Best Tent Camping near Pickens, SC

The cabins are nice, but small and no plumbing. If you're used to tent camping then the cabins are one step above that. Bonus is the air conditioning. Great view in Cabins 1 and 2. Gentle slope to a nice beach as well for those two cabins.

Tent sites are on the water as well but are right on top of each other. I could almost touch two of the tent pads at the same time.

Until this weekend, Hard Labor Creek State Park was our favorite GA campground! Sorry HLC, you’ve been bumped to #2 (still great)!

Victoria Bryant is hidden on Hwy 327, near Royston and, although a small campground, almost EVERY SITE IS PERFECT!

The park offers bicycle rentals, a swimming pool, plenty of picnic areas, multiple spots to play in the creek and some great hiking trails!

The campsites are HUGE and there are several extra amenities for campers to use! There’s a volleyball court, horseshoe pits, picnic pavilion and a central fire pit!

The park staff is great and the camp hosts are helpful! When we first arrived and began to set up, there was an electrical issue at our site but the park maintenance man had it resolved quickly!

The sites do not offer full hookups but there are multiple gray water dump sites in the campground (we used a five gallon bucket for our outdoor sink). We walked across the road from our site and dumped our bucket!

The park has the usual stuff to purchase (ice, firewood, etc.) but you can also head to Hartwell and hit the local Wally World if need be.

If you're camping in a tent, the tent sites are AMAZING! (see attached image) We've never seen these shelters before! You can even hang your hammock(s) underneath the shelter for a true outdoor camping experience!

We enjoyed every minute of our stay here, from the time we arrived to the time we left!

One more thing; if you're a golfer, there is a BEAUTIFUL golf course here as well!

We camped in our pop up but we'll probably be back to try out the tent shelters!!

FYI: Verizon Wireless has full 4G LTE service in the campground...we brought our MiFi Jetpack and streamed Netflix with zero issues!

My favorite part of staying at this park was not actually camping, although I always love camping. My favorite part was hiking the trails, especially the Natural Bridge/Palmetto Trail. It is a loop trail, but you can opt to get on a longer trail along the loop. The hike seems easy at first, especially going down to the“natural bridge.” However, when you hike down, you have to hike up, and there were sections on the return that were steep. Along the way, not only do you see the natural bridge, but there is a small waterfall as well. As far as camping, there are RV sites and tent sites. I chose tent camping this time, and there was a large gravel pad. The sites seemed a little too close for me, but at least they were not on top of each other. The day that I went, the other tent sites were all reserved as far as I could tell. I found that surprising for a Tuesday night. Unfortunately, with so many people camping that close together, you never really get to sleep early since some people are up late talking. Nevertheless, once the talking died down, I went to sleep listening to the tree frogs. The bath house is a short walk away and is AIR CONDITIONED!!! Since I went in July, this was important. I was hoping to get in some canoeing, but there were strong thunderstorms and rain. As a matter of fact, I waited for a break so I could put up my tent. There is a camp store, and I enjoyed looking at the relief map in the visitor’s center. It also has displays in the visitor’s center with local history. There is also a boat ramp a short drive away from the campground. Even though I didn’t get to take full advantage of it, it is a lot better than many of the boat ramps I have seen. The biggest attraction for this park, other than the hiking trails, is obviously its access to Lake Keowee. Overall, it is a pretty good place to camp. I’m not fond of how close the sites were, but it’s a lot better than many campgrounds I have been to.

General: Many options including 4 backcountry primitive sites, 12 walk-in tent sites, 48 electric/water sites, and 10 cabins. Access to this park is up a steep and winding road. I honestly don’t know how some of the larger 5th wheels and RVs we saw navigated it! We were warned that this park is an active bear area and while we did not see any, a woman I spoke with said she had seen a baby bear scoot through the campground (without Mama). An interesting thing about Georgia state parks is that when you arrive and check-in, you become eligible for a senior or military/veteran “rebate” which is not available when reserving. 

Site Quality: The sites are (too) close together with little or no separation between them. In my opinion, the sites in Section 2 are a bit nicer. Driveways are gravel and vary in length. Some are very long while others are much shorter. Unless you have a small car and are tent camping, I would avoid Site 26! Even though there was plenty of room for our 18-foot van, it took us at least a half dozen attempts to back into the site due to the very steep and narrow road where the pavement drops off. Site 37 is no more than a parallel parking space alongside Site 38. 

Bathhouse: It was heated and clean. The flush lever was different for each toilet and instructions were posted by each. The showers looked to be very clean, but I did not use so cannot comment on their quality. 

Activities/Amenities: Fishing, boating, and hiking. The Nantahala Lookout provides gorgeous views. There is a conference center. Laundry facilities are by the bathhouse, but we were told the appliances were due to be upgraded and were not in the best shape. 

This is a beautiful park but due to the sites being close together and our challenges accessing Site 26, my rating is three stars.

