Cloudland Canyon GA June 16 2018

Cloudland Canyon State Park, GA

On the spur of the moment Sandy decided she wanted to go camping. She made a reservation at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia and off we went. Traffic through Chattanooga was terrible as usual. We decided we would look for a backroad home to avoid Chattanooga traffic on the way back.

We bought groceries at the bottom of the mountain and started the climb up the mountain to Cloudland Canyon. Lots of twisties and ear popping on the way as we gained altitude.

This campground is always fully booked way ahead, but we managed to get a reservation. They have an interesting system. Big signs at the entrance saying they were fully booked but they don’t reserve a site for you. It’s first come first served and after check in you just go find a site you like. It’s a huge park with two main campgrounds. Not the place to try to find a spot in the dark.

Sites are nice and level with half inch stone gravel.

Showers were great. Clean with lots of hot water and plenty of room in the shower stalls to both shower and then dry off and get dressed. Only two shower stalls but traffic was slow and both of them were empty.

Got the camp set up lounged about a bit and went to find something to eat. The Canyon Grill had high reviews, but were fully booked. Began to get the feeling “Fully Booked” was the norm around here. We gave it a shot anyway as there was nothing else for miles around, added our name to the waiting list and were seated in 20 minutes.

Country club type atmosphere. Plain Jane decor with lots of pictures and white linen on the tables. No paper napkins here baby.

Food was good, but expensive. Their claim to fame was the Slash and Burn Catfish. A 2+ pound catfish lightly dressed, deep fried and served whole over black beans for $30. No sides. Sides are $5 each.

Feeling full and satisfied we drove to Lafayette. Real country but limited views because of the thick forests of hardwoods

Found a fifth wheel on the side of the road where the driver clearly underestimated the height of a bridge or underpass. I’ll bet he got the fright of his life.

The first campground we looked at was full. Typical of most campgrounds it had a narrow one way loop. As we came round the loop to where it joined back on to the two way, a blue Toyota pickup truck tried to get passed us going the wrong way around the loop. Watching us and judging the amount of room he needed to get past us, he failed to notice a 6 foot deep hole that was the entrance to the culvert that went under the road. We watched as in slow motion he went into the ditch nose down, rear end up at a 45 degree angle with the rear wheels 3 foot up in the air. I guess he never saw the One Way sign.

We went for a drive through the park and the surrounding area. Very rural, lots of hardwood forests with spectacular scenery. Came back to camp into a beautiful sunset. A perfect end to the day.

Drove all the way back home to Conyers on back roads. Picked up I-75 just before getting on to I-285 around Atlanta to I-20 and home.