We decided to venture a little farther from home with the camper, or at least further than we had been with it before. Maybe a tad nervous but needed to do it for our confidence factor.
Fort Mountain State Park near Chatsworth, Georgia is approximately 350 miles from our home. Normally it’s about a six hour trip but pulling the camper we felt it would take longer. Left home about 8:30 AM, arrived at 3:30 PM, so not bad, about seven hours. Pulling the camper we average about eight miles per gallon, stopped three times for gas, didn’t really need too but each time it reached half tank we stopped to fill up. That’s another thing you need to consider when pulling a camper, not all gas stations have enough room to navigate with a camper in tow.
Camp site was rather tricky to back in but managed to do so with a couple of attempts. As soon as we arrived there was a bear warning, one had been spotted near the campground so it was a matter of caution. Exciting start! When bears are near you cannot leave any food, trash etc. outside of your camper otherwise you will likely have visitors overnight. 🙂
Fort Mountain campground is on top of the mountain so it’s very cool even in the summer. We were there in July and the temperature was in the 60’s and 70’s at night. Very convenient for supplies and shopping, down the mountain to city of Chatsworth on one side or the other side of the mountain to the city of Ellijay. Though it is hot in July in the cities, you know it’s much cooler when you get back up the mountain.
Fort Mountain State Park has an elevation of 2850 feet above sea level resting on top of the Cohutta Mountains. The drive from Chatsworth takes you up a pretty steep climb gaining about 1739 feet in just eight miles. Over 90 campsites with 70 having electric and water hookups. Mountain biking, horseback riding, and hiking are all available. Sadly I feel that the campgrounds have not been well maintained but still it’s a very quiet and cool place to camp. We’ll likely go back again someday.
Mystery of Fort Mountain is an ancient stone wall steeped in legend. The mystery is who built it, when was it built and for what purpose. Many theories abound. One theory is that it was built around 500 A.D. by Native Americans for religious purposes. Others say is was built by Welsh Explorers in the 14th century as a fort against Indians. Cherokee legend say it was built by the MOON EYES, a race of light skinned people who could see in the dark because of their large pale eyes. None of these theories have been supported by artifacts. The wall runs east and west for 855 feet with a height that varies from two to six feet. It is believed to have been much higher before exploration and plunder. It’s all still a mystery and likely to remain so.
We love to camp here especially in the summer will likely visit again in the near future. Will include some photo’s below.
While there we visited Brasstown Bald Mountain which is the highest point in the state of Georgia. It is located in the northeastern part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border south of the city of Hiawassee. The mountain is known to the native Cherokee people as Enotah. The visitor center sits atop Georgia’s highest mountain at 4,784 feet above sea level. Surrounded by the Chattahoochee – Oconee National Forest. The cloud-level observation deck offers stunning 360-degree views of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and valleys.
Some photos taken below. These were all taken from the visitor center at Brasstown Bald Mountain near the end of July!
We stayed at the Fort Mountain campground for about six days, loved it.
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Ray's Motoring Travels 