N. GA near Helen

[kev138]

I was always a fan if Vogel s.p. when I lived in Atlanta. They have walk in sites that are close to your car but a little more secluded. Nice facilities and nice trails for day hikes.

[STinGa]

I also recommend staying in the national forest camping areas. A little internet research will tell you which ones have trees for toilets vs. those that have real facilities, running water vs. carried in water, etc, etc.

STinGa

[Draggingcanoe]

Go to the top of Brasstown Bald. There is a trail that goes to Young Harris College known as the Wagon Train Trail. Good winter hike. No one to bother you if you hike in. There is actually a "cloud forest" up there. Birch trees. Good place to test gear on the trail due to temperature variances in a short period of time...we would hike up to the snow from the college in the winter. Call YHC if you want to start from there, the campus is not as 'accessible' as it used to be.

Here is good link with maps of the area. This shows a good hike to the Chattahoochee River headwaters.

http://www.georgiatrails.com/gt/jacks_knob_trail

[ChucksOrangeDream]

Three good options I think. The head of the river or the Chattahoochee Wildlife Management area. That's the one where you pass the flea market, turn left on Alt 75 and then immediate right. I never camp up there, but it's a popular spot.
You can go on Tray Mountain. If you continue straight out of Helen and go to the mountains, Tray Mountain is basically all on your right. You can go up Tray Mountain Rd, but I would drive Hwy 17 to the other side of the mountain and turn right on Indian Grave gap rd. It is a hard turn to the right when you come off of the Hiawassee side of the mountain. You will have to cross a river to go up this road.
I think the easiest place to car camp though is Raven Cliffs. Easy to get to. Easy spots to drive to. Most camp spots are on the river. There is a primitive bathroom building in the parking lot. For car camping, I would drive in the dirt road past the parking lot and you will find great spots. You can also hike the Raven Cliffs trail, which is pretty easy and very pretty.
Where ever you stay, watch for bears. I doubt they will bother you, but the may dig in your trash or food if not handled properly.
Hope you have fun!
See you in the trail!


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[SwinginIt]

That's right smack in my neck of the woods. All of the places mentioned are great places. There's also the ****'s Creek area, last time i was there a lot of the sites had a lot of trash, but that was a while ago. There is an excellent swimming hole there at the base of a nice waterfall with a nice jumping spot beside the falls. And another swimming hole at the top of the falls with a short rock slide that dumps into a pool. There's also a campground at Desoto Falls that's next to the creek. If you need directions or info about any of the sites mentioned let me know, I've camped at all of these places, except Unicoi.

[grannypat]

If you don't need shower facilities, Raven Cliff Falls is a perfect hammock camping spot. I have not been there in a couple months, but they usually have porta-potties set up. Near Helen and Cleveland. It is a favorite spot of several hangers here and we camp there a few times a year. When you get to the trailhead parking area, go to the right down beside the creek and it opens up into a camping area. Couple of firepits already made and is an easy short walk from parking lot. Just to note, there is occasional bear activity in the area, so be mindful.

I agree. Rumor has it that there might be a halloween hang.

[johnspenn]

I agree. Rumor has it that there might be a halloween hang.

My wife and I would be interested in that!

[grannypat]

My wife and I would be interested in that!

Keep your eyes open.

[abatis49]

Here is a link to info on to the Upper Chattahoochee. Looks like it closes on Oct 31 this year. You can also use this link to check out other Forest Service campgrounds. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/...10501&actid=33

[chrishom13]

Thanks for al the suggestions. We ended up going to the campsites just past the flea market (left at flea market then immediate right follow this until there 2nd bridge turn right, primitive sites before you get to the 3rd bridge). I've actually been camping at these sites for the past 35 years but I haven't been in about 7-8 years. We decided to camp at the primitive sites and let me tell you, it was heart breaking! These are the sites that I grew up camping at, these are the sites my wife and I started camping at when we were teenagers, we loved this area!
The reason for the heart break, trash and just total disregard for nature. I don't know how else to describe it other than disgusting. Now, I've been to dirty sites before but this was horrible. We packed out 4 trash bags (that's all we had) and didn't even come close to making a dent. We walked about a mile in both directions of our site and saw trash eveywhere. We found old tents, broken chairs, tons of beer cans, dirty diapers, broken glass under every step we took, spray painted trees, the list could go on and on. It was truly awful!
If anyone is planning to go to this area, please bring extra garbage bags and help clean up these once great sites. We plan on going back next month for more trash clean-up.