Black Rock Mountain State Park — Attraction in Clayton

BRSP is an awesome campground with amazing views, affordable sites, clean bathrooms and cool temps. The sites are a bit close to each other but that’s to be expected with a camp ground on top of a mountain. However, and this was my own personal experience, we’ve been two years in a row and both times, I was definitely not thrilled with the volunteer camp hosts. Last year, there was a highly politically driven older man that had no social filters and had zero issues asking my wife, when he found out shes a teacher for public schools, what she thinks about men dressing as women and going into little girls bathrooms to look at them. This year, a different older man was vague on the park rules, didn’t introduce himself or attempt to be friendly at all, after rolling up on his stinky gasoline golf cart, before barking at me over collecting fallen dead firewood, which he said I couldnt do but then said I could do. He will personally allow weakly lit e-bikes to ride around at night and won’t stop children from bombing the hill on their bikes against the flow of potential traffic but yell at me and my wife from down in his camp, like we’re children, for slow cruising on our Onewheel pev’s, which were very brightly lit at the time he yelled at us. We were shocked because last year we rode every day there, all week and no one said anything. All OC kept saying was “read the yellow card” which we didn’t realize what he was talking about at the time and when I confronted him over him yelling at us from down in his camp, he threatened with “oh, I’m sorry. I’ll just call the ranger then..” to which he did and told them I was being combative. The next day, we had rangers knocking on our camper door all day long while we were away. One came when we were finally back, introduced himself, wasn’t threatening, and explained the rules way clearer, two of which says no collecting firewood at all and no electric vehicles of any kind, INCLUDING e-bikes, all while not making us feel like low life criminals. Again, just my experience and I’m not trying to dunk on BRSP because everyone else has been great and I know it’s hard to find reliable volunteers. But it upset me enough for me to come on here and...

Nestled in the far northeastern corner of Georgia, Black Rock Mountain State Park is truly a standout destination—its high elevations, sweeping vistas, dense forest cover, and excellent trail system make it a top pick for fall-colors, hiking and nature-escapes. The park charges a $5 per-vehicle entry fee. A full day here rewards you: there’s a visitor center with souvenirs and map/info, restrooms and parking are available, and many trails of different lengths and difficulties invite you to explore.

The signature trail, the 2.2-mile loop Tennessee Rock Trail, winds up to the park’s highest elevation point and along the Eastern Continental Divide, delivering outstanding views and a satisfying moderate workout. But the park offers more:

The short but steep Ada‑Hi Falls Trail (about 0.25–0.4 miles one-way) descends into a rhododendron-filled cove and ends at a modest waterfall. It’s an easy “quick hit” and great for families or anyone wanting something light.

For something more ambitious, the James E. Edmonds Backcountry Trail is about 7.2 miles loop, significantly more strenuous, crossing ridges, dips, streams, and providing a full‐on backcountry feel.

There are also easier connectors/trail loops, such as the 0.85-mile Black Rock Lake Trail (easy walk around a small lake) which makes for a relaxing alternative.

What I appreciated most: the mix of options makes it adaptable—whether you’re after a longer hike or just a casual walk with views. The fall colors here are excellent, the forest density gives you a strong sense of being “in the woods”, and the overlooks are just spectacular. Plus, its proximity (15-20 miles) to places like Tallulah Falls Beach/river adds flexibility for a full nature day. The visitor center and amenities make the experience smoother.

In short: if you’re looking for a standout fall outing in north Georgia, Black Rock Mountain State Park delivers in scenery, variety and...

This is a beautiful park! It is pet friendly so we were able to bring our dogs along to explore with us. First we drove uphill to the visitors center to get our parking pass and to check out the view there. It at a higher elevation in the park and had some nice views! After this we hiked Tennessee Rock Trail (2.2 miles) and then ventured down to Black Rock Lake for fishing and the scenic views!

Tennessee Rock Trail - The trail was pretty nice. We went opposite of most people and hiked clockwise (choosing to go left at the fork instead of right). In doing this we had an constant uphill trek towards the beginning and saw the amazing view shortly into the trail. The rest of the trail was mostly slowly downhill with a few small uphills. I liked getting the hard part of the trail done quickly rather than going the other way and spreading it out over the miles! The view from the top was really a beautiful view of the mountains and well worth the hike! The rest of the trail was pretty as well since it was through the forest.

Black Rock Lake - This area of the park was at a lower elevation and easily accessible. We parked in the first parking area we found and walked over towards the wooden pier structure only to find if we had followed the road there was more parking over there. We weren't here very long and didn't actually catch any fish but it was still a great place to visit! The views were pretty amazing. The hills/mountains came up behind the lake and were beautiful. There were so many green trees adding to the view as well. My photo doesn't really do it justice, it was a pretty and peaceful area. There was a path around the lake but we didn't walk on it since we had already done one...