Shady Grove Campground — Hotel in Cumming

We went to the Shady Grove Campground and paid admission for 3 people. Myself, my wife and daughter. Then ~10 minutes later the manager(?) drove up to where we were and in a red faced, hysterical rage accused us of lying about to him about being with group 3 and told us to leave now. He wasn’t calm enough to talk to. He was shaking with angry rage ready to explode! He yelled that we leave right now! No refund!

We didn't lie about anything. We didn’t claim to be with group 3. I don’t know who group 3 is. At the toll booth, I asked for admission for 3 people and I paid what we were asked to pay and we were admitted like nothing was wrong, drove to the water then a few minutes later out of the blue this old guy drives up, jumps out of his truck and gets in my face like he wants to FIGHT. He said he was upset that other people took advantage of him the night before. Something about other people sneaking into the park late at night. But we didn't have anything to do with other people. We just moved into Georgia a month ago and don’t know anybody here. I was completely clueless to his accusations. We just went to the lake for a peaceful Sunday but instead we get accosted by a threatening psyco on a rage about others who ripped him off the night before.

Please understand I had no idea what this man was talking about. We weren’t sneaking in and we didn't have anything to do with other people who may have ripped him off but if he has a problem with other people please don't take it out on me or my wife in front of our 10 year old daughter. My family was scared by his meltdown. I don’t know his name, he didn’t show any credentials or have a uniform but he went completely over the top nuts. By the way, I want my admission money back. It was only $2 but that’s not the point. If he confused me with somebody else or if he thought I claimed to be with group 3, its not my fault. I never said anything about group 3, I asked for admission for 3 people. I paid what I was asked to pay for then I was immediately kicked out without a refund.

He should of refunded my money. Even if he thought I was doing something wrong and decided to kick us out, he should have politely asked us to leave and given us a refund. But he exploded in a red face rage. This was the first time I visited the Shady Grove Campground and I was not sneaking in. He wrongly accused/punished me and my family then refused to refund our admission fee.

What this man did was wrong and totally unprofessional. If you go to this park... THERE IS A PSYCO ON THE LOOSE. YOU HAVE...

We've been coming to Shady Grove regularly for years. It's always been a nice place to camp but recently things seem to be going downhill. The last several sites have had really muddy water coming thru our faucets, even with a filter. When brought to the attention to the gatekeeper, we were told that there's a part of the spigot that needed replacing and it would be turned in to maintenance for repair. But the same thing has happened at other sites as well. Could be a system problem.... Bring lots of water to for cooking/drinking. Another issue has been brought up by other reviewers... Many of the sites need serious repair/upgrades. Even though they've upgraded the whole park to 50a and resurfaced some roads, many of the sites (below #70 or so) are very narrow and have rotted crossties for edges. Site 61, for example, is so narrow and falls off so steep, we've had to build up quite a bit just to get our RV step supports to reach the ground(at full extension). This makes the bottom step at about mid-thigh high... not a pleasant experience just trying to go in and out. My wife has fallen twice on the steep gravel. Management said they'd "look in to it" . Can't let awning out for trees so close. I guess you just gotta be really selective in which sites you choose. There are many with expanded landings, level, great water views, etc. But quite a few that aren't up to par. Great beaches, boat ramp, playground. Deer everywhere! Very quiet through the week, weekends are always crowded.

EDIT: a few weeks after this review we returned to shady Grove and noticed that the park staff had done a lot of work on-site 61. They had built out extra landing space for the RV steps and leveled the site considerably. Much better now! These guys don't waste time. They really get stuff done and stay on top of maintenance once they are aware of any issues. We've had no other problems with water quality either. Needs to be 5 star! Kudos to management and...

Shady Grove is a "love it or hate it" experience. Personally I couldn't be more disgusted with how this place is run. First off, DO NOT BRING ALCOHOL. Forsyth County has "Park Rangers" who are basically code enforcement for the Parks and Recreation Department. If these overzealous cub scouts believe you are having too much fun, then they will flag your site and will literally sneak up in the woods and spy on you. I'm talking covert operations with binoculars and peeping in camper windows. If they believe they detect anything, they will want to look in your coolers. If they find something, it's going to be poured on the ground. Then it's A) a stern warning and constant spying the rest of your weekend, B) a $300 ticket and constant spying the rest of the weekend, or C) being asked to pack up and leave. If the rangers believe you're having too much fun but can't find alcohol, then it's a noise ordinance or you have one tire parked on the grass or your dog leash is not up to code. Also, be prepared for harassment from the camp hosts once the rangers leave. So if you like to go camping to sit around in silence and go bed at 8:30, then this is the perfect spot for you. If you like to unwind and have fun, stay far away from Shady Grove, as it will be a bad experience. For fun loving adults, this place sucks beyond comprehension. As a resident of Forsyth County Georgia, I'm embarrassed by how Shady Grove is managed, but I'm only one side of the coin. All I have to say is THANK YOU GOD for having soo many other options for camping in North Georgia. If Shady Grove was the only choice, my camper would be up...