Campground Review:
This Campground is really unique and beautiful with a good variety of natural settings for both tent and RV sites. If you look through my pictures you will see that almost every RV site is on a roaring creek as are the tent sites, and there are cabins on site as well. This would be an excellent site for a multi family gathering where some want cabins, some want RVs and some want tents. There are 4 waterfalls on the property, 2 of which are pretty solid hikes to get to. One is 200 ft tall and the other is 400 ft tall. The Falls are wild and roll through the forest so you don't necessarily see the giant drop off but there are plenty of opportunities for backcountry type scrambling to find sweet little pools and seats to cool off in. the AT is just 1.5 miles away. Another amazing little secret about this place is it is about 2 miles from Chatahoochee Spring, which is on the AT and the actual origin of the Chatahoochee River. The hike to the spring offers an amazing experience to see how the creek narrows as you rise to the lone Chatahoochee spring that starts the entire watershed. The place is currently owned and run by Dr. Scwan, a former chiropractor and is sort of in transition to new owners/ caretakers. I visited the Campground 3 times, once was an unannounced visit. Each time the staff was friendly and helpful. My son and daughter fell in love with this place. They loved the trampoline park, the petting zoo, and the campground dog "spirit".
If you love family camping they have it, if you love kitsch, they have it, but more importantly, they have some serious hiking trails! You can take it easy or put a pack on your kids and take them into the wild-something I did and my kids are still trying to figure out if they hate me for or not.
The motel rooms appear to not be currently functional due to flooding this past winter. The owner is trying to bring the property back up to speed after a rough winter of flooding and tornadoes that passed over the property. There are new staff on board for the season. One staff member has hiked the entire AT twice, the last time at age 70! With a side trail off the AT of about 1.5 miles, this would be a nice resupply site for thru hikers. The air there feels good and you know you are tucked in a true mountain cove with streams and waterfalls roaring on either side. The prices reflect more of a "glamping" experience but the natural camping experience there is worth the visit.
Product Review:
As a Dyrt Ranger, I get to test out products and on this trip we tested out two Gregory Backpacks and a Gregory hydration pack. This was the first backpacking trip for our family of four. I backpacked before kids all the time and once I had babies, I made the decision to only car camp until the kids could carry their own packs. That seems like yesterday but wouldn't you know, it's already 9 year later and so we suited up to hike up to the AT for the night. We used the stout 75- men's navy blue pack, the Icarus 40- youth cape green, and the hydration 2L reservoir.
The stout worked great for my husband, who carried the most weight and has developed quite the dad bod over the last 9 years. As a result, he needed the extra adjustment features such as the torso, hip belt, and sleeping bag entry adjustment.
The 2 L hydration reservoir, well we fought over who got to carry that. It fits nicely into the pack interior and Gregory has hat great hook and h2o hole. The thing that separates the Gregory hydration pack is that there is a little magnetic clip that fits in your pack and clips to the spout. It makes for easy access. The wide mouth opening makes it easy to fill but screwing on the top can be tricky. If you don't lay it completely flat then it leaks. The first night I lost all my water this way.
The Icarus 40 youth pack was great for my 9 year old. It was his first trek. He was able to carry his pack, his sleep pad, some of the food and some tent poles. He had a Nalgene bottle in the side pocket hat kept sliding out when he leaned over and that was frustrating for him. But his shoulders were not sore at the end of the trip and he said at the end that he liked backpacking after all (the first few climbs were not so easy). Speaking of, this pack can handle being flung to the ground in frustration by a 9 year old who is exhausted and just wants to "go home". Remedy- just keep strapping it back on, apply plenty of water and encouragement and in about 2 miles "backpacking isn't so bad".
Gregory is a great brand to get into if you are starting or restarting backpacking. They are cost effective, long lasting, and have been around a long time. Not to mention, when you call the 800 number there is an option to be put through to someone immediately if you are on the AT.
