On Visiting Vogel State Park
After an incredible long weekend at Fort Mountain State Park in October, my family decided to make staying at every Georgia State Park a goal. We opted to try Vogel State Park…in February.
Vogel State Park is one of Georgia’s oldest and most heavily used State Parks. It’s set in a beautiful valley with a creek feeding a lake. It was one of the State Parks that received upgrades from the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
It also has more cabins than almost any of the other State Parks in Georgia, especially given its size. Most of the cabins have been renovated post-2012 as part of Georgia State Park’s big renovation program.
Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, we decided to give Vogel a try in February.
Most of the renovated cabins are all in a strip along a small road that runs parallel to the main creek. Since we went in February, we had the entire park to ourselves. There was not a single other overnight guest the entire time.
The creek is a nice setting for the cabins. Most of the cabins right on the creek are small one bedrooms, though even the ones that aren’t right on it have a view.
Our cabin was two bedrooms and right on the creek. We found out when we got there that it was fully ADA compliant, which is great, though worth noting whether you do or don’t need full accessibility. Everything from the showers to the sink to the creek to the firepit is ADA accessible at this particular cabin (e.g. pull-down shower and no cabinets under the sink). Either way, it was a lovely setting.
Vogel seems to have had some of the first cabin renovations among the state parks. The cabin we stayed in was nice and updated like the one the stayed at in Fort Mountain.
However, it was also a bit more lived in with more dust in the nooks than Fort Mountain. It was great for several days, but I do hope the staff start an annual or semi-annual deep clean to keep them in top shape. The cabin was plenty room-y enough for my family of four. The fireplace worked well. Bedding was great and the appliances were solid.
During February, there were several facilities closed down including all the water sports and the CCC Museum. But, not only were the trails, mini-golf (including a new, ADA accessible course) and playgrounds open – they were completely empty. We had the entire park to ourselves. We let our 6 month old crawl all over the mini-golf while our 5 year old took plenty of “mulligan” mini-golf shots.
The trails were quiet and well-marked. There were a few small loops suitable for short walks, including one around Lake Trahlyta. We didn’t do any extended hikes, but Vogel is has connection trails heading to Brasstown Bald and the Appalachian Trail if you want to walk to Maine.
I can see why Vogel is one of Georgia’s most popular summer camps.
That said, given its small size, I can see where it might get a bit crowded during peak season. I wish the water sports had been open, but I’m also glad that we went when we did.
