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    Red Top Mountain State Park

    4.5 (93 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

    Red Top Mountain State Park Photos

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    Rand E.

    A wonderful state park with mini hiking trails boat, launches campsites, and much much more. Settled on a beautiful lake with plenty of things to do and around the state park. Located just off I 75. I'm very close to shopping options and restaurants. A great travel site to do day activities or to stay a few days. Highly recommend it for travelers or for a family experience. $5 daily parking pass gives you full access to all the sites and parks in property. Such a great State park in Georgia.

    Natasha D.

    I've been here twice now. The first time was a more challenging trail (about 6 miles) but the second time I did the iron hill trail and it was perfect. The trail itself was well maintained and it was a pleasure walking our two big dogs. It wasn't very busy the day we went and there are a few areas where it is safe to let dogs swim. Not much elevation gain and with beautiful views of the lake. Not sure if this is always the case but we had to pay in cash for parking/entrance fee at the smaller lot near the iron hill trailhead.

    Gretel Y.

    My group of four adults, one toddler and four fur babies went to Red Top Mountain State Park specifically to hike the Iron Hill Trail. I didn't get to explore much of the state park, just saw what we passed on the way to the trail parking lot. The park sits on 12,000 acres on Lake Allatoona and is open for swimming, fishing, water sports, etc. It's free to enter the park, but we had to pay $5 to park at the Iron Hill Trail. Gravel parking is plentiful. Iron Hill is an easy four-mile, gravel-topped trail. It's bike and dog-friendly. It offers beautiful views of the lake. The only negative about the park is the porta potty. There isn't a public bathroom so your only option is the porta potty, and it was absolutely disgusting. It looked like it had been neglected for weeks, months, who knows. Otherwise, the trail is great and I highly recommend! Just use the restroom somewhere else before starting the hike.

    Donna S.

    So sorry they're booked! Had heard this was a great SP... but it's AMAZING! Quite a bit is unavailable at the moment due to construction, but once they're done, this will be the BEST State Park I've ever seen! Camping, fishing, playgrounds, ACRES of GORGEOUS woods & trails. The new cottages are NOT what you'd expect from a SP. These are proper 2 & 3 BR cabins!

    The lake
    Kristen B.

    Cute park about an hour outside of Atlanta. We parked at the iron hill trail parking lot and walked straight onto the trail which looped around and brought us back to the lot. The trail goes around a lake where there were plenty of people on boats and swimming. It is easy to follow and clearly marked so you won't get lost. I had good cell service as well (even if the point of going outside is to get off your phone lol if you needed to contact anyone while you were on your hike you could). I definitely recommend this park for a day trip or weekend trip outside of Atlanta!

    Our map
    Ada S.

    Went on the Homestead trail at red top which was about 5 miles! Super fun, we parked at the visitor center and found our trail there. They have bathrooms inside along with souvenirs. Many trail options that are dog friendly, I'd look online to check out the trails too.

    Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition
    Lisa H.

    Red Top Mountain State Park's not too far outside of the perimeter and only a few minutes off of I-75. It's $5 per car to enter, and you can either pay at the parking stations to get your hangtag or through your phone which I haven't tried. Contrary to the name, you're not hanging out on top of a mountain but rather right next to a lovely lake that spans 12,000 acres. From the official website: "Named for the soil's rich red color caused by high iron-ore content, Red Top Mountain was once an important mining area." We hiked parts of the Homestead, Sweet Gum, and Lakeside Trails; Red Top Mountain has 15 miles of trails within its 1,776 acres to keep you occupied. The Lakeside Trail is paved and near the visitor's center. It passes a playground and historical cabin. The Sweet Gum Trail is centrally located, and the Homestead Trail hugs beautiful Lake Allatoona. The lake is so striking! It was such a gorgeous shade of green that looked unreal. I investigated coming back and taking out a kayak or canoe, but the park doesn't seem to rent them out, bummer. Thankful to have such a pleasant state park easily accessible from the metro Atlanta area!

    Bridge with trail blazes
    Cynthia N.

