Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area — Hotel in Clayton

My family has visited the campground and beach area for 60 years, we come every year we are able and there's a reason for that!! Limited cell service and no wifi gives you the ability to disconnect and recharge your soul (Verizon & T-mobile have cell signal, AT&T does not as of June 2023). This is one of the greatest mountain gems and it remains almost the same as the years continue. The bathhouse/restroom has been closed for over 7 years, they are supposed to tear down and rebuild, but that timeline is uncertain. There is a port-a-potty available, so if you can't hang with those types of facilities, I suggest you use the bathroom before arriving. There is a boat launch conveniently accessible next to beach area parking lot. They have several picnic table areas with charcoal grills at each table, perfect for a family/friends lake day. You can bring your hammocks, as they have several great spots for hammocking in the picnic area. More crowded on weekend, if you're there by noon during the week, you are likely to experience a private beach/lake area for a while. During the week, most folks trickle in around 2pm or shortly after, as campers check-in/finish setting up and come experience the cold, refreshing lake. ‼️‼️Please read the signs!!! They have rules for a reason and it was despicable to have seen and picked up the garbage folks left behind this week on the beach (mid June 2023) and on top of the trash cans out front, simply because people were unaware of how to open the bear-proof receptacles. THERE ARE LATCHES UNDER THE HANDLE. PLEASE THROW AWAY YOUR GARBAGE INSIDE THE CAN, NOT ON TOP. That quite literally defeats the purpose of a bear-proof trash can. You have to pay for parking ($5/car) unless you are camping in the Rabun campground, and they do enforce that fee, so if parks and rec come by the parking area and you do not have your fee tag hanging/visible, they will write you a ticket. Just pay the $5 cash and save yourself the hassle. The fees go directly to upkeep and maintenance of these beautiful grounds, so you really should pay, seems fair if you're going to be using the grounds. Parks & Rec are not your maids and shouldn't have to pick up your McDonald's cups or chip baggies, so please pack in and pack out properly. Leave no trace. We are in the wildlife's environment and should try to keep them safe and respect their home, as we use it ONLY for recreation. And for the love of the universe, LEAVE THE DUCKS ALONE!! They won't bother you if you don't bother them. They're pretty harmless, so stop chasing them and tell your kids to stop...

I haven't been to this campground in years, always enjoyed it in the past. My son and I checked it out before paying and thought Loop 2 would be great because it was nice, peaceful and seemingly quiet. It was first come first serve, so we went earlier in the week before it became crowded. We set up and a little while later, a few people set up directly across from us - with all the other empty sites available. No biggie, it happens. At this time, there were only 2 other sites taken on Loop 2. The first night, was bad. There were 8 people to one campsite and they were very loud, drinking and carrying on until after 1 am in the morning. I asked the host if we could move sites and he was super nice about it and said we could. We rode around looking at sites, talked with one of the other campers in another site and they said they were packing up and leaving due to the "racket from the night before". We found a site and fell in love with it. Loved the sleep we were able to get this night. The next morning, we decided we wanted to reserve one of the sites that is a reservation site, for the coming Fall, as well as let the host know we were planning on extending our stay due to how nice this spot was. Again, he was super nice and said no problem and we could pay later (I had to go to ATM). A little later, the site beside us became occupied by 4 adults. Knew it would happen because it is a holiday weekend. By 8pm, the occupants were arguing loudly and every other word was a cuss word, mixed in with liquor. We thought about packing up then but knew it would be dark before long. The loud and cussing went on until 2am, when the arguing started back up and lasted for a while longer. But it was worse because they were much drunker and no holds barred on their words. Pretty embarrassing to hear 40 - 50 yr old adults acting like this, especially with younger people around. Then on the other side of us thru the trees, 3 campsites were playing their Mariachi music, hollering, kids running and dogs howling until way after 3am. At 4:30, it finally became quiet, minus the dog. The dog never stopped howling or barking. At 6:00am, I finally started packing up, earlier than planned. The neighbors woke up immediately after and one was passive aggressive with me. What was suppose to be a nice, relaxing, fun weekend with my son turned into an unfortunate disaster. I ended up cancelling our October reservations - taking a money loss, due to cancellation policy. After thinking about it, peace of mind over chancing another Jerry Springer show is worth the loss of the $18...

Almost nonexistent signage….. this camp ground is split up into 2 different sections that are a mile apart from each other, but you would never know because there are no signs! They need to cut back tree limbs that are over hanging some of the campsites and scratching rvs….. because of the no signage, I drove my class c rv all through the first loop, which is a long, narrow, road, only to find that loop 2 was a mile away from where I was! The beach is NOT across the street, it, too , is down the road over a mile from loop 2, on a road where you really should be driving not walking on…..

I guess Verizon has spotty coverage, but if you have at and t, you will have to drive a 16 mile round trip if you need to call for anything….. the biking through the campground is great, and so is the hiking,,,,, but it is a little run down and needs some love in the camp...