Georgia State Parks

We stayed at High Falls State Park 2 weeks ago on a Thursday.When we checked in,we were going to stay in the Lakeside Campground,but after looking it over,we found out we didn't fit in any of the available sites.Even though some were long enough,you had to back in at a right angle with a drainage ditch on each side making it mission impossible. So we went back to the office and they directed us to the Riverside Campground where there plenty of large sites.If we had reserved a specific site ahead of time,we could have been out of luck.

Quote "As the OP is from FL I'll clue you in to a bit of advice: people resent someone who comes from another state and starts complaining then telling them how to run things. First rule of camping is to go with the flow and relax."

You mean like showing up in Florida and complaining about how crowded it is,the cost of everything and telling us how it's done back home? Think about it!

The answer is quite obvious, it is done to favor the locals and non working population at the expense of those of us who work. Unless you can go camping anytime you like in the middle of the week or live near the park and drop off a camper and pay for days you are not really using you are just out of luck in getting a nice campsite. I find this approach very unfriendly to weekend campers and working families. Fortunately I live in a state with a great state park system that allows site specific reservations, provides important details about each site and a photo. In addition because the state park system is so popular there are plenty of other sites that offer additional information about specific sites. I dislike the GA system and I can rarely use their parks for these reasons.

Been a couple years from the last time we've been to one, but I made reservations for a specific type of site. When I got there and checked in, I was assigned a site and did not go pick my site. Was never even offered it. But our site that we were given was good for us.

Tennessee you reserve a site from a map and a bad photo of the site. I hate this as you can't really tell what your getting. I like the way GA does it. So I can choose when I get there.

Being recently retire I like it, but as recent memory serves me, this is definitely not designed with the working family in mind. Rush out of work, hurry home, throw the DW and kids in the van, and drive like a knight on a crusade (if everything was packed the night before) only to find your favorite spot taken by some geezer (which I am now)!
But from my point of view (now), to reserve a specific site, based on inter net info is frightening. To make a reservation and have the pick of the park when I get there...priceless!

Thee are many campgrounds other than Ga St Pks that do this. Sometimes it's an advantage. We have arrived sometimes to find that our preselected site is a bad one and wished we had the freedom to select when we arrived.

kohldad wrote:
I like it because while I still have a reservation, I get to choose from the available sites when I get there. Plus it evens the playing field some against the locals who would otherwise reserve the best site months in advance. That is a problem I have with site specific reservations.

Without detailed pictures or local knowledge, making a site specific reservation is a hazard because while the site may be nice, the tree arrangement may make it very hard to get a rig into the site.

The biggest negative thing I hear is when groups want to stay on adjacent sites. However, not having a large group adjacent to each other is a good thing IMO since it does tend to cut down on a large rowdy group on one site late at night.

GA has some fantastic campgrounds, so I sure wouldn't stay away because of the reservation system. If you want more choices, just arrive on a Tuesday after most folks have gone home but before the early arrivals for the next weekend.

Double ditto all. Go early and you'll have your pick in person. We prefer first come first serve. The people of Georgia seem to as well and see it as the most fair. Since it's their state and their taxes, I have no problem with their choices. I've camped in GA SPs for years. They have no lack of customers in their beautiful SPs.

If you work take a sick day and arrive early.

As the OP is from FL I'll clue you in to a bit of advice: people resent someone who comes from another state and starts complaining then telling them how to run things. First rule of camping is to go with the flow and relax. Camping is about shared family time and meeting interesting people in a natural setting, not about getting the best site which you can't do with complete satisfaction until you try it with your rig in person anyway.

No one's trying to cheat you in the GA SPs like you'll find in some privately run cgs. When you retire you'll appreciate what we're saying even if you don't get it now.

Ok - I see your point. Not sure I 100% agree with it (because we both work full time and will often arrive after 5pm on a Friday night)but I understand what you're saying.

Thanks!

The Georgia State Parks system has many benefits over specific site reservations.
1. You reserve one site form a group of sites that fit your size RV. Example, you reserve a site for a 30' RV and someone else reserves a site for a 20' RV. This keeps someone with a small RV occupying a big site.
2. You get to choose your site upon arrival. Unless you know your site preference from previous visits, you are left to just look at a map, or in rare cases, a thumbnail picture. I like choosing my site in person.
3. You can change sites without the approval of the office.