Tallulah Gorge State Park

This was the perfect stop for our young family of five on our trip from Atlanta up to Asheville. We wanted to take in the beauty of the landscape but not have to do a lot of hiking. This state park was on our immediate route. We asked the ranger what we could do with our young kids in a very short amount of time. He gave us a map and pointed to two nearby gorge overlooks. It was perfect! Just enough for us to take in the breathtaking waterfalls and depth of the gorge. I would love to come back someday and actually hike down into the gorge!

Wonderful day hike not for the faint of heart!

I enjoyed hiking here! The views of the falls are spectacular! Great place to camp and see other parts of the forest.

Our campsite was pretty level, paved, pull through, and we had plenty of room. The topography is terraced out nicely with retaining walls creating level sites and a really nice campfire area. Our site was laid out perfectly for our 37' DP with the water and power spaced out nicely and The awning goes right over the huge concrete picnic table. The fire ring is laid out nicely so that it is not under the awning as well. There is no sewer but there is water and we have a 50a site. There is a dump station on the way out with water for flushing. The campsite is quiet and family friendly. If you are tent camping the bath houses are nice and conveniently located. Be warned the gates are closed between 10p and 7:30a so you need to arrive between those hours to get in. We rolled in at 10:04 on a Friday night and the camp host was very helpful and friendly to direct us to our site. We were able to register in the morning. Check out is at 1:00.

We stayed at this park on our way to Virginia. We are hikers, so this park was perfect, several hiking and biking trails, with the outrageous and most do Gorge floor hike! The campground was easy to access, cleaned, quiet, and only a 12 mile ride to supermarket, pharmacies, restaurants, and gas stations. The campground hosts are very friendly, and always ready to help. Our site was paved, pretty level with electricity and water; the shower house and laundry is about 20 yards away. Our sight was very shady with lots of birds, and an access trail to the interpretive center just a few yards away. The only negative was the high power lines near by, and the gate closing at 10pm with no access code.

The campground is close to the highway and bridge that spans the gorge so some road noise can be heard during the day. Sites are gravel and appear mostly level with plenty of shade, concrete picnic tables, fire rings, water and electric hookups. There are several paved pull-through sites that accommodate larger RV's. The shower and restroom facilities are clean and well kept. The interpretive center, hiking trails, gorge trails and lake access are all an easy walk from the campground.

Overall, we enjoyed this campground despite the road noise and relatively close site spacing. The hike to the gorge floor is a must do. Be aware that you have to get a permit (easy to obtain from the interpretive center) and no pets are allowed on the gorge hike.

Pros: Great location, level site, good hiking, beautiful scenery, clean facilities

Cons: Sites are a little close together

We attempt to not only find the best campsites but the best campgrounds that allow us optimal proximity to the outdoors and to town. We are on a trip across the US trying to find our next place to call home so... both nature and town vibes are a must experience for us. Tallulah Gorge SP is the best of both worlds. The campground hosts during our stay were wonderful! Super helpful and kind. They will walk you through the site selection process. Note: if you make resi's online they will not assign you a spot until your arrival so if you don't have resi's (like us) and you arrive before others you can pick out the best spot for your needs. A must do is the hike to the bottom of Tallulah Gorge. Also recommend hiking out to inspiration point at sunset. The campsite itself is close to Yonah Mountain, Rabun Bald, Minnehaha Falls, Dry Falls etc. And I would highly recommend visiting downtown Clayton (closest little town to Tallulah) and Franklin (stop at Lazy Hiker BrewCo) if you make it to Dry Falls. The four stars is for lack of privacy between sites. For us, the cheap laundry, free book swap onsite and sweet hosts made up for the lack of privacy.

Ever since we hit the road in our RV, people have kept telling us that we need to go to Tallulah Gorge State Park. And were they right!

We were lucky to score four nights here, though the sites are will require some leveling. We were unlucky in that the weather wasn’t great. It rained quite a bit, and the park did not allow people to the floor of the gorge.

Some of the best scenery so far. Awesome hiking, there are some that are strenuous with almost too many stairs.

We wish we’d had more time and better weather while visiting Tallulah Gorge State Park. If you visit, make sure to book enough time to plan your activities around the weather and, if you’re lucky, hike the gorge floor.

The sites are non-specific you get to pick the site when you get there. Many sites are small & a lot not level but always go prepared to level. Our site was ok a little small but we looked out over the road that goes to the state park where you can hike the Gorge. We could have moved to#12 the next day wished we would have. There was a small site before us that campers tried backing into but it was tight with a power box across from the site. That's same site when a tent camper came in there and set up and they sat at the table they looked right into our camper. Lucky us they only stayed one night it was empty the rest of the time.
Restrooms were nice & kept clean, they have a washer & dryer at the one we went to. We tried to buy quarters from the office & they didn't have any so bring some if your going to wash clothes.
The camp host locks the gate at 10 Pm so if you have friends there make sure they leave in time it's a big deal to not leave in time. They guy wears a bright light on his forehead which blinds you when he walks up to talk to you.
Everyone seemed to have at least 2 dogs, so many Dachshund's. The ones across from us were yappers they barked at everything. We love pets but not ones that bark all the time.
We camped in late October hoping to see the leaves change which there was a little change of season which was nice.
In the Park where you can walk the rims of the Gorge or go down into the Gorge is beautiful yet too many stairs up & down for us. If you want to go to the Suspension bridge 1/2 way down or go to the bottom you have to register at the Visitors center & leave by a certain time it takes a while.
We walked the rims took the North rim trail with overlooks. On the other side of the Gorge is a little restraunt/bar/shopping that overlooks the Gorge from the other side of the Visitors center. We drove down this windy road & ended up way back at a Picnic area with a great view.

We drove back towards the campground to the main road then crossed the street & there was trail (shortline trail) its paved & they built the old railroad thru the rocks there cutting out a road like trail. It was beautiful. We started at one end & ended up where there was a small suspension bridge & a walk along the river. We walked back to our starting point
along the road there was hardly a car on it. Beautiful views the entire way.

There is a winery not to far from there called 12 Spies winery it was great. You could get a glass of wine & sit outback facing a beautiful sunset over the mountain. We bought several bottles there it was good wine. On Fridays you can bring your own Pizza and they cook them for you.
We drove up to Black Rock Mountain which was pretty. The campsites are small & most not level. I'm glad we didn't camp there it's a long way up to the campground on a uphill winding road. The eastern Continental divide is up near the state park entrance.
Went to a town where the Dillard House restaurants is & had a meal that will fill you up. Next to Dillards is RM Rose Distillery, pretty good Burbon/Whiskey single barrell bottled in 1992.

We were here Labor Day Weekend - it took me a long time to get the reservations, so plan ahead. I lucked out by joining the cancelation list. We got here after dark, but fortunately the campground is right off the main highway. Found our site no problem, a nice large gravel back-in site. Minimal leveling required. Easy electric and water hook-ups - no sewer, but there is a dump station.
The whole campground was completely booked and sites are very close together. That being said, with the amount of people, kids & dogs, it is a very quiet campground - we had very courteous neighbors. I will agree with the previous poster - site 12 looks to be the primo spot! Lots to do here - the gorge is beautiful and there are many trails to hike, and there is even a beach for those adventurous enough to go river/lake swimming. There are comfort stations in the campground, but I haven’t used one so I can’t speak to their cleanliness - if it’s like the rest of the place, I’m sure it’s clean. The campground hosts appear to clean out the vacated sites within 30 minutes! We will definitely be back!