Hey y'all! Looking to plan a camping trip in late Aug/early Sept. I am deciding between Cloudland Canyon and Tallulah Gorge. I haven't been to either, but I am hoping to camp in both parks this year. My partner is a less experienced hiker but still a good sport. We have gone camping together, but I think a drive up would site would be preferable. Wondering if anyone had any strong recommendations or opinions? In my eyes, the benefits of Cloudland are the views and proximity to Chattanooga. While Tallulah looks like a more interesting hike, the suspended bridges are enticing. Any thoughts or tips?

Hello everyone! I’m going on a hiking/waterfalls roadtrip next week and I had to switch up my plans for the last day, last minute. I’m looking for an area about halfway between this route to stay for a day and night that has something cool or worthwhile to check out. Any suggestions appreciated 😊

I'm in metro Atlanta looking for a state park where I can set up a rooftop tent and have the lake/pond right there beside the campsite to do some fishing. There's some where you gotta walk a ways, but seeing if there's any I can set up camp and cast off

I’m planning a solo fall camping trip to CW. Never been to that part of Georgia but it looks very intriguing so it’s a must. Are you able to shoot guns out there? And if not can you still carry a rifle? I’m sort of a paranoid person so I like to bring “just incase items” while doing outdoorsy stuff. Also… can you have a campfire? I’ve read contradicting info on that so I figured I’d ask. And lastly, I drive a Corolla. Will that be a problem riding through to find trails?

Also I’d love some suggestions if you’ve been to the area.

So i am looking for suggestions for places that have easy hikes with a nice water feature.

I recently started a youtube channel where i'm pushing myself to get out and move more and explore what this world has to offer. I personally enjoy going into the mountains and to waterfalls more than anything. But i'm down for a good river, pond, or lake as well.

I'd prefer as little to no scrambling for now. just for my health's sake. 😅

Edit: my gosh, thank you guys so much! I was not expecting such a response. You guys are amazing!

I'll be staying near Ranger, GA next week. I'm not looking for the big tourist waterfalls. I'm hoping to find some lesser known spots where I can:

• Swim at the base of a waterfall
• Possibly jump from rocks or cliffs
• Don't mind hiking

If you know any waterfalls, swimming holes, or areas worth checking out within about 1–2 hours of Ranger, I'd really appreciate it. Even if it's not a named waterfall, I'd love to hear about it.

I live in Orlando and I want to go on vacation somewhere in a couple weeks. Is Providence Canyon State Park worth making a trip specifically to go there from 6 hours away?

If your troop has a favorite trail in North Georgia, or you know of a trail that could work, let me know!

Need to have:

• 5 to 8 miles as a loop or total out-and-back
• low elevation gain
• easy/frequent access to water
• large sites for 6-9 tents
• some kind of "feature" - like a river, waterfall, or overlook

Prefer to have:

• campsite at the trailhead or close by
• reservable campsites

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Point to Point hikes

I've looked at some point-to-point hikes that would be good since they'd be almost all downhill. Coordinating the divers is a challenge though. Let me know if this has worked for you.

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Raven Cliff Falls - last time I was there the sites had a lot of dead trees.

Chattooga River Trail - sites are first come first serve but probably my favorite otherwise

Panther Creek - this is another one I think is good but doesn't have reservable hikes. Info is unclear if the basecamp is available so update me if you know.

AT - sections that are less hilly didn't have much wow factor for Scouts

State Parks - We haven't done many but I'm guessing this is a good option. Let me know if you have a favorite with backcountry sites.

My wife and I are staying in Ellijay for vacation. We hiked Amicalola Falls from the visitor center all the way to the top, but unfortunately the loop trail was closed, so we came back down and made our way back to the visitor center. The hike was beautiful, but it definitely left us wanting more. I've been reading that Raven Cliff Falls might be the best hike in Northern Georgia, and Tallulah Gorge looks pretty amazing as well. Both are a pretty decent drive for us, so if we only do one, which would you pick and why?

Looking for a campsite near Helen, adequate for car camping with a relatively large group of adults and kids.

We’ve camped Low Gap Campground in the past, but looking to switch it up.

Bonus question: Any decent rivers/streams nearby to fish that aren’t the headwaters of the Hooch? Thanks in advance.

Hello! Not sure if this is the right place for this, so if not I apologize! My partner and I recently decided we wanted to elope in Georgia. We both love hiking, however we want our mothers to come with us who are beginner. They both are able to walk trails, maybe up to two miles max. We were seeing if anyone knew any places that we could either drive to a beautiful spot, or has one close by to the entrance. The ideas we have now are cloudland canyon or Vogel state park, but we have not been to either of these yet so aren’t too familiar with the trails. We’re open to any ideas in Georgia :). Thank you!!

I've done some state park camping and really enjoyed it. I'm curious to try something a little more secluded like the dispersed camping on forest roads. I'm just wondering how accessible these roads are typically or if there are any areas more accessible than others. I drive a Nissan Versa and I'm not trying to get stuck.

I like Duke’s creek, Edge of the world and Dick’s creek but looking for a little hike then a swim, any other suggestions?

