Best Tent Camping near Winston, GA

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.

Campground Review:

Red Top Mountain State Park is located in Acworth, GA. The park is located around 12,000-acre Lake Allatoona, which made it perfect for summer camping. The park has about 15 miles worth of shaded trails for hiking and mountain biking. The park also has RV, yurt, and cottage options for camping. We rented a first come first serve RV/Tent campsite during our visit, and the price was $35 for one night. The campsite was gate access and had electric/water hookups with 2 car spaces, a BBQ grill, picnic table, and a lot of trees. We had access to a public restroom, showers, and laundry. There were also primitive campsites available to rent, which were closer to the lake. Our group decided to stay at this park because we wanted to utilize the lake. The lake is beautiful; however, it was very crowded the weekend we went. The park overall has a lot of “things to do” and is family friendly, but it was given 4 stars because of how busy and crowded it was during our visit.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I had the opportunity to test the Tentsile Flite +, which is a tent and hammock fusion. I was super excited to use this product because I am a hammock camper and there are times I wish I had the option of tent camping. The design and uniqueness of Tentsile Flite + is amazing, and I would consider it more of a tent instead of a hammock, because of how flat it lays when suspended in the air.

Pros:

• Comfortable to lay in and no need for sleeping pads or cushions.
• If you are a hammock camper, you can share this tent with another person comfortably.
• The rainfly is clutch and depending on preference it can be attached to the tent, staked to the ground, or tied to the trees.
• The Tensile Flite + is light and can be ideal for backpacking.
• The tent roof is all netting which is great for having ventilation during the summer, keeping bugs out, and also good for sky gazing.

Cons:

• Setup time and the difficulty of getting the right angle and tension.
• It was difficult finding the right trees suspend to.

Overall the Tentsile Flite + is perfect for someone who loves hammock camping, but want to enjoy some of the features tents have. I love the design and the wow factor it has on people. Also the company’s mission is very noble and how they help people in need and the environment.

Here is a video of setting up the Tensile Flite +

First time here. Clean camp, clean restrooms, great scenery. Main two loops are really for campers/RVs and are really close together with little privacy but have water and electricity. We ended up checking out the “overflow” area - didnt know it existed - and those campsites are more primitive, no water or electricity but have fire rings and pea gravel. Overflow is more spacious and private. Our spot was right above the lake. Main two loops are $16 and overflow is $6. The overflow is on the right as you pull in the campground - some people had campers up there but definitely the spot if you are tent camping. Had a great time, will return!

Chattahoochee Bend State Park is located on bend of the Chattahoochee River southeast of Atlanta, near Columbus GA. This is one of Georgia’s largest and newest state parks, with five miles of river frontage on the Chattahoochee. The campground has about 40 sites, some pull-they, but little shade. There are also some walk-in tent sites, and platform sites. The standard sites are water & electric, there is a bathroom/shower, and a dump station. There are cabins if you are not a camper. This is mostly a fishing/hiking park. A boat ramp provides access to the river for boaters and canoeing and there are six miles of wooded trails are open for hiking. There is an observation platform with views of the river and forest, but visibility was limited because of the trees. There isn’t much here but the river trail. But it is close to Columbus, GA, there are some zip-line places near by, and Roosevelt’s Little White House are close.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Red Top Mountain State Park. The campground itself is spread out with large sites. There are plenty of options for waterfront sites and most all sites are shaded with canopy cover. Our site specifically that we chose 56, was perfect for our roof top tent. We parked on a flat pad below a small staircase up to a tent pad surrounded by large boulders and equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. Firewood laying around was abundant. My only complaint about this campground were the comfort station showers. If you don’t need or desire to shower I would have zero hesitation sending anyone to this campground. However if you desire or need to shower as my wife and I do, be warned they are disgusting. They are probably the worst I have experienced anywhere as far as cleanliness. They serve their purpose as far as sufficient water pressure and hot water but outside of that, they are far from pleasant.

I was actually shocked at how terrible our actual campsite was; we stayed at site 29, which was supposedly intended for tent camping.

Pros

• The front gate staff was very nice; check in and general store staff were average
• The general store was very convenient and decently stocked
• The bathrooms and showers were pretty nice
• Beautiful lake view. It was nice to watch kayakers and rowing teams go by
• Nice tree placement for hammock
• Close to all Stone Mountain activities
• Garbage pickup each morning (but no metal trash can to store it in??)

Cons

• The site is on a freaking hill; there is no flat surface at all and no clearing, so you have no choice but to sleep on sticks/rocks. Thank God to REI for footprints and decent sleeping pads
• Site was dirty when I arrived
• No tent pad
• Parking area is crap; it's somewhere between gravel and nothing
• $20 parking fee

There is no way I would stay at this campground again; it was definitely made for RVs.

Camping is first come first served basis, no reservations. $20 per night, parking for one vehicle included. Extra vehicles require $5 parking pass per day. They take credit card. Pull up to the booth at the entrance before 5pm or see the camp host 5-8pm. After 8pm, the park gate closes. I was given a gate code in case I needed to leave and return during the closed hours.

The camping layout falls somewhere between dispersed camping and a traditional campground. When I checked in, I was told I could pull up to any site with a fire pit. There were picnic tables and trash cans at most sites. There are no hook ups at the sites, but there is a good amount of space on flat ground in the trees. Several cars, tents, or small campers would fit on each site. Bigger campers could opt for sites 8 or 9 which don’t have trees. I cleaned up a bit of trash around my site when I arrived. The camp host drove around selling firewood.

Many of these reviews seem older, so I wanted to add that there is a newer block bathroom with flush toilets, electricity and a shower stall, and outdoor water spigot near the stretch of campsites marked 1-20 along the river. It was clean. Driving in, you’ll see a sign that points you to “Main Camping.” The sites stretch down a lane that follows the river to a dead end, the river and sites are on the left and there is a large grassy airfield on the right. There was no airplane traffic while I was there and no signage to stay off of it, so perhaps it is no longer in use.

There is a boat ramp past site 20. I saw a sign at the bathhouse for paddling the river and various parks to camp along the way. There are signs for horse camping only at sites 18-20. One of the trails runs between the river bank and the campsites, with red blazes - “River Trail” - so don’t set up equipment there in case hikers or horses come through. I saw people fishing in the Chattahoochee River right off of their campsite. There is a small rapid that stretches across the river near sites 1-10, so you get that nice water flowing sound to fall asleep to!

There are also sites in other areas of the park, if you turn left instead of following the “Main Camping” sign. I’m not sure if they are numbered, and they seem more scattered. There is another bathhouse with running water and a shower that is older next to the cabin called “Old Ranger’s Station.”

The park has wide trails for horseback riding. I hiked the 2 mile Eagle Loop Trail and saw a mountain biker as well. I saw signs for an Orienteering Course. There is a splash pad and a new looking playground that from a glance, might be ADA accessible. There are many signs prohibiting swimming in the river due to the strong current. There is no beach and in most places, the river bank is steep. John Tanner Park has a swimming beach.

The park map is not great and the information available online is insufficient, but I do recommend coming to explore the area and camp! I’ll be back now that I have an understanding of the layout.