Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Sandy Springs? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Sandy Springs. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Sandy Springs campsites are perfect for tent campers.
Sweetwater Creek State Park is a peaceful tract of wilderness only minutes from downtown Atlanta. A wooded trail follows the stream to the ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company, a textile mill burned during the Civil War. Beyond the mill, the trail climbs rocky bluffs to provide views of the beautiful rapids below. Additional trails wind through fields and forest, showcasing ferns, magnolias, wild azaleas and hardwoods. Park rangers lead informative hikes to these areas throughout the year.
This recreation area is part of Lake Sidney Lanier
The Hembree Park Campsite offers an area for individuals or groups to gather and enjoy nature within the safe environment of a City Park. The site can be used by individuals, families, civic groups, etc. The grounds include an open grass area, fire ring with log seating, 2 picnic tables, and 11 tent pads.
There are no water/electrical hookups, or firewood on-site.
Buford Dam Park lies just north of Buford Dam on Lake Sidney Lanier. The site features beautiful views of the lake as well as excellent access to swimming, picnicking and boating.
The lake, named for the poet, Sidney Lanier, is well known for its aqua-blue colored water, spectacular scenery and variety of recreational activities. Each year, over 7.5 million people come to visit.
Lake Lanier boasts 38,000 surface acres, 690 miles of shoreline and over 100 small islands. Its location in the forested foothills of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains, makes for a beautiful backdrop to any activity.
Visitors can access the Laurel Ridge Hiking Trail from multiple locations and parks. The trail is a 3.5 mile loop that offers great views of the lake and Chattahoochee River. Fisherman can expect to catch a variety of species including bass, catfish and panfish. Activities include fishing, swimming, wake boarding, kayaking and hiking.
Bolding Mill Park offers access to a designated swim beach and the Laurel Ridge Hiking Trail. The park also offers a basketball court, soccer field, playground, picnic areas and restrooms.
Nearby attractions include boat ramps, other USACE parks, and Lake Lanier Islands.
$25 / night
This park is located at the intersection of Browns Bridge Road and Appalachee Church Road and was newly dedicated for the late Council member James Shackelford. Before its dedication and reopening, the park was renovated by Scout Troop 774. This park offers camping areas with shelters, and a beautiful nature trail that circles the park.
Guide
Red Top Mountain State Park is beautiful and Lake Allatoona is large. Campsite 50 is a premium tent only walk-in site (a few dollars more). It sits on a point that sticks out in the lake. There is no shade or tree cover, so it's not "private". There are 3 other sites near by on the walk-in area and there are no boundaries or barriers between so your neighbors are in full view. There is no electric near the tent pad, the electric pole is 150+ feet away near the parking area. You probably could run 175 feet of electric extension cord... but it would have to run past the three other sites... so don't plan for electric. There is water right by the pad with a ton of pressure. The tent pad was large but extremely hard to drive tent stakes into... smaller stakes worked better. The bathhouse was an uphill hike probably 300 ft away but was modern and clean with hot showers and good water pressure. The park is clean and scenic. The staff is very courteous, friendly and helpful. There are plenty of opportunities to hike, fish and boat.
This park is about 30-40 minutes outside of Atlanta right off of I-75. If you are in a tent... you will hear I-75 traffic all night so keep in mind, that while it looks like country, you are not deep in nature... the drone of the highway will remind you. There is a train that blows its whistle that will wake you up 3 times each night and also remind you that you are not deep in the woods. The winding roads through the park outside the campground also seemed to be very popular with motorcyclists who like loud pipes.
The name Red Top Mountain is derived from the red soil in the area that was popular for the mining of abundant iron ore. But don't look for "mountains" here... you have to travel further north for more dramatic elevation.
Overall, a nice park, pretty scenery but not as secluded, quiet and relaxing as expected for tent camping.
Guide
We did an overnighter to check this out after doing a separate hike on the primary trails from the other side of the park in the morning.