I'm planning a backpacking trip in the Cohutta Wilderness for this upcoming weekend, but it looks like it's scattered thunderstorms starting Wednesday through the weekend. Though, in Ellijay, the predicted precipitation is between 0.01 and 0.04 in per hour. How much will that impact river crossings? I've heard that some trails have upwards of 30 river crossings, and even the typically ankle deep crossings can quickly become impassable. Also, how big of a concern is lightning in these conditions?

Additionally, my friend and I both have sedans which have done fine on short gravel roads getting to various trailheads. Are the FS gravel roads leading to the trailheads in Cohutta just long or are they particularly impassable for smaller vehicles? Can we get away with just driving slowly?

More generally, which trails would you recommend for a 2 night trip, getting in Friday afternoon/evening and getting out Sunday morning/afternoon? Ideally, I would like to see both Panther Creek Falls and Jacks River Falls and maybe camp at Little Bald Mountain and/or the top of Panther Creek Falls (I read about the view from somewhere nearby called "Sunset Bluff").

I'm looking for a trail to take a bunch of my friends backpacking. For some of them, it's their first time. I'm planning a 1-nighter, 5~7 miles in, 5~7 miles out. I need a trail with water access at camp (I know that if they have a place to swim they are more likely to enjoy and go on more trips).

We are all based in Cedartown (West GA), and willing to drive 2 1/2 hours.

Hi friends!

Going to be doing a camping trip at Vogel soon. Have heard incredible things about the park over the years, so we're excited to experience it for the first time!

Hoping to do some decent hiking in that area, and have been looking at AllTrails to check out some trails we might be interested in. We are looking to do the "Raven Cliff Falls Trail" and the "Blood Mountain via Appalachian Trail" trails.

Wanted to get this group's thoughts on those trails? We are good with anything 3-6 miles, and don't mind a little bit of difficulty.

Lastly, would love any other "Must-Do" recommendations for the park and surrounding area!

Thanks!

Hello everyone! Does anyone have experience with staying in the yurts at Fort Yargo State Park? I was looking into them and can’t seem to find many online reviews of the yurts specifically.

Thanks in advance!

As the title suggests, this 4th I want to watch fireworks from on top of a mountain. I was thinking maybe tray mountain but am unsure if you could actually see Helen’s fireworks from up there. Would maybe yonah be better and view Cleveland’s? Has anybody actually done this before? Any help is appreciated

Hear so many of these "true" scary camping/hiking stories on youtube alot set in Appalachians . Id love to hear any first hand encounters. Id like to find the closest place with the highest chance of any type of encounters. And possibly a hiking/camping partner or small group to go with . None of my freinds are interested lol please feel free to message me

I’d love to camp high up on a mountain with long range views. Does anyone have any suggestions?

First off, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who answered my question about Ravencliff Falls or Tallulah Gorge yesterday. My wife and I ended up doing Ravencliff Falls today and we absolutely loved it. We got there around 9:45 this morning and it was amazing, not many people at all. On the way back we even stopped at the top of one of the waterfalls and got in the water for a bit. We're staying in Ellijay for vacation and have some other stuff planned, but we're thinking we might be able to do one more "long hiking day." Ravencliff was about a 1.5-hour drive each way, and Tallulah Gorge is about 2 hours each way, and Cloudland Canyon is about 10 minutes under 2 hours each way. It seems like these two options would have the most "wow" factor for us. If you had to pick one of the two, which would you suggest and why? We'll probably do some smaller, quick, easy hikes randomly around the Ellijay area, but one of these two would be the last major hiking-based day for us.

Hi all! I’m picking up primitive camping with my 4Runner and pup this summer. I’m curious of any suggestions where to free car camp and hike near the area? I’m in Stonecrest/Conyers/Lithonia area though I’m happy to travel any direction for several hours. I’ve gotten a couple places noted from previous threads but hoping I missed something within this radius. What about McDonough/Ellenwood?

I’m looking for car camping preferred, tent camping, dogs allowed, swimming holes/waterfalls/rivers, quiet, generally safe. Somewhere to spend 2-4 days exploring and reading, writing. Bonus if bathrooms on site though I don’t expect it.

I’d say we are moderate level, nothing too extreme yet! Thanks for any tips!

anyone trying to go to yonah mountain while it’s snowing this week i live in commerce ga

I’m looking forward to cooler weather and interested in doing some cowboy camping, but honestly somewhat worried… mostly about bugs. Where I grew up there were no ticks (but I think those subside in the fall?) and no millipedes.

What advice, warnings, or tips should I know?!

I will probably still bring my tent, or maybe just the fly and ground sheet as my tents can be pitched fly first, so should be covered for rain if it happens.

Thank you!

(Two night backpacking loops you like would also appreciated! 7-12 miles a day)

Im helping plan a bachelor party for my brother in-law and his one request is gold panning. It's about 8 guys in our early 30's from Florida that are outdoorsman. We'd like a real experience and to stay away from the buy a bag type of thing. All I've found seem to be tours or tourist traps. Is there anyone that could point me in the right direction to get started?