    I'm working to complete 52 hikes within a year and thank goodness I live in GA where there are mutiple parks which makes the goal easier. Anyhew... I visited Red Top Mountain to walk the Iron Hill Trail yesterday. The Iron Hill Trail is a little under 4 miles loop with mostly flat terrain. It goes past the Allatoona Lake so there are many pretty lake views. The parking lot for this trail is unattended so you'll need to be a decent citizen and pay the $5 parking fee (electronic using phone and cash options available.) There were a lot of people on the trail, mostly hikers but also people hanging out at the lake. If you want the trail mostly to yourself maybe avoid the weekend. But even with all the people, the trail didn't feel crowded. In most places, the trail is wide with plenty of space for everyone. I'm definitely going back and checking out the other trails at Red Top!

    Beautiful, peaceful and fantastic!

    Peaceful, great hiking trails. The lake and the woods are so beautiful. The park staff are friendly and helpful.

    Welcome center
    Jamarcus T.

    I've purchased the Georgia State park parking pass for the last few years, and while i've been to a number of state parks, but I willingly avoided Red Top Mountain State Park because i'd Seen photos and wasn't impressed. Geez was I wrong to ignore this gem of a park! Red Top is a water lover's dream, located at Lake Allatoona, and on this day we saw several people fishing, boating, kayaking and just enjoying the water. The water itself, along with the park have some beautiful views that you see naturally along the trails. Speaking of trails, there are 15 miles of them!! Here are a few other things the park offers, taken from their website: Accommodations & Facilities 1,776 Acres 12,000 Acre Lake Allatoona 18 Cottages 92 Tent, Trailer & RV Campites 1 Yurt 1 Pioneer Campground 7 Picnic Shelters 2 Group Shelters (seats 100 & 250) Sand Beach Marina 2 Boat Ramps 2 Boat Docks 3 Playgrounds Things To Do & See Archery Programs Biking -- 4 mile trail Boating -- private boats permitted Educational Programs Fishing Geocaching Hiking -- 15 miles of trails Interpretive Programs Miniature Golf (fee) Muddy Spokes Club Pickleball Picnicking Swimming Tennis Water Skiing Weddings -- park approval required For this day, we only did about 4 miles of trails, and the trails are all well marked with blazes of different colors and signs to let you know which fork is going where. None of the trails we went on were difficult, making this a great nature walk. I'd happily go back to Red Top Mountain state park, especially since it's literally less than an hour's drive from Atlanta. Whether you like seeing or getting in water, this is definitely your park! Please visit!!

    Beautiful lake view from the Visitor Center loop trail.
    Penny T.

    I am so thankful that Georgia state parks have stayed open during this virus mania. Being able to explore the outdoors has been good for my soul. I have been exploring our state parks and, so far, this is my favorite. Unfortunately I did not get to hike as much of it as my friend and I had planned due to some rain and getting to the park a bit later than we had hoped. However, even with the 2-3 trails we hiked, we decided we really love this park. We started out parking at the visitor center and hiking the Visitor Center Loop trail. Immediately we noticed how nice the trail was and how nice the trail markings were as well as the signs. This particular trail covers a section near the lake rather quickly from the visitor center and it is easy access to the water for kids who want to splash in it a bit. At the end of the trail we switched to the campground trail by crossing the street. There are a couple of downed trees on this trail but there is a make shift trail that goes around these and then gets back on the trail. We eventually made it to the Iron Hill trail but only made it a short ways in before it started to rain. Looking at the weather app, there appeared to be a storm heading our way so we decided to head back to the visitor center as it was also thundering. When we returned to the visitor center, the rain and thunder had ceased so we decided to walk the paved lakeside trail and we were so happy we did. There are some great historical tools and buildings along this trail as well as signs that describe the history of the iron ore business of years past. There is a cute area of instruments outside for kids to play music on in a different area and some great areas near the lake (including some swings in one area). There is still so much we did not see. We want to return and hike the Iron Hill trail and the Homestead trail. This park is beautiful. The trails are well marked. The bathrooms... the bathrooms seem very new and were so clean! I have seen pictures from the other trails and we definitely plan to return to hike those other trails. The visitor center is huge... closed right now but hope we will be able to see that in the future, as well. Highly recommend this state park.

    Beach on the lake!

    Went to Red Top the other day for a nice hike, the weather was beautiful and there were great hiking trails with different loops you can create! We did a 5 mile loop and also detoured to the beach where there were bluffs, black sand, clay and lots of good skipping rocks! It was a very nice relaxing day :) Will most likely return!!

    A deer seen while walking on the Sweet Gum trail.

