Three Forks Campground

Awesome free dispersed/primitive campsites along Chester Creek (one of the “three” forks). There are 5-6 campsites along the creek, all first come first serve. 4WD vehicle recommended, especially if coming via Winding Stair Gap Road. There are a couple additional free dispersed campsites located along that route as well.

Drove from Atlanta via off-road forest service Jeep trails to Three Forks parking lot on the AT. US FSR 28-1 to Winding Stair Gap Road to US FSR 58 to MP 4.3

From Three Forks trailhead: 5 miles round trip to Long Creek Falls and then to Hickory Flats. Out and back right at 5 miles.

From three forks trailhead to Springer Mountain out and back is 9 miles.

If you are looking for an off the grid getaway, this is the place for you. My partner and I stayed here on road trip out west. Though this was our plan, this really isn’t the spot if you are looking for a fast and easy stop. If you are looking to get away from it all then it’s perfect. Semi difficult to find and no cell service (Verizon) but with all of that out of the way, it was absolutely beautiful! Fantastic for flexible arrival and departure. Stunning views and great access to trails. 10/10 for a free spot. Loved it.

Near some trails (waterfall is 1mi from main trailhead). Forest road is super rough from east, I recommend coming from west. Lots of tent spots along road and water. Also a good backpacking spot on trail to waterfall (probably good for beginner backpackers)

Nice spot.  Pit toilet and a bear proof trash can.

Stayed at a great spot along the old Chester Creek Rd bridge crossing the creek. Short 2.5 mile hike to Long Creek Falls off the AT. Three forks is only 1.4 miles away. Camped for three nights. Be sure to pack up ALL trash, food and water before sleeping or leaving camp. There are bears that like to rummage through your stuff looking for food.

Three trout streams, waterfalls, the AT. Only accessible by hiking or the unpaved forest service road. Bears do live in the area so store food appropriately. Long falls is just a short hike up the AT.

I absolutely love the three forks campground. All of the sites are situated along a creek, and a fair distance from each other (most sites you drive between) and off the road. It feels pretty secluded, though there is heavy competition for good spots and I don’t think you can reserve in advance. So if you’re heading out for the weekend, make sure you leave earlier on the Friday to snag a good spot. Dog friendly, and enough space to let your dog run around and not be distracted with other campers/campsites. You can drive your car into a few of the spots, others you park in the road and carry your gear down to the site. This is definitely one of my top favorite camping spots in Georgia. Weather has always been fairly cool when we go, really comfortable and nice.

Campground Review:

Let me begin by specifying that there are two different Three Forks areas in Northh Georgia. One is on the Appalachian Trail and One is near Clayton, Georgia. This is the one near Clayton. This is a great 1 mile hike with slight ups and downs into the wilderness to see three rivers come together to form the upper chatooga river. We took our toddler here on a backpacking trip snug in his backpack carrier. We somehow got off the trail and we're practically climbing ip from the river when we saw the single campsite down there was taken. I watched my baby's tiny feet dangle about 50 feet over what in my young mom mind was a 300 ft gorge and vowed I would car camp until he could carry his own pack. The campsite that we snagged was next to the falls was not very level with drop off in either direction. It is good 2-3 adults. Not great for toddling little kids. Again, This was a trip where I had to reconcile being a mom and an outdoors woman. The falls are amazing and there are nice overhangs in the rocks where the river comes together. The good news is a few years later we went back with this boy, his sister, and a dog and were able to make it a nice day hike. It's a great overnight for kids who can carry their packs and dig their own privy.

Gear Review:

As a Dyrt Ranger I am able to review cool gear and we kept it simple with dehydrated food from Mountain House. We tried the vegetarian pasta primavera and the Italian style pepper steak. While I am a huge carnivore in real life, on the trail eating Dehydrated food I tend to veer vegetarian. Veggies just rehydrate better and Mountain House is no exception. The cheese sauce that made up the pasta primavera was perfection. The veggies were good and the sauce and pasta made it good and hearty. The steak in the pepper steak was edible as most things are after a long hike deep into the woods but the texture was just something else that was not meat. The flavor made up for the texture and I was able to eat the whole thing and there were no digestion issues afterward and let's face it, a full belly and no stomach issues is really all you need in a back country meal.

This is one of my favorite camping spots to get away! It's way down a long dirt road, there's a bunch of dispersed camping spots along the river side so water is pretty accessible and the sound puts you right to sleep. The AT cuts right nearby and its a short hike to Long Creek Falls. This area is pretty secluded, you may see 3-4 other camping parties but that'll be it!