Unicoi State Park Campground — Hotel in Cornelia

My wife and I stayed here for two (2) nights (August 16 & 17, 2024) in our 18' travel trailer while visiting the nearby Bavarian-themed town of Helen, Georgia just a few miles away . We booked our campsite online about a month before we traveled here since it was peak summer season. The campground is quite beautiful and rugged, with lots of hardwood trees and shade. The drive into the park and down to the camp store (where you check in) is very scenic and curvy. Our Campsite #3, was quite spacious and roomy, but, although heavily shaded, did not have any privacy block between us and the adjacent campsite, which fortunately remained unoccupied for the two nights we stayed there. The restroom and shower facility was good, but not superb. The water was hot and the pressure was good, but the shower stalls were not very big and the bench space and hangars inside the stalls were insufficient to enable you to easily keep your towel and change of clothes dry while you showered. There was also a very large (3 Greyhound Busload sized) youth group (probably 100 of them) camping there during our stay, and they checked out the same morning we did, making the line to the shower very long. Most were pretty well behaved teens, but there were a few rowdy and disrespectful ones in the bunch who could have used a little Come-to-Jesus / one-on-one counseling sessions. We just skipped our morning showers on that morning and got on the road to our next destination, so it was not a big deal or inconvenience for us. Outside of the campground itself, the greater Unicoi State Park property was also very nice (beautiful) and has lots of great hiking trails, as well as a Zip Line vendor that we participated with. The large and spacious Unicoi Lodge at the park is also modern and well maintained, with a nice bar and restaurant inside of it. I would DEFINITELY camp here again if we are ever in the vicinity of Helen, Georgia on a future trip. The hilly and green countryside in and all around this state park is also...

4 stars because my overall experience was good, but as an experienced camper, there are some things I want to share. There are three RV/tent camping areas: Little Brooke, Big Brooke, and Laurel Ridge. There are walk-in tent sites, but I did not experience those areas. I camped in Laurel Ridge in a 29 ft pop-up. The campsites are smaller than expected because of the layout of the site, there is a wheel stop towards the back because of the porch/fire ring area. The sites have a particular lean and most RV campers can be seen with waffle blocks under the tires of their RV to level out. There are only two comfort stations, one in Little Brooke and one in Big Brooke. Laundry is next to the camping check-in/trading post. Laurel Ridge has to walk down a many-step steep, downhill trail to share the Big Brooke comfort station and you will either walk through someone's campsite to get to that lighted trail, or have people walking through your campsite to the trail. Because there are only two comfort stations, they are always busy and messy. Little Brooke has the only RV dump station with two dump spots, but it blocks the only way out for that loop, so leave that area before all of the RV's get in line to dump. Big Brooke has the only full hookup sites. I had 15 amp, 30 amp, and 50 amp power and water in my site in Laurel Ridge. The Lodge across the main road has a restaurant/tavern thing, which was not too bad, just not enough staff to run it. All of the staff I dealt with were friendly and helpful. The Lodge has staff 24 hrs and they do not have the typical gate that closes at 10pm like most GA State Park campgrounds. Unicoi is 5mins...

While we enjoyed our visit overall, this campground really needs some attention/renovation.

Individual campsites were adequate; but recent rain had left some a bit muddy/barren. They could probably all use a layer of new gravel.

Restrooms and showers severely need cleaning. It has heretofore been my experience that Georgia State Parks are well-maintained and even have nice comfort stations. But these had mold on shower curtains and in the bathroom stalls; and there was a small slit above the adjustment handle in one of the showers which provided a clear view into the auxiliary room (and certainly in the opposite direction, as well).

Gravel pathways through the woods, such as the one which led from our campsite downhill to a comfort station, needed attention as well. Some of the pathway lighting was out; and the surrounding greenery was creeping into the path.

Generally, all wooden bridges and stairways needed significant renovation. It was clear that some boards had been replaced, but others also required attention.

All that said, the campground staff were nice to deal with. And we had a nice time renting a paddle boat to trek...