Getting to the campsite was simple enough and it is the quoted 3/4 mile walk in. It was great to see some families utilizing the space. There is good cell reception (T-Mobile)
Very peaceful and even had the sounds of a vibrant coyote pack.
Guide
Easy access to the lake for paddleboarding; lot was close enough to paddle 1/2 mile to day use area/marina restaurant. Nicely shaded and good proximity to restrooms.
Guide
Easy access to Lake Alatoona with good views, minimal shade and access area was swampy on my lot but manageable. Water surprisingly chilly in summer from the Etowah River.
Guide
Beautiful mountain landscape over a calm lake, very quiet and little to no light pollution at night. Lots of trees for shade in the lots and easy access to the lake.
Traveler
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!
Guide
There's only limited camping here. There's several yurts and 5 walk-in tent sites. Yes, some of the reviews here are confusing this park with another. There's NO RV or TRAILER camping here.
The Yurts look awesome but do attract gaggles of families so be warned that if you're looking for a quiet get away then you may find yourself in the middle of a large family reunion that has no care for other campers.
The camping is isolated from the bustling 'core' of the park too. That's a nice change from other parks in the area. But you will also need to drive to the trailheads more than likely so take that into consideration when packing etc.
The tent sites run a little parallel to each other. I didn't go any look at the lake views from 5 at the back but expected it to be partial if that. Site 1 and 2 would be my first choice when I go back.
There is also full cell reception given its proximity to Atlanta.
Update: - Something else to know is that the visitor center called for 'check in' before we arrived and organized a wood drop off service.
GuideRecently stayed a couple of nights and was mostly impressed with the state park. I’m a tent camper but if I had an RV or trailer, I would definitely have trouble getting into my site (78). Many of the other sites I saw would have similar problems for trailer campers, as well. The park is in close proximity to I-75, so I could hear the distant sound of big rigs and the occasional police sirens. There is also railroad tracks somewhere that are close enough to hear train whistles in the wee hours of the morning. But the scenery of Lake Alatoona was beautiful and the staff I dealt with were all friendly and helpful. The bathroom facilities I used were very clean.
Scout
The campsite's proximity to I-20 makes it super convenient to get to. It's a great spot for a quick trip or a longer stay, and the friendly seasonal campers really add to the community vibe. By the way, I just bought a camper with the help of radiant credit union customer service. Their customer service was so helpful in sorting out the financial side of things, which means I can now enjoy camping trips to places like Atlanta West Campground hassle-free!
Ranger
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.
Guide
Outstanding park! Camp sites are spaced decently apart and well kept. Restrooms / showers are very clean. Welcome center has plenty of backpacking supplies as well.
Guide
Site 7 is separate from the others and has the whole point except there is a trail behind the site. No easy, sandy water access unless you go to the nice beach they have.
Legend
We stayed at site 125 with a full view of the lake. We could watch the sunset & the sunrise each day and it was incredible. There is plenty of tree cover & wilderness surrounding you. Bath houses were decent (albeit a little outdated). Our spot had a pretty bad ant infestation & they ended up getting into our trailer, which I had to scour with spray, etc. But what can you do? Just bring some supplies in case. What we really liked about this campground is how natural the surroundings are. You're really immersed in the wooded area with a view of the beautiful lake & the sounds of birdsong, etc. Good campground for bikes as things are spread out (swimming beach, bathhouses). We would certainly come back!
Traveler
Nice campsites with water and electricity. Almost all the sites have view of lake and many have access to the lake for swimming or paddle boarding or boating. Nice breeze off the lake. Will be back many times.
Traveler
I called and was told this is a membership ONLY campground resort! Please delete this resort
Traveler
We stayed in site 7 and we really enjoyed it. The site was clean and the pad was very level.
We had a minor issue popping the 30amp breaker but switched over to the 50 amp adapter and all worked fine.
Didn’t use the bath house but I did go check them out and they looked clean.
I would caution big rigs on the first loop (sites 2 - 9) the loop at the back is pretty tight. We did fine with our 28’ TT but anyone over 30’ might want to consider the other loops.
