Family Fun Camping Trip with Young Kids to Tallulah Gorge

Last weekend, we travelled a couple hours north of Atlanta to go camping at Tallulah Gorge. We try to have two annual camping trips; one in the late spring and one in the early fall. Drew has been wanting to visit the Gorge and with the leaves changing, it was the perfect time to visit. Since the campground at Tallulah Gorge State Park is pretty small, it fills up very quickly so I made sure to book a few months out!

We arrived to the campsite on Friday afternoon and got settled in. The boys were so excited to help set up camp and to sleep in their sleeping bags. Over the years, we have compromised (I am a more city girl when it comes to camping and my husband is an Eagle Scout) and now use an inflatable mattress and bring along a Kerig for hot coffee. It’s the little things that make a difference 🙂

Friday evening, we roasted marshmallows after having hotdogs for dinner. Drew’s parents joined us for this camping trip and it was so nice chatting by the campfire while the boys played in the tent. It is so fun how they can be entertained by the simplest things when we are camping–they probably colored more pictures than they ever have and enjoyed playing with flashlights for hours!

Saturday morning, we headed for the trails around the Gorge. Since we had Scout (our dog) with us, we knew we weren’t going to be able to do the whole trail–but managed to do the majority. We hiked the South and North Rim trails with the everyone and the dog. The boys did fantastic, with Walker only needing to be carried on the way back. It is so nice that the boys are physically able to go a couple miles now.

Following our hike, we went back to the campsite to get lunch and have the boys rest. While everyone was resting, Drew and I went back to walk the steps of the Gorge. While it seemed daunting, it was really doable. There are about 500 steps down and 500 steps back up and a suspension bridge too. It is definitely worth the trip (and stairs) to reach the bottom. Such a beautiful view and walking the suspension bridge was fun (and a little scary) too. It took us about an hour to do the entire hike to the Gorge.

Following our second hike, we headed back to the campsite to enjoy cocktail hour and play at the campsite playground with the boys. The campsite has a wonderful playground (one of the best I have seen). The boys made friends with a couple older boys who were camping too. It is so fun seeing the boys grow up and become more independent and Reid now wants to make friends everywhere we go 🙂

Following playground time, we grilled burgers and roasted more marshmallows before settling in for the night. On Sunday morning, the forecast was calling for rain so we quickly packed up and headed back home. While we would have loved to adventure around a little more, it was very nice being home early. It was fun filled camping trip and we are already planning our next camping adventure.

Tips for Hiking the Gorge:

• Dogs ARE allowed on the Rim trails, they are not allowed on the stairs down to the Gorge.

• Very nice restrooms at the Interpretive Center but there is a fee to walk around the museum

• A lot of lookout spots and places to stop and take a break

• It is about 3 miles doing both of the Rim trails, so very doable with kids (its also pretty flat)

• There are plenty of benches along the stairs to the Gorge if you need to take a break

• Bring a backpack for trash, as there are no trash cans around the Gorge