# Doll Mountain, Woodring, Morganton Point, or along Allatoona?



## bruceg (Sep 17, 2009)

Okay, so I decided to head out and camp the first weekend of October. As folks stated, most everything in the mountains is full, however, looks like there are openings at Carters Lake, Lake Allatoona and the National Forest. We normally tent, but we picked up a very small, light popup last November. Got the canvas replaced and got tags. We're good to go.

My son had back surgery back in June, but finally got his back brace off and is cleared for activity (nothing crazy, but back to being a normal kid again).

I went to this site
http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundSearchResult.do?startIdx=0

And searched for campgrounds in Georgia with an opening from Friday, October 2nd through Sunday. Looks like there are good places! 

I then went here to check campground reviews:
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/search.php

I searched for Georgia, about a 50 mile radius from Marietta. Looks like Doll Mountain and Woodring would be great choices. I don't know anything about Morganton Point, except it is up near Lake Blue Ridge (that would be great!) - but might be a little too far for a first trip out with a 1966 camper and a kid that hasn't been camping in a long time due to health issues.

So - how are the camping spots on Carter's Lake? Are they better or about the same as the ones on Allatoona? 

Hmmm, checking here:
http://www.gastateparks.org/core/item/page.aspx?s=149693.0.0.5

There are a LOT of places open this weekend. After selecting five state park campgrounds nearby, looks like Fort Mountain, Fort Yargo and Red Top Mountain have space. I bet a bunch more do as well - so it's a toss up. 

(I might punk out and just go to Red Top. It is close. I won't have to worry about old bearings burning out, and if my son can't get comfortable on the 2" foam pads in the popup - we can go home)


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## earl (Sep 17, 2009)

Red Top for close to home
Morganton Point for nicest 
Doll for crowds
Woodring had a lot of trees down with pine beetles last year.
Morganton is my favorite and is about 1 1/2 hours from Woodstock . Carters is about 1 hour


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## bruceg (Sep 17, 2009)

Thanks. I think we'll try Red Top. My son hasn't been in the car for more than 40 minutes at a stretch yet, so Morganton would be out (unless we stopped and took a break!).

Doll for crowds? Does that mean it's crowded, or free from crowds?


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## bruceg (Sep 20, 2009)

Red Top is booked solid! I decided we'll check out Doll Mountain. It has some spots left, and is close enough. Morganton looks really nice, we will have to put that at the top of our list once we test out setting up camp and make sure my son is comfortable in the popup.


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## earl (Sep 21, 2009)

`Good luck. What I meant was it was crowded when I went. Try McKaskey or one of the COE campgrounds .I think they are still open. There is also Bartow County campground By the dam Office or the camp at the bottom of the dam . Coopers Furnace I think. Just off of 41 south of Cartersville.


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## Bob Shaw (Sep 26, 2009)

What are you towing your pop-up with? The road out of Doll Mountain is the steepest I have ever pulled a trailer up. I used to really like Woodring Branch. Sorry to hear about the trees. If Fort Mountain has some sites available, it might be a good option. There are some good hiking trails up there. There is a fairly short trail around the lake that might be a good starter hike for your son.


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## bruceg (Sep 27, 2009)

It's a 400 pound camper ('66 Apache Eagle). Just a box, canvas and two bed ends. Nothing more. I'll tow it with an '03 Toyota Corolla with all of 1.8 liters and maybe 130 horsepower.

The Corolla did just fine bringing it home from Tennessee, up near Kentucky. Did okay on the highways and hills, but I kept the speed down to just over 60 and took my time getting up to highway speeds.

If it's real steep at Doll Mountain, that might not work so well for the Corolla! Unless I drop it into first or second and just take my time. 400 pounds, I can walk it around just fine by myself, but a transmission could get expensive.

Just checked. Fort Mountain has no space for popups next Saturday. I noticed that when you check out a campsite at the Georgia State Park website, it has a listing of openings for the weekend (I'm guessing it covers cancellations). I think I'll keep an eye on it through the week. We visited Fort Mountain when my son was in the scouts. We did a hike there, but did not camp. It was a very cool park.

I'll check for cancellations at Red Top (since it is close) and a couple other places. If I can't get in, I'll keep the Doll Mountain reservations - and at worst just go slow in first up the steep section.


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## Bob Shaw (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, if you were willing to go another direction, you could check-out the COE campgrounds on Lake West Point. I think a lot of people may have bailed-out of there due to the flooding. I know of at least one person who cancelled their reservation at R Shaefer Heard. When I left there last week, there was water up into some of the campsites, but I see the water never got over 139'.


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## bruceg (Sep 28, 2009)

Red Top had a 20' back in site open up. I reserved that spot and cancelled Doll Mountain. I'm sure it will be busy at Red Top, but it is close to home. This will be the first time out in the popup (other than a weekend in the driveway before sending the canvas in for repair), and first time out for my son since his surgery. So we're keeping it close to home.

If this works out okay for my son, for the popup and for the underpowered car, we'll try to get back to camping once a month like we used to.


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