What a fun little park! Located in Chatsworth, Ga, just right by Ellijay, this park offers so many fun things! We love to come here for a day of fun. This park has a really cool putt putt course, a lake to swim or fish or canoe/kayak, cabins, camping, hiking, playgrounds, and more. We stayed in the cabins here many years ago when I was a teen. The cabins were very rustic and cute back then, but they have since redone them. We have not stayed here since they have redone them. We drive up there quite often to hike the trails and swim. There is a really lovely walk up to the fire tower, where you can also loop around and see some amazing overlooks with views for miles. The hike is considered medium, not too strenuous but not super easy either. My kids did it with minimal complaining.
The kids and I came one evening to hike the trail. There was no one else on this trail at all. We got about 1/10th of a mile from the fire tower when I see a bear cub run across the trail. I stop my kids and look up a little ways and then a mama and another cub cross the trail. I was so amazed but not going to lie, my heart stopped for a second knowing I was alone with my two young kids on a trail with no one around, and there's a mama bear up ahead. We waited a minute for it to move on, and it acted like it couldn't care less that we were there. This mama bear didn't even give us a second look. We went ahead and went to the tower (not knowing it was locked and thinking we could climb in it if we had to) but the bears moved on towards the west overlook side. So we took the east side back, but what an awesome experience!
If you are looking for a fun place to camp or stay with kids, this is a great one! If you are looking for super quiet, this may not be the one unless you go in the off season. When we came as teens in the fall, it seemed like we were the only ones there.
