Campgrounds around Atlanta, GA

[downeyr]

We will be traveling thru Georgia next spring and need some suggestions for full-hookup campgrounds in the vicinity of Atlanta. Thanks.

[5er_tom]

Stone Mountain is NE of downtown and a large, nice campground. We spend several nights there each year.


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[Cajun Po-Boy]

X2 for Stone Mt...great park to visit, especially if it will be your first time!

[RedLdr1]

Stone Mountain is nice... But how long will you be in the area and what roads are you using coming in?

Since you're retired military Dobbins Reserve AFB is an option. They have some nice hook-ups and it is right off of I-75 in the NW metro area.

[rijaton]

If you're just passing through Atlanta on I75, there's a nice park at Perry called Safe Harbour. I believe it's still a Passport America park.
We've stayed there several times when travelling to or from Florida. If weather is good, we stay more than one night, taking time to see some of the attractions in the area.
R.

[BooBoo23]

Full hookups limit your choices. Stone Mountain Park is probably the best for that. If you can do with water and electric, there are 7 CoE campgrounds around Lake Alatoona which is on the very northwest side of Atlanta about 30 miles from downtown, actually it is in Acworth, GA (mostly) . I like McKinney campground, been there several times and if you have a senior pass it's about $13. Disregard the suggestion for Perry, it is 100 miles south of Atlanta. You may want to search for CoE campgrounds or try searching on www.rvparky.com .

[Radio]

If we had more info we could give you better suggestions.

1. How long will you stay?
2. What roads will you be on, or what side of town will suit you best.
3. Any special interests or needs?
4. What will you be doing (job, visit, vacation) while here?

[conceptumator]

We only spend single nights there when driving in and out of FL, but we've found the Atlanta South a RV Resort to be friendly, quiet and very clean. Nothing fancy,but full hookup's and pull throughs. They're at Exit 222 of I-75 in McDonough.

[downeyr]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I hadn't thought of the COE parks but we do like to stay at them. We will be there for a week coming into Atlanta from the Andersonville Prison and departing to the North for Chattanooga. We are interested in the Civil War museums and sites in the area.

[yvesm]

We have stayed in Stone Mountain Park, the newer sites are nice. I think we stayed on "trail E" site 85. At that time we had a 33 foot camper with 2 slide outs and we had room to spare.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by downeyr

We are interested in the Civil War museums and sites in the area.

Just north of Dobbins RAFB, in Kennesaw, Ga, is the The Southern Museum of the Civil War. It is the home of the locomotive the General, from the Great Train Chase, as well as other Civil War exhibits. The Kennesaw Mountain battlefield park is also nearby.

[tomrob1161]

If you are going to be in town for several days,Stone Mountain is a park to consider especially for the Laser Show. It's also close to downtown for all the attractions there, like the Coca Cola Plant. A park, north of the metro area is Allatoona Landing in Cartersville. It's also near the Kennesaw Battlefield.

[johnruff]

I stay at Twin Lakes in Cumming, GA off exit 13 on GA 400. There is also a nice campground at Lake Lanier just up a few exits.

[David100]

My wife and I are presently at Sawnee Campground NE of Atlanta about 30-minutes. This is a COE campground that water and 30 or 50 amp service at many sites and a dump station. The bath house close to us, spot 30, is clean. Many sites are right on Lake Lanier. We use a senior pass and paid $55 for 4-nights. We would stay here again.

[Stormrider151]

High Falls state park and Indian springs state park (oldest in Georgia) are south of Atlanta. They get you on the right side of Atlanta for Andersonville. They are both not far off of I-75 and nice parks. They only offer electric and water. The bath houses are a little dated as well. All in all they along with Pine mountain state park are my favorites.

[SternHappens]

For a full hookup with passport america discount for I believe up to three days try Leisure Time RV Park, Adairsville, GA, just north of Atlanta a few minutes off of I75. Not a delux resort campground by any means, but very friendly hosts and full hookups, clean, extremely reasonable, especially compared to stone mountain.

[Reb Kitt]

There are several campgrounds around Lake Lanier that are operated by the US Park Service and several operated by Forsyth County and Hall County. They are off of GA 400 about 50 miles north of Atlanta. Go here for a partial list:
Lake Lanier Parks Campgrounds

[BooBoo23]

A lot to see around Atlanta. As someone mentioned be sure to see Cyclorama Civil War Museum, and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, and little west of there is Pickets Mill Battlefield Park near where I live in Paulding County. If you venture downtown you can see the worlds largest aquarium, donated by one of the founders of Home Depot and in the same complex is the World of Coca Cola museum. If you are looking for brunch be sure to stop at the worlds largest drive-in restaurant, The Varsity (a landmark place) on the north edge of downtown just across I-75/85 from Georgia Tech campus. Don't bother to go there from 11am-1pm though, crowd is very big, an interesting place for a chili dog(s) and onion rings. When you get to Chattanooga you may want to visit the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park battle field, also a large very nice aquarium there in the downtown area.

I've been to Andersonville several times, a tragic place of history.
I've already mentioned McKinney campground, one of the larger CoE campgrounds off of I-75 several miles. It is quiet and it has a little over 150 sites, premium sites are lakeside, been there several time and never been disappointed, lots of deer there. Lake Lanier may be a little out of the way for where you are headed, it is to the north east of Atlanta about 50 miles, although there are a number of CoE campgrounds there also.

Since you have a time before you get here you will be able to do Google search's for information about the area. Pick up tourist info at one of the rest areas and be sure to get some form of map of the Atlanta area, not an easy place to maneuver since the city is not laid out on a grid.

Probably the biggest issue for any travel around Atlanta is the traffic. Be sure to tune your radio to WSB talk radio on either 750am or 95.5fm. They cover the traffic every 7 minutes during and near rush hours and about every 10-15 minutes the rest of the day. And remember the I-285 around Atlanta the "outer loop" is counter clockwise and "inner loop" is clockwise. The worst traffic is from I-75 to I-85 on the north east side.

Have fun during your week stay. One other eating place to be sure to go to is "The Marietta Diner" in Marietta, just south of the "Big Chicken" (ask about it) on Cobb Parkway. You won't go away from there hungry.

[PapaE]

What is the best way thru/around Atlanta pulling a FW? I would be coming up I-75 from the south toward some of the campgrounds north or northwest of Atlanta.

[BooBoo23]

The best route thru or around Atlanta is to take I-285 around the west side, it is the shortest and the least traffic (tongue in cheek). You just want to avoid rush hour(s) if at all possible. The signs will say to Birmingham which is west on I-20 or Airport. Technically you are restricted to the 2 right lanes, as well as any trucks over 6 wheels, but they may not bother you with a 5r if you are not, that applies to all Georgia interstates.

If you feel adventurous you can go straight through on I-75/85 but don't try it before 9:30am or after 3:00pm, any night time after about 8:00pm and before 5:00am is OK. The biggest traffic problems usually occur on I-285 between I-75 and I-85 and also coming into and out of Atlanta in the mornings and evenings on I-75 from McDonough to I-285 south of Atlanta and from I-575 to I-285 north of Atlanta.

No one drives the speed limit around Atlanta (70-80+mph) but you need to keep your speed down and just let them all pass. Things happen fast.