The Best Georgia Campgrounds

Fort Mountain State Park Campground

• Fort Mountain State Park Campgrounds in Chatsworth, Ga., features 3,712 acres of wooded area close to a 17-acre lake. It also offers outdoor activities such as hiking trails, miniature golf, mountain biking, swimming, fishing and horseback riding. One of the major attractions of this campground that lures visitors' curiosity is a stone wall 855 feet in length. This wall is thought to have been built by ancient Native Americans hundreds of years ago.

  As of July 2010, fees to stay in this campground range from $10 to $25 daily. There are also RV camping sites available for $28, cottages for $145 and horse camp sites for $50. Campground amenities include electrical hookups, flush toilets, showers, a playground, and boat and horse rentals. Park hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

  Fort Mountain State Park Campgrounds

  181 Fort Mountain Park Road

  Chatsworth, GA 30705

  800-864-7275

  gastateparks.org

Desoto Falls Campground

• This premier campground, operated by the U.S. Forest Service, is open yearly from May until October. Desoto Falls offers a total of 24 individual camp sites, each complete with a picnic table, fire ring, lantern post and tent pad. The campground amenities include drinking fountains, fresh water, flush toilets and warm showers. As of November 2009, fees to stay at Desoto Falls are a mere $12 per day. Campground restrictions include the following: all pets must be leashed, there is a 14-day staying limit, fires must be burned only within the camp site's protected fire ring, any alcohol must remain at your camp site, and any vehicles brought in cannot exceed 22-feet in length.

  Recommended activities at Desoto Falls Campground include hiking the trails to the waterfalls area. You'll find three separate waterfalls to explore as well as a creek that runs from them. Another area to explore is Neels Gap which merges with the Appalachian Trail. Along this hike there is a 1930s outfitter store built in the stone wall by the Conservation Corps.

  Desoto Falls Campground

  1015 Tipton Drive

  Dahlonega, GA 30523

  706-864-6173

  campingchattahoochee.com

Willis Knob Campground

• The Willis Knob Campground is in Clayton, Ga. Owned by the U.S. Forest Service, this campground is not only a well preserved area, but also a unique one. This is one of the premier horse campgrounds in the United States and features a true horse camping experience. There are endless trails to ride or hike, as well as fishing opportunities from the Chattooga River nearby.

  If you're looking to get back to nature and away from the hustle and bustle of everyday distractions, visit Willis Knob Campgrounds and immerse yourself in a different period of history when there were no cars or trains, and most traveled either by horse or foot. Willis Knob provides a total of nine private campsites, tie racks for horses, restrooms, fresh drinking water, electric hookups, flush toilets, grills, picnic tables and tent pads.

  Willis Knob Horse Campground

  809 Highway 441 S.

  Clayton, GA 30525

  706-754-6221

  recreation.gov