Red Top Mountain State Park

We have camped at this park many times over the years while we lived in Atlanta. Its very close to the city while offering great pine forest hiking, water activities and nice sites. Its a large park with separate areas for tent camping and RV camping. Although, you can have a tent in the RV area, just not the other way around. There is a group of large pull-through spots right at the entrance that work best for larger rigs. Don't overlook these sites, they still offer decent space between each site.

We love to hike when we camp and prefer campgrounds that offer some level of hiking right outside our door. This is where Red Top Mountain really excels. There are a huge amount of both hiking and biking trails to choose from while most are pretty easy hikes you can really rack up the miles. The campground itself is quite forested and always makes for a nice evening stroll after dinner. They also have Bluegrass at the old Homestead near the main lodge on Saturday nights through the summer. A few times each year they do an iron pour using the old smelting equipment which we have never seen but always hear great things about.

Despite how busy it sounds, it truly offers some nice solitude if you want to camp within 40 minutes of Atlanta. I recommend making reservations. When we lived in Atlanta you could not reserve specific sites, so that can sometimes be a downside.

PROS:
Beautiful forested lake setting and some sites with water views
TONS of hiking and biking trails
Great variety of sites from very private to shared for groups
Nice pull-through section
Water and electric at RV sites
Dump station as you exit the park

CONS:
Dump station can be tricky for the pull-through sites
Sites can be un-level
Wish it was $25 or under
Cell signal an be spotty but always usable

I have only stayed here in the late fall so although somewhat busy during the weekends, very quiet, peaceful during the week. I love the sites near the water which are not pull-thrus. The great attribute about Georgia SP system, is that you reserve a site but not a specific site. When you arrive, you find your site. This is a really great system if you haven't been to the particular park and can't get a sense of the sites on-line when reserving. I particularly loved site #28. The road around the campground is paved, but does get narrow in some areas.

They have some fun hiking (mountain biking) trails that can be accessed from the campground. Q-dog loves water and pinecones, so she loves this park.

There is also a sweet tent area (perhaps small popup), with some of the sites right on the water.

Pretty sweet park within striking distance of Atlanta. Wooded, pretty quiet (some highway noise), a good bit of hiking. Lots of pines, pretty easy in and out, Verizon was 4G and fast in the pull throughs, not sure about the rest of the park. Showers are hot and clean and as a bonus the inside is kept warm (we were there in December). It's not the shortest trip into Atlanta but it is reachable. Closer is Acworth / Kennesaw with some decent food and all the shopping you need. When we come here it's to visit friends in the metro area so we would love to be closer in but do appreciate the peace and quiet after dealing with the Atlanta traffic.

We came here for the twice annual iron pour event, only to find it was canceled because of rain in the forecast. We still had a great weekend, though. There's a row of 12 pull-through sites here that are most appropriate for bigger rigs, but there are also a few 40' back-in sites scattered throughout the other parts of the campground that could work. Only the back-in sites have lake views and/or access, but our pull through site was very spacious and surrounded by woods; we saw deer from our site several times. Some of the pull throughs are very hilly (we were in site 10 and I think we managed to get the single steepest one); one review I read described the sites as not level but "crowned"....i.e. we had to pull up a steepish hill (and back down to leave), but it was fairly easy to get level once the trailer was at the top of the hill. Bathhouses were nicely updated and very clean. There's a small playground and access to a couple of the park's hiking trails directly from the campground (we walked the Iron Hill Trail, which has lots of nice lake views). The park itself, despite the lack of an iron pour, had a ton of scheduled activities going on, plus lots of recreational opportunities like boating, mountain biking, and hiking. The park is less than an hour north of Atlanta, so it could make a good base for exploring the city, and there's also quite a bit to do in Cartersville (science museum, the Booth Western Art Museum, Etowah Indian Mounds, etc)

A couple of words of caution: there are two entrances to the park; the from the west has a narrow bridge with 14' clearance and a sharp turn in the middle of a steep hill. We took this road in and it was fine, but we left to the south, on Glade Rd, and it was a better route for RVs. Also, there are a couple of sharp turns in the campground....one when you turn to get to the row of pull throughs and another from that loop to the dump station and exit (and an awkwardly placed fence that we nearly got stuck on).

Stayed here October 5, 2020. Seems to be a popular place as it was quite full for a Monday night. We didnt realize how hilly the campground would be. Site 80 required backing uphill on a curve. Over time tires seemd to have dug out the asphalt on the driver's side while backing up. Avoiding the deep rut added to the challenge but once at the top, our trailer was relatively level.

We had perfect weather, cool night, 70s during the day. The tree canopy with dappled sunlight was especially nice.

The restrooms could use some attention but there were only a few so it probably is dependent on the number of people & the camper's attention to keeping things clean. We didnt use the showers

The roads seemed narrow with no shoulders. Extra mindfulness was needed when meeting another vehicle.

Red Top Mountain State Park is a great campground near (but not too near) Atlanta. This was my first stay at Red Top in about 25 years. There have been many improvements to the park in that time. My site was level and had plenty of room for my toy hauler, pickup, & motorcycle. The campground is quiet and the staff is extremely friendly.

We were here for a conference at Kennesaw State and enjoyed having the flexibility of the camper instead of a sterile hotel. We were glad to have snagged a FHU pull thru in the first loop. Road noise was present but not bad. Very glad to have the security of a gate code 24/7 to keep day use visitors out. Bath house was not air conditioned but well stocked and tidy. We did laundry twice and the equipment was in good condition. The star of the show was ALL THE DEER! We saw 8 the first evening alone! Each morning and evening we had deer walking along the path by our camper. As mentioned many of the sites are either up or down hill so take it slow. Hosts were friendly. One downside is that the campground is separated from the day use and hiking areas by a busy road with no bike path so we didn’t get to visit those areas. We will add this to our list for when we can get this far north again!

Started our '23-'24 wintering time at this park. Close proximity to Atlanta area attractions. We were in FHU site 88 and this wing of the CG never got crowded. Verizon service allowed us to stream and hold video calls. 50/30/20A power and water. There is a gate code for entering the CG that changes weekly. Our site was near the bathhouse facilities that were well maintained; each had a single shower in the men's and women's rooms as well as 2 handicap showers. Laundry facilities at the main bathhouse by the CG entry.

There's easy access from the campground to local trails, including the moderate intensity Homestead Trail.

We stayed in a pull through with a 40 ft class A, plenty of space, fairly easy to level. They do have some sites with a view of Altoona lake, but you need to check them out via satellite to make sure easy to get into. Going to stay over thanksgiving 2024 and the site will be a lake view, back in #33. We drove by to make sure we could get in and out easily. Gorgeous site and it will work. Great hiking, clean campground, Verizon was good. In the forest. Deer in the mornings!

Nice pine wooded campground, some sites over-looking the lake. Good hiking trails in the area. Check-in was quick and easy at the trading post where we were given the gate code. Campground roads are tight, would not recommend an RV over 32'. Sites are slightly unlevel with many entries on an incline or decline (and some curved). You have to get to the back of the sites to get level, but the utilities are at the front. We had to pull in to reach the utilities and get to the level spot. They are building 12 new pull through sites that should accommodate larger RVs.