Table Rock State Park is a large park with at least three“campgrounds.” One is a primitive campground, and one is a traditional campground. I did not get to explore the third campground, but I believe it is a traditional campground as well. The site I stayed at, site 56, was level, except for the approach; however, the pad was rough gravel. I put down two tarps under my tent to help eliminate the roughness inside the tent. The site was shaded and wasn’t too close to my camping neighbors, but the biggest problem was dealing with the ants—big black ants, small black ants, and other tiny ants. There was no lantern pole, but there was a fire pit and a picnic table. The bath house was only a short walking distance away. There is no lack of things to do, and the trail system is extraordinary. The main attraction, I would guess, is Table Rock Mountain, but there are other things to do. There is a swimming beach and a diving platform. Beside the beach are picnic tables, including a picnic shelter with a standing grill. The visitors center/store was well stocked with souvenirs and supplies, and there is a laundry next to it. Sometime during the night when I had to go to the restroom, I discovered that there was not water. The next morning, I turned on the faucet at my campsite, and it sputtered out brown water at first and then it came out clear. I said that to say this. There was a problem and they dealt with it quickly. That impressed me. The heat and humidity was almost unbearable, but nothing can be done about that during the summer. If you camp in a tent during the summer, make sure to take and extension cord and a fan. Overall, this is a great place to camp during vacation, but the cost is a little more than I expected to pay for a tent site. Costwise, I’m not sure I would want to pay that much for camping for a whole week. It rivals the national campground franchises. However, if cost doesn’t concern you, it really is a good place to camp.

I had wanted to stay at this campground for several years, and I finally got the opportunity to do so. It looked inviting every time I passed by it. When I looked on the website, it showed tent sites, but most of the sites are for RVs. I was surprised to see that the best sites are along Jonathan Creek. These do not have water or electricity, but that didn’t matter to me. There are tent sites that have water and electricity, but they are behind the office, which is part of the main building. I am guessing that there are well over 100 RV sites. Most sites(if not all) have water, electricity, and sewer hookups. There are not many tangible amenities; there is no pool or playground, basketball court, etc. However, this campground is all about location. Not too far from the campground is Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hemphill Bald(mountain and trail), the Cataloochee Divide Trail, and the natural beauty of the mountains. There is also Jonathan Creek, which is known for trout fishing. The tent sites along the creek are beautifully arranged in a line with enough space not to be crowded. Unfortunately, most of them do not have fire rings, but I found one at T5 that did have. I am guessing that the picnic tables at the entrance to the tent sites are for the tents since only one or two tent sites had picnic tables and it is close to the end of the season. My favorite part about the tent sites is that you can sit facing the creek and look at the mountains in the background, although you will see a few houses in the mountains. Another advantage of the tent sites by the creek is that you hear the creek all night long, which drowns out any road noise. This campground is privately owned and not part of a franchise. It is good to see that they still welcome tent campers.

This is a great family owned camp ground everyone is very friendly but would love to see larger tent camping sites

Tent camped here at Twin Lakes in June 2018. Very private (site 12) and beautiful view of Lake Hartwell. Staff was friendly and bathrooms/showers were clean.

Lots of hiking trails, 11 miles or so. Great spot for tent camping down below from the RV spots which is nice. Showers bathrooms and water easy access from the tent primitive camping.

We had a wonderful time camping at Devil's Fork State Park. Our group took up rustic tent sites T1, T3, and T5. On the map, these sites seem not ideal, as they are not on the water. However, they are more isolated, more wooded (plenty of trees for hammocking), and seemingly larger than the other tent sites. They are a short walk from the tent-camper parking area, a short walk from the two water spigots in the parking area, and a short walk from the restrooms. The bonus is that, behind sites T1 and T3, is a jumping rock into a gorgeous cove of Lake Jocassee with beautiful blue-green water. It's a great place to enjoy kayaks, rafts, and other inflatables. 

While site T13 books up quick because of its waterfront location on the point, the walk from the parking lot is no joke. 

Notes about the rustic tent sites: They have been recently renovated. Each has a picnic table and a fire ring. Only 1 vehicle is allowed to park, per site, unless you pay for the extra vehicle and park in the overflow lot. There is no electricity, and two water spigots located in the parking area. The entire camping area (25 tent sites and 59 RV sites) share 2 restrooms (which were muddy and gross while we were there). No generators are allowed in the tent area. We did have a bear visit us multiple times in one night, putting teeth puncture marks in our cooler. And if the bear don't get ya, the raccoons will!

We LOVE coming here. It's peaceful. Right on the river and spaced well. We tent camp, but my dad has a camper he brings there. And the Fishing is awesome

Excellent tent camping for family. I came with my pregnant wife, my 10 month old baby, my brother and my sister in law. It was such a great experience, amazing place. Definitely worth the experience.

The first time I went, I did not have reservations, but there is a camp host. I went to the camp host site to get a site, but s/he was not there. I looked around the campground and there were only three or four campsites taken. After driving and sightseeing, I came back about an hour later. Nobody was still at the host site. I did some more sightseeing and came back about another hour later. No success. The only way I was able to get a site was by reservation. Eventually, I got a site, but the process of having to reserve online ahead of time is frustrating, especially since I was told by a park ranger at another South Carolina State Park that even if you don’t have reservations you can show up if sites are available. 

The campsite I was at had a level tent pad, which was gravel. There was a picnic table and a freeze hydrant for water. I checked the hydrant before deciding since the freeze hydrant on my last camping trip did not work. Parking was about fifty feet away since I stayed at the tent site area. Another option would have been to stay at one of the regular tent/RV sites closer to the bath room. The tent/RV sites are level and have fire pits, but I wanted a little more scenic view than having to see the bath house from my campsite. 

There were very few campers this time, so it was quiet at the campground. However, I did hear some road noise until late evening since the tent sites are closer to the road. Since it is pretty far from any major town or city, it got really dark at night, so this was really nice for watching stars. '

The bath house had the basic needs—toilet, wash basin, and shower. The floor was concrete, and the toilet was stainless steel with no removable lid. I thought that was strange for a men’s bathroom. 

Overall, it was a pleasant stay once I was able to actually get a site.

Tent sites have outlets, water and a light! Really beautiful easy hiking near by and a nice place to swim. Great for an easy family trip.