Nightmare Grade: Amicalola vs. Black Rock Mountain in GA

Black Rock Mountain Rd is every bit as daunting as the Amicalola road. I was stuck behind a big motorhome going up to BRMSP one time. It was unnerving, let me tell you. I couldn't wait to find a place to part ways with that guy. I have been up and down those roads many times and you couldn't pay me enough to haul my trailer up either one of them.

mudfuel07 wrote:
I took a 32' TT up Black Rock, it was puckering to say the least. If there was a car coming around the curve, I had to stop and wait for them. I heard that they were letting the campground go, that's sad because my family used to stay at the cabins every year. I have wanted to try Tallelauh(sp?) Gorge, I've heard it's nice.

Haven't heard that about BRMSP cg being discontinued although logically it would not surprise me as the road would be very costly to renovate for today's larger RVs.

Tallulah Gorge State Park has a decent campground, a bit on the small side. They're only approximately 35 minutes south of BRMSP on US 441.
http://gastateparks.org/TallulahGorge/

I took a 32' TT up Black Rock, it was puckering to say the least. If there was a car coming around the curve, I had to stop and wait for them. I heard that they were letting the campground go, that's sad because my family used to stay at the cabins every year. I have wanted to try Tallelauh(sp?) Gorge, I've heard it's nice.

I concur with ekirkland. There is no problem getting in or out of Standing Indian. We used to love camping at Black Rock, but that was with a pop up. We have a 39 ft 5er now, and very few sites will accommodate it, as well as the twists and turns on the climb up. Shame, because we love the park! Amicalola Falls is one LONG haul straight up, but sites are too small for us.

We stayed 4 nights at Standing Indian last week and I did not notice any problems with the roads. There were many large motorhomes and 5ers there. Easy in, easy out.

Amicalola Falls is steeper, but doesn't have bad curves. The road up to Black Rock Mountain is flat out crooked but not near as steep. And most sites at Black Rock Mountain are popup sized. And no, I'm not taking the 5'th wheel up to either

There are length limits at Black Rock SP in Mountain City. In that area, you also might want to avoid Wild Cat 1 & 2 (west side of Lake Rabun & Seed Lake near Clayton) and Standing Indian (west of Franklin, NC). War Woman Dell is totally out of the question as a 4WD jeep has a hard time getting up there (yet is listed in my copy of Don Wright's Free & Cheap). For that area, you may be happiest staying at Tallulah Gorge SP. It has a nice beach, tennis courts and some very nice walking trails (the old rail line).

The overhanging rock and foliage at Black Rock limits how much you can ride close to the mountain too. As mentioned you're dealing with hairpin turns and once you're there in the cg the roads are narrow, the site lengths are short and many were overgrown when we visited last year. We did not camp there. Black Rock seems to have been forgotten by the state. All the other Ga State Parks seem to be maintained. A shame because the view is terrific.

Cloudland GaSP is better maintained with easier access and nice sites.

This brings back many memories. As a kid in college 50 years ago I got a wild idea and free climbed the face of Amicalola Falls with a buddy of mine. Man was I nuts! I hope I have become smarter with age!

Both parks are quite beautiful-- and getting to the mountain tops is rewarding. But getting up to either of them is more than I can chew on with anything but the very lightest weight and shortest of RV (trailer or motorized). While I would do them now only in my truck camper but never with my current 5th wheel, and I would never do them back when we had our class A and Class C. Not only is grade an issue but the switchbacks are 180 degree tight switchbacks (Not many switchbacks on Amicalola).

Going down is as bad if not worse than going up.

I think I'd add Brasstown Bald to my list of roads to avoid with an RV in GA also. Back in the early 1980s I tried that one in a Class C and smoked my transmission. Only made it half way up, and was running out of RPM's in 1st. Tranny got red hot and smokey. Managed to turn around and limp back to the base of the mountain. Learned my lesson on that one.

It has been a long time, but as I remember they will not allow motorhomes and/or campers over 25 feet to attempt the climb. We went up with a 22 ft travel trailer pulled by a Ram 3500 dually with Cummins diesel and it was not too bad, but I would not try much more. It might could be done, but I don't know how safely. Coming down is another fun experience.