Stone Mountain Park

Stone Mountain, GA

The first time we tried to camp at Stone Mountain was last August. We were thwarted at that time by severe weather, which closed down our part of the campground and caused minor damage to our camper.

Undaunted, we tried again, but perhaps we'd have done better to avoid amateur weekend. The campground itself was fairly decent, but it was PACKED. On weekends like this, it was easy to see how the sites are stacked on top of one another. There were several sites that were so unappealing, it seemed the only possible reason for them to exist would be to eke out that extra $30 or so a night on holiday weekends.

We took advantage of the pool but not many of the other amenities... we were occupied with activities elsewhere in the park. Which is something else I noted: the campground is really not convenient to the rest of the park. There is a water taxi service however, which we did not take advantage of, but will have to check out on future visits.

Overall we do not rate this very highly, but we do attribute most of the unpleasantness to the holiday weekend and the accompanying hordes. We will definitely visit them again for a second... or would that be third? chance.

Scoring:
Site: 3 (#55 - very narrow, could not set up our awning. picnic table/fire pit were on a lower level, had to climb down over rocks to reach it. Right on the lake, however)
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 1.5 (apparently the men's rooms were NASTY, but this could have been due in large part to it being amateur weekend. Private, hot showers, and plenty of stalls)
Overall: 9.5

Great Smokies/Cherokee KOA

Cherokee, NC

*updated*
In addition to the mini-golf, they now have a "jumping pillow", sort of an inflatable moonwalk type of thing, but not covered. Absolutely designed to make your kids bug you and bug you until you spend the $2 for 15 minutes or break down and get the $8/day wristband to let them do all the jumping and mini-golf they want for the day. Doesn't sound too bad... unless you've got two kids... and are staying for four days... thank goodness the pool is still free.
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This is a nice KOA, keeping in mind that it is a KOA, and therefore is better at some things than others. Lots of activities and stuff to do in the campground itself, all designed to separate you from your money in small, relatively pain-free chunks. Not really a place to commune with nature or enjoy quiet time with the family.

Since our last visit in 2005, a new mini-golf course (9 holes) has been built. The groundskeeping was not as spic-n-span as I remembered, especially near the dog walking area. There seem to be more "permanent" residents than I remember too. I heard a rumor that ownership changed sometime in the past year, but I cannot confirm or deny this.

Scoring:
Site: 4 (#98, soggy when wet)
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 2.5 (clean and private showers, water pressure inconsistent, bathrooms aging and in need of repair)
Overall: 11.5

Black Rock Mountain State Park

Black Rock Mountain State Park is mostly undeveloped, and it is the natural beauty of the area that is the main draw. The campground is very popular and was full both nights that we stayed; I'd really recommend reservations. Like most state parks in Georgia, the sites were pretty much packed on top of one another. While there were some larger (longer) sites, it was asked that these be reserved for larger RVs/travel trailers. We managed to fit our camper and a tent at our site, which was one of the smaller ones, with no problem - it did not feel crowded.

The gravel pad was level, the table and fire ring were in good shape too. The bathrooms appeared to be fairly new and were roomy, although the water pressure from the commodes caused a pretty-much constant wetness on the floor. And, being peak season, the bathhouses were well-used. We couldn't get as hot a shower on Sunday as we did on Saturday.

One small annoyance was the camp store hours... they were very conveniently open until 10 at night, but did not open again until 2pm. Which made it difficult to reload our coolers with ice before leaving for our adventures in the morning. The nearest place to get ice outside the park was all the way down the mountain, at least a 15-minute drive or more.

The playground was near the visitor center/day use area, which was unfortunately on the other side of the park. But a couple of nice overlooks and trails were adjacent to/in walking distance from the campground.

Scoring:
Site: 3.5 (although it was small, it was far from being the smallest, and convenient to bathhouse)
Amenities: 3 (camp store and visitor center, playground)
Bathrooms: 4 (fairly new but heavily used)

Overall: 10.5

Bear Den Campground

The great advantage to this campground is its location: right on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Spruce Pine, NC. It's hard to go wrong when the Blue Ridge mountains are your backdrop! (The photo at right was taken from the parkway not far from the campground. The campground is not visible from the parkway.) This was a great little get-away, the staff were all very welcoming and friendly, and they offered just enough of everything in our opinion. But if you are looking for a resort with top-of-the-line amenities, well, it's no KOA!

