Visiting Sweetwater Creek State Park’s Yurts
Sweetwater Creek State Park is one of the best state parks in Georgia. It’s “Atlanta’s State Park” and receives a lot of visitation every year. Based on all the records that I can find, it’s Georgia’s most visited state park.
They devote most of the park to hiking, historical, and water resources, but they do a have a small yurt and walk-in tent campground in the Northwest corner of the park.
Yurts at Georgia’s state parks have been on my “to try” list for a while, as was doing an overnight trip with two kids. Sweetwater is super-close my home, so I decided to give it a try (and then with success, follow up with Panola Mountain).
Sweetwater’s yurt and camping area is disconnected from the rest of the park, and gated. So even though it’s not walkable to the trails or main lake, it does feel secluded and safe.
The walk-in sites are located on the right as you drive in, perched stair step along a hill that buffers the entire area from Mt Vernon Dr. It also has its own playground that is only accessible to the campsites & yurts.
There is one shared bathroom directly opposite the first batch of yurts with easy parking. Inside, there’s a bunk bed, a futon, a table, chair, and space heater. There’s a large deck off the back with deck furniture overlooking the lake.
Each yurt has its own little space along the lake for fishing and exploring. You can bring a boat – and technically access the main reservoir through the pipe under the Mt Vernon road dam.
The back deck is wide and spacious with a view of the forest around the reservoir. The state park has done an excellent job making it feel like you are in rural North Georgia rather than 2 miles from the Interstate in Atlanta suburbia. At night, you can hear the faint hum of I-20, but otherwise it feels secluded (sort of like the campsites at Panola Mountain).
For the drive and accessibility, the yurts are a great value, and fun stay. Even though they regularly fill during the school holiday weekends, they are always available and empty during the week and non-peak weekends. Definitely recommend.