day-use area with picnic tables within view of the covered bridge.

Nice campground, bathhouses exceptionally clean. Camped on a Sunday and Monday and was so peaceful with all of nature’s  sounds. There’s two lakes there but you need to take a short drive to get to the swimming beach and to better fishing. Golf course looks great, and  equestrian camping looked great too. Lots of easy hiking trails to explore.  A very  short drive from Atlanta make this campground a nice weekend camping getaway

We really enjoyed RV camping at this campground. It wasn’t busy, especially for a weekend. Lots of empty campsites. Super clean bathrooms. It has a couple of hiking trails, boat rentals, a nice lake to fish, and some historical buildings to explore but not a lot else to do. That was fine with us and our 2 night stay. Equestrian camping seems to be the big thing there.

Park is the home of the VP of the Confederacy and features his home and Civil War artifacts (check for open hours). Hiking trails. Power and water, with dump station. The shower house is new (2019) and is ADA. Also laundry is at shower house. Firewood for sale with camp host. Shady, level, back in and pull thru sites with fire ring and table. Ask camp host for tour of CCC built fire tower. About an hour to Augusta, GA, via interstate (Costco with gas/no diesel), lots of shopping and resturants. Also stables if you are traveling with horses. Can reserve 1 year ahead.

My wife and I came here in our pop up camper.  We had never even heard of this camp ground and booked it primarily because we were looking for a nice campground with availability.  We arrived after the Trading Post / Office was closed, and we hit a snag right off the bat.  Our campsite (21) was really not a site for a pop up camper.  This was definitely more of a tent site.  Luckily the camp host was super nice and accommodating.  He put us in spot 23, and luckily we were able to reserve it for the whole stay.  This was a nice private camp site, great for a pop up or tent, but wouldnt be good for a big RV.  There were trails all behind our site, and it was secluded which worked out great because our dog could relax without people passing the site constantly.  The staff here is extremely pleasant and very helpful and facilities are extremely clean.

We played 9 holes at The Creek, a real nice golf course that is in the state park. We really enjoyed the golfing here, but we are not advanced golfers.  We also fished off the dock at Lake Rutledge.  What a beautiful lake.  We would have rented a boat, but we were not able to due to Covid.

We were so happy here, that we have been talking about returning with the kids.  There is a miniature golf course and a playground.  We may even ask the grandparents to come.  They don't like camping but there are beautiful cabins here.

I highly recommend Hard Labor Creek State Park.  A hidden gem.

I went camping here with my family a couple years ago. Very nice and relaxing. Loved the campground and will definitely go back. We stayed at a electric and water site for our pop up.

Beautiful campground. Sites are well spaced, level, and private.

Showers are clean, laundry room is well arranged and they even provide magazines.

The only problem we encountered in our stay was that there were carpenter bees eating the picnic table. I reported that to the hosts, who were very sympathetic and promised to take care of it.

We will definitely come back

This was our first trip to this park. I like the site specific reservation. Much more relaxed arrival and no creepy stalking from upcoming campers. The welcome center staff was very nice and helpful when needed. However, I almost didn't have firewood the first night because I didn't know you had to purchase it from the welcome center and they close at 4 or 5 pm. Also, their firewood bundles only lasted about an hour each at best ($6+ each). Our campsite was great! Secluded and a great view. Another slight negative in my book is the lake isn't anywhere near the campground. You have to leave the campground traveling along 3-4 roads/turns. The bath house was clean, new, and ada accessible. Oh vet important to note there is no cell service at your site. However, near the welcome center does have free wifi, but you have to be pretty close.

Clean sites, clean bathhouses, gravel sites, lake/beach swimming area within state park grounds. Golf course near

This is a great campground with lots of activities. There is a putt putt (mini golf) course. You can rent kayaks and kayak in the lake. They offered a kayak by moonlight group tour that was fun. The bathrooms are very clean. We had a huge nice site with lots of room for the pups to be on the tether. There is a camp store and the staff is friendly and helpful. The only thing was no one told us our site had full hookups. We paid for a deluxe site but nothing indicated on the reservation it had sewer connections. Had we known we would have taken showers in our own camper.

We were back at HLC this past weekend and, as always, top-notch park! We have tent camped for several years but recently upgraded to a new (to us) pop up and we had a blast!

We camped at site 26 (one of the newer sites) and it had full hookup (our PUP does not have a bathroom but does have a galley). The site has electric (50 amp and 30 amp service) as well as free cable TV!!

The sites at HLC are well spaced and the bath houses are spotless!!

The park staff is amazing and the camp hosts are always cleaning up and are available if you need anything!

HLC is our go-to spot for a weekend getaway because of the above-mentioned reasons and it is close to home!!

We were back at HLC this weekend and, as always, it was an enjoyable stay! This campground is now site-specific (meaning that you reserve a specific site prior to arrival) and this worked perfectly for us because we're familiar with the best sites! We grabbed site 43 because it is close to the bath house but very private!

We made use of the hiking trails and mountain bike trails this weekend! The trails are well-maintained and clearly marked!

This is one of our favorite campgrounds due to the large sites, clean facilities and amazing staff!

Really pretty and well maintained. The mini golf course was a big hit with my kids. 12 and under is $2.50, adults $5. The trading post/visitor center is stocked with drinks and some first aid but not much else. The sites are well maintained and the water beautiful!

Meh I have mixed feelings for hard labor. This is actually my first time camping at their campground. I did find the camp area pretty nice. I did have concerns about some of the trees as I recall last year they camp host had an incident. My issue for me was I used a ground tent this time versus my roof top tent or camper. Man my site choice was horrible! Site 24 turned into a pool. I had to move my tent to RV vehicle parking area. I did consider trenching the site but didn’t want to cause property damage with the rail road ties. Other than the flooding of my site and making adjustments not a bad experience. Just noticed a lot of water issues throughout the park and runoff.

We had so much fun we spent the whole weekend at hard labor creek at park camping and swimming at the beach it was very convenient the restrooms and showers were near the campsite so it wasn't a long walk. Def will be going back

The park was quiet and clean. Bathroom and bath house area kept very clean with plenty of HOT water. Site 26 is a pull through with kinda odd connection placement but we made it work.

This place was great. We arrived after hours and spoke with the camp host he told us we can pay online or in the morning. We drove all day in the sun and due to hurricane Helene aftermath we were limited on where to stay. It was nice to pull in and it be nice and cool with the trees. The stars popped out at night and could be seen through the tree tops. Showers were hot.

Nice camp sites, hiking, playground & beach. Good lake for kayaking.

Best place to kick back and relax. Definitely a good place to unplug. This is due to limited cell service but who needs that when you are disconnecting from the grind.

Due to the ongoing apocalypse, we have had plenty of time to camp lately! We have stayed here, in the park, multiple times over the last month.

As always, the park is clean and well-maintained. Although most of the facilities are closed right now, the park staff and volunteers were constantly working to ensure everything is clean and working properly.

Both of the camp hosts, Pam and Sue, were constantly riding around checking on guests and were more than helpful if you needed them.

On this particular visit, we stayed on site # 2 (full hook up) and there was plenty of room to stretch out! We stayed in our 26’ travel trailer.

We were able to walk off of the back of our site and onto the trail system, which is perfect because we are avid hikers.

Thanks for another great stay! We will be back!

Very nice and lot’s of things to do!! The camp host was extremely helpful! Golf course looked very nice & challenging!