Recommendation: North GA Camping Site

[guajirof24]

Looking for some help here. I am taking a bunch of kids (friends and family) camping later this week and looking for a suitable spot to say the night, here are a couple of things I'm hoping to find:

A spot in the N. GA mountains, near Blairsville, Helen, or any of the state parks in the area.

A spot with a view preferable, but scenic nonetheless.

A spot not too far far from a parking area, with kids it can be difficult to hike further than 1.5 miles in but anything within that range should be fine.

Let me know what you think and I sincerely appreciate the help.

Respectfully,
gh
buford, ga

[Skidsteer]

Rocky Mountain, about a mile North of Unicoi Gap, has a nice view and a good campsite. Carry your water with you.

[Bulldawg]

Looking for some help here. I am taking a bunch of kids (friends and family) camping later this week and looking for a suitable spot to say the night, here are a couple of things I'm hoping to find:

A spot in the N. GA mountains, near Blairsville, Helen, or any of the state parks in the area.

A spot with a view preferable, but scenic nonetheless.

A spot not too far far from a parking area, with kids it can be difficult to hike further than 1.5 miles in but anything within that range should be fine.

Let me know what you think and I sincerely appreciate the help.

Respectfully,
gh
buford, ga

Rocky Mountain, about a mile North of Unicoi Gap, has a nice view and a good campsite. Carry your water with you.

Excellent suggestion Brother Skids. Quite possibly some of the best views from the actual campsite. Another one that comes to mind is an overlook about .1 of a mile south of Tray Gap. That may be a little close to the road for some folks comfort though. Skids suggestion is the best I can think of if everyone in your party can make the 1.5 mile hike to the top.

[KG4FAM]

Tray Mountain is nice as well. Lots of grassy area to camp on and water is at the site. Shelter and pooper there too. Not too far from the summit where there is good views.

Whitley Gap is another good one, but am not sure if it is withing the range although it should be close. There is good camping on the side trail out too it, but at the shelter there is a spring and plenty of room to camp. Its not a open view with no trees, but still nice.

Like the other said Rocky Mountain is pretty good especially if you come southbound from Indian Grave Gap.

[guajirof24]

Thank you very much, that sounds like a go. Do you happen to have coordinates to the spot? gh

[Bulldawg]

Thank you very much, that sounds like a go. Do you happen to have coordinates to the spot? gh

Give me a minute.

[Bulldawg]

Thank you very much, that sounds like a go. Do you happen to have coordinates to the spot? gh

Give me a minute.

34°47'33.78"N

83°42'51.30"W

This is coordinates to parking at Indian Grave Gap. Certainly the easier approach. Just be sure you take the white blazed trail from there and not the trail down into Andrews Cove. Be sure to bring water!!!

[jesse]

Is this a backpacking trip, or car camping? Is everybody experienced. It is going to get cold as hell in the mountians this weekend.

[Bulldawg]

Is this a backpacking trip, or car camping? Is everybody experienced. It is going to get cold as hell in the mountians this weekend.

That is true Jesse, I hadn't though about that. Looks like the low here is going to 27*F Saturday morning and 24*F Sunday morning. Take maybe 5 to 10 degrees off of that for Rocky Mountain 20 some odd miles northwest and some 2500 feet higher from here.

[Skidsteer]

Thank you very much, that sounds like a go. Do you happen to have coordinates to the spot? gh

34°47'33.78"N

83°42'51.30"W

This is coordinates to parking at Indian Grave Gap. Certainly the easier approach. Just be sure you take the white blazed trail from there and not the trail down into Andrews Cove. Be sure to bring water!!!

guajirof24, if you park at Indian Grave gap you'll be hiking South to Rocky Mountain. Just to clarify.

[Bulldawg]

guajirof24, if you park at Indian Grave gap you'll be hiking South to Rocky Mountain. Just to clarify.

Yeah, don't cross the road up the steps. I think there are steps there, aren't they?

[guajirof24]

Thanks for the directions and coordinates. That spot looks fantastic and fits all the above criteria.
This trip is a camping trip with a short hike to the location more for the experience itself (I'm not quite sure if that makes sense). We are keeping an eye on the weather and at this point it is going to be in the low 30's with 5-15 winds Thursday night. My brother and I are experienced hikers and our wives are going to go as well, his three children (15,12,9) and my son (5). We would be arriving thurs app. noon and leaving Friday morning back to Flowery Branch. We are pretty well equipped with bags, tents, etc..., but if it looks as if the winds are going to pick up or if the temp is going to drop lower we can simply abort the mission. Having the vehicles within a 15-20 minute hike of the site does help for contingencies.
Thoughts?

[Bulldawg]

Well Flowery Branch might be in the 30s, but here in Mount Airy (about 35 miles north of you) the forecast for Thursday night is 24*F with snow flurries. Add another 25 miles northwest and 2500 feet in elevation to that and I would guess at a low in the high teens to low 20s with snow. Just be careful, especially with kiddies on board!

[Bulldawg]

Here ya go................


http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...0&unit=0&lg=en

[Dances with Mice]

With a family cluster including beginner campers I'd consider:

1 - Gooch Mtn Shelter
2 - Whitley Gap Shelter
3 - Raven Cliff Falls Trail

[Cool AT Breeze]

There is good car camping on the dirt road just south of Unicoi off 75.

[Bulldawg]

There is good car camping on the dirt road just south of Unicoi off 75.

Yeah upper Chattahoochee campground is nice, but that developed camp might be closed for the season. There is other "non developed" camping on that road though.

[TomWc]

I'm partial to desoto falls for car camping. The campground there is really nice for a campground and it has a nice bathroom that's open year round. That may be a consideration for new campers. It's going to be empty and the hikes to both falls are scenic and short, but not too short.

[BitBucket]

Note the wind advisory/red flag/fire weather warning for north GA late this week..exercise extreme care with any campfires due to the high winds expected (which will also drive the wind chill factor down significantly)

http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigw...=Wind+Advisory

[Tagless]

Cloudland Canyon State Park in northwest Georgia is absolutely incredible. It offers several hiking trails, cabins, tent, RV, car camping, a frisby golf course, and much much more. See more here