Driving through and looking at the other sites some of the picnic areas need to be reworked or at the very least mowed and weeded. If it wasn’t for that sort of stuff I would give it 5 stars.
Traveler
Tons of things to do train rides, gondola ride to the top, hiking and fireworks. Stayed in a safari tent a little worn down with duck tape on the screen. However, clean bathroom/showers and fun pool. A couple of crazy squirrels visit us every morning.
ScoutGreat place to camp and just relax and watch all children play and laugh.
Scout
This place was a nightmare. I booked primitive site #4, that whole site is on a hill, the only flat place is where you park, and that's not really flat either. Needless to say it was difficult to set anything up; tents, food, games, etc... The campsites at this campground are very close together, and unfortunately our neighbors were very inconsiderate blasting country music all night long, they literally pulled an all-nighter, no joke, even after my wife and I asked them to turn the concert down at 3:30am, they got silent for about 1 to 2 minutes, and then started it right back up. The lake area where you swim is pretty gross, there are tons of people in a relatively small area, and pontoon boats pull right up to where the rope is that contains the swim area and cook out on their grills smoking out the swim area while idling petrol fumes and exhaust in to the water. We did manage to have some fun with making a fire, and although the lake was disgusting, it did feel good because it was 100 degrees outside. We decided to pack up and leave a day early, it was that bad. Find another campground to go to, or change your dates of your trip to avoid this place, do whatever you need to do to not end up here.
RangerThis is a smaller COE campground than most we have stayed at, which is nice in a way. The playground and beach were never crowded, and it was pretty quiet with the exception of the boat traffic. The campground is right next to a public boat ramp, beach, marina, and restaurant. It's super convenient but not as quiet as some other COE places. We loved it because we brought our boat and tied it up by our site. The sites are not huge but plenty big, and there are many great waterfront spots. Ours was nice for swimming with clean water and a nice drop-off. It is a mixed bag in terms of privacy. While there was plenty of space between us and our neighbors, the sites were laid out so that even with our campers hooked up, we could always see each other. Took away slightly from the experience, but it was still a very fun place. We will go back next summer. I think that 22 is the best spot, followed by the waterfront pull-through spots on the cove.
Guide
Great little place to camp. Beautiful lake. Bathrooms and showers are on site.
ScoutLoud music loud voices bright lights generators used on tent site. Party to 2 am. No rules enforced even when you complain to the host. Then this is the place for you. You can get away with whatever you want. Expect No sleep!!
TravelerMy family and I camped here for the weekend. Our campsite was beautiful and level. We could easily accommodate our pop-up camper and a 4-person tent with room to spare! My son was able to play and explore. My only critic would be that we were a little let down at the condition of the beach and that there was no playground when there was one listed on the grounds map. We will definitely be returning nonetheless.
TravelerWe stayed in a tent on the one tent-only electric site. A lot of the sites have electricity and power. People adhered to the quiet hours. The bath house is about a 5 minute walk from most of the sites, and they are clean and well-maintained (they were better than I expected).
As for things to do, the campground is a short drive from downtown Ellijay. Within the campground, there's a boat ramp to Carters Lake, and the lake is beautiful. Most of the sites overlook the lake, although the views are partly blocked by trees.
The sites are private and not on top of each other, which is nice. The website will say that the tent needs to be of a certain dimension to be on the wooden platform, but you can also set up the tent on the gravel area in front of the wooden platform.
We paid $24/night, with water and electricity.
TravelerThere are about 20 slots. The spaces are well-spaced and feel secluded despite mostly open air. A quick drive to the falls or the lodge for dining with a view.
ScoutGreat camp ground. Very clean and well maintained.
Traveler
The best place to camp Fish Enjoy the Chattahoochee
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Sandy Springs, GA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Sandy Springs, GA is Sweetwater Creek State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 28 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Sandy Springs, GA?
TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Sandy Springs, GA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
