Car camping spot recommendation for absolute beginners?

Question

I'm looking to car camp with my wife one of the coming weekends somewhere around Atlanta. We're both new to it and would really appreciate recommendations and general tips. Ideally, we'd love a place that is around 1.5-2hrs, has a water body or waterfall that we can swim in and not too crowded. We'll be camping from the back of our forester and wouldn't mind going a bit off the pavement to reach the place, if needed.

Our current setup is just an air mattress that fits in back, which along with some pillows and blankets should suffice for a night out in the current weather I feel. We don't plan on cooking or anything else at the campsite, just need it to be a night outdoors in peace.

in GeorgiaCampAndHikeby dudes_indian

64%

27d

edcculus

27d

Any state park will be fine. Book online. You always camp right with your car at state parks (in general). They will have bathrooms and showers as well. They also usually have a nice flat spot for tents, a picnic table and a fire ring.

dudes_indian

27d

Any tent site is fine right? Most of the state parks have a category called 'tent-only' or similar, do they let you take your car to these sites?

edcculus

27d

Yea- tent only generally just means no RVs, and there are no water hookups or power hookups for RVs either. But most of the time, unless it’s a special park, tent camping means you park right there and set up your tent right at the site. Some state parks have a picture of each camp site on the booking page. So you can tell if it has the little gravel driveway for 1-2 cars right there. It’s the government though, so there aren’t 50 pictures of each site like air bnb or anything.

Usually if you have to park separately and camp away from your car, those sites are called “primitive”. That’s not always the case, but a general rule of thumb.

dudes_indian

27d

Got it! Thanks for the information!

bizarroJames

27d

And some state parks, like mistletoe State Park, have their tent spots a short hike away from the parking lot. We had to carry our stuff from our car on about a 3-5 min hike to the camp spot.

It's not bad, but sometimes the parking is inches away from the tent pads and sometimes you have to carry your stuff to a more secluded area. Both have pros and cons.

GreatMoloko

27d

I think Red Top Mountain State Park is your best bet here if it's not too booked out. Drive up camping, swimming, nice restrooms, food options nearby, and not too far so you can easily bail out and get home if needed.

dudes_indian

27d

Oh, thanks for the suggestion. I was looking at their website and I saw two categories, one is 'campsite electric' and the other is called 'tent-only walk in campsite'. The campsite electric seems like it's for RVs that need an electric hookup which isn't the case for me, while the other option seems like it's only for tents?

GreatMoloko

27d

Either one would work fine for you, and the "walk in" for the campsites is like 10 feet.

dudes_indian

27d

Oh okay! Thank you!

extraterrestrialzoo

27d

If you plan on sleeping in the Forester then the walk in campsites at Red Top wouldn't work for you

dudes_indian

27d

Oh thanks for the heads-up, why is that so?

extraterrestrialzoo

27d

I guess it could but you'll be parked by 3 or 4 other cars. For example, for sites 47-50 there's 4 or 5 parking spots at the top of the hill and you have to walk down to your campsite

thegreatgazoo

27d

They have tent sites with electric. You can use it for lighting, hair dryers, or similar things.

DuhMayor

27d

Tray Mountain is my go to car camp spot. Lots of drive up, first come first serve, primitive camp sites. All the sites are secluded so you aren't going to have other campers right next to you. There's two waterfalls on the mountain that are on the same trail, Blue Hole and High Shoals. You can't really swim at them but I guess you could get into the water if you wanted. Tray is just north of Helen, Ga where you could go tubing down the Chattahoochee if you wanted some kind of water activity. If you do go, take Indian Grave Gap Rd up instead of Tray Mountain road.

Pearl_krabs

27d

I'd suggest Deep Hole or Cooper Creek in the national forest.

dudes_indian

27d

Hey thanks! Will check these out.

boser3

27d

If you want a full bathroom on site go with a state park.

Cloud land has the waterfall (1st one) that is swimmable.

Moccasin Creek is right in Burton / Wildcat Creek

Vogel has the lake there and a lot of options for min waterfall hikes around. Despot Falls rec area nearby is a usda option with a toilet/shower (and a creek on prem)

Fort Mountain has a lake and a lot of options in the Cohutta.

Red Top is on Lake Allstoona

Coopers is a great USDA option (book through rec.gov. It has a vault toilet and the general store is 10-15 minutes away.

Andrew’s Cove is close to Helen and a lot of smaller trail options nearby. And a creek on site.

cuhnewist

27d

Trails Offroad app will help you find some good dispersed spots. There’s not really anywhere in Georgia you couldn’t go with your Forester. There are a few roads that are tougher, but Trails Offroad does a good job of calling these out.

Have fun!

herroh7

27d

I really enjoyed camping at Watsadler Campground at Hartwell Lake. Spot 25 was right on water and easy to access. Only caveat (for all state parks at the moment) is that they book out far in advance. I’m going camping this weekend at Tallulah and we reserved back in early April.

Cozy_Box

27d

Great question! For beginners, finding a spot that's accessible and well-equipped is key. Does anyone have any go-to spots that are beginner-friendly? Would love to gather some options for the community!

amishjim

26d

Rec.gov, plenty of great camping around Lanier. A lot of spots right on the lake.

jesuselcapitan

27d

Jacks River Fields!!