We thought the sites were a bit rustic, offering water and electricity but our site at least was not terribly level. They were pretty close together, but also fairly secluded by trees and the rolling hills on which the campground is perched. Each site had a nice deep firepit and a picnic table, though the tables were somewhat "aged."

The campground offers a very small lake, with proportionally small beach, with boat rentals and fishing. There is a game room and a rec center, which offers seasonal entertainment. The camp store is stocked with basic necessities and of course ice and firewood are available. The kids enjoyed the large centrally located playground. Bathrooms were clean but a bit far from where we were.

Some friends stayed in one of their camping cabins, which were clean and seemed to be fairly new, but absolutely bare-bones, consisting of a double bed and two bunks which appeared to be more narrow than a standard twin. Electric lights, mattresses, and an outside picnic table and fire pit were the only provisions.

Scoring:
Site: 2 (#D16, about as far as you can get from the bathrooms, and not level; but other sites may have been better)
Amenities: 4 (playground, game room, rec center, beach, lake, more amenities than your standard campground but not of "resort-quality" standard.)
Bathrooms: 4 (clean, showers offered changing area)

Overall: 10

Fort Mountain State Park

Fort Mountain is a great state park with a lot of things to do. In addition to the "mystery" of the park, there are lots of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, a small lake with a little bit of beach, fishing, boating, playgrounds, all kinds of fun stuff to do. It's quite a steep, winding mountain road to reach the park, however.

The weekend we were here the campground was pretty well packed, and we ended up with the camp site nearest the entrance, naturally not our first choice. At least it was a pull-through. All the sites were nice and shady, though a bit close together. There were a lot of families around, so there were plenty of kids to make friends with. The campground is also within walking distance of the lake, playground, picnic areas, mini-golf and concessions.

The sites were all in good repair, lacking only sewer connections. The dump station was pretty far away I guess if you are in a bigger trailer, but there was a sink drain close to the bathrooms where we were able to dispose of our small amount of gray water. Though the bathrooms were spacious, one of the two shower stalls was in a state of disrepair which I sadly did not know about until it was too late. Also, being such a busy weekend, it was hard to keep them really sparkling. The camp store is not especially well-stocked but it carries the basics and emergency supplies, which is nice since you have to drive to the foot of the mountain to reach any sort of civilization.

Scoring:

Site: I'd give ours a 3, but much nicer ones are to be had if you get in early enough.
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 3, due to broken shower

Overall: 11

Plum Nelly RV Campground

Ellijay, GA

We have driven past Plum Nelly many times on our way up into the mountains, and honestly would never have stayed there, except for the weekend we planned to camp before other local campgrounds were open for the season. For RV camping, it was pretty much a fair price for not too bad of a site. For tent camping, well, that's another story. Biggest drawback was the bathroom. Yes, that was bathroom, singular. Need I elaborate?

Scoring:
Site: 4
Amenities: 1 (hot tub and trout pond advertised)
Bathrooms: 1 (one toilet/sink/shower combo. needed a good scrub. It was operational, at least.)
Overall: 6

Thousand Trails/Forest Lake

Advance, NC

We visited this campground on a "time-share" sort of deal: they gave us a free weekend in exchange for listening to their sales pitch. They bill themselves as a private resort, and there are many amenities: pools, mini-golf, lake with canoes and paddleboats, tennis and basketball courts, shuffleboard, cafe and game room, and planned activities during the season. We did not buy, for a number of reasons, including the fact that there are very few facility choices in our region, we don't appreciate their "scare tactics" in the sales pitch, and really for the amount of money they ask in "dues" I would think they could keep some of their facilities in better repair. All the outdoor courts/equipment were in serious need of upkeep/maintenance, as was the mini-golf course. But, most activities were free for guests/members.

Scoring:
Site: 3 (small with aging equipment)
Amenities: 4 (many options but not in good repair)
Bathrooms: 3 (roomy but aging, no fan or a/c, stuffy)
Overall: 10