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    7 months ago

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    1 month ago

    Great Place! We would definitely recommend Red Top! Especially beautiful in the fall!

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    2 years ago

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    2 months ago

    It was nice and quiet. My family had a great time! I would go again for sure. There was ducks,deers. And a lot of spots to fish.

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    2 years ago

    Great campground! I wish we could have stayed longer! Great people and services! We recommend!!! Beautiful by the lake!!!

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    2 years ago

    No Sheets, Crooked Pullout Mattress, Rude Service, No Toilet paper in the bathroom. Affordable and great scenery. Fishing is good.

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    3 years ago

    Really great local restaurant. Food is great and so is the service. Chicken livers are off the chart!

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    4 years ago

    Good camping spot, Deer and other animals about. very quiet at night.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Red Top Mountain State Park

    Review Highlights - Red Top Mountain State Park

    It meanders around a bit of Lake Allatoona so you'll catch gorgeous lake views and a bit of boating activities too.

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

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    Smithgall Woods - Angel of Death Mushroom along the trail - one of the most poisonous in the world

    Smithgall Woods

    4.8(10 reviews)
    64.9 mi

    Venue Smithgall Woods State Park ( Smithgall Cottages) 5 out of 5 stars…read more After copious amounts of research and several venue tours, we decided on Smithgall Woods state park, and more specifically the cottages as the venue for our wedding on June 8th. We just have to say we loved the team we worked with at Smithgall, mainly Todd, Patty, and Art. Todd at Guestservices was simply fantastic! As he will be quick to mention "the venue sells itself", however having him as our man on the inside was a pretty huge selling point on its own. He was with us every step of the way to answer our plethora of questions, work with vendors, and generally keep our minds at ease. Honestly, I doubt the wedding weekend would have gone as smoothly and been as much of a success had it not been for Todd's guidance and cooperation. The venue is magical. I know how that sounds, but it's the truth. It's tucked away deep in the beautiful North Georgia mountains, surrounded by a lush forest teaming with wildlife. This majestic property consists of five "cottages", in quotations because they are more like log cabin style mansions. The two largest being; the expansive 4 bedroom 4.5 bathroom cottage called the Smithgall Cottage, and the even larger 5 bedroom 5 bathroom Dover cottage. The Creekside Cottage is 3 bedrooms, and The Laurel and Garden cottages are one bedroom cottages with hot tubs on secluded side porches. All the cottages were clean, modern, and a huge hit with our guests. We were able to house both our families, close friends and wedding party all on the same property. Which saved us a great deal on lodging. Which after factoring in the cost of rooms made this one of the more affordable wedding venues out there. Also you get it for the whole weekend!!! We used the Smithgall Cottage for our wedding location due to the large wrap around porch and decks, and also due to the picturesque, covered foot bridge under which flows a gorgeous champion trout stream. We had some difficulty deciding where on this property to hold our ceremony because it is simply lovely all over. Unfortunately, the record rainfall that weekend made the decision for us. Even though the storms limited our use of the enormous field in front of the Dover cottage, and the gardens next to Smithgall we still were able to comfortably host our 50 or so guests and dozen vendors, at the Smithgall Cottage and our ceremony and reception went along wonderfully. We would highly recommend this venue to anyone wishing to have a once in a lifetime event at a once in a lifetime location.

    I came here to see the covered bridge, but discovered they have so much more…read more THE SCENE Smithgall Woods may not be someplace Georgians are familiar with, unless you are an avid hunter or trout fisherman. It was once private property that was gifted to the state by conservationist Charles A. Smithgall Jr. in 1994. A large section still remains private property for the Smithgall family, but what was gifted is a treasure trove of beautiful mountains, streams, meadow fields and wetlands. I began my solo hike around 12:15pm from the Visitors Center. There I was given a map and a few brief highlights of points of interest, like the waterfalls and gold mine. I then set off one what turned out to be a 4.5 hour adventure. Probably not the smartest of ideas since I had surgery just three weeks ago. But I was tired of resting around the house and desperately wanted to get out and do something. Besides, nature brings a calmness to my inner being and allows me to relax my mind in ways I just can't at home. It was a perfect day with perfect temperatures for hiking. In my entire time there, I only ran across one other human. ----- THE HIKE Inside the Visitor's Center is a gift shop and small wildlife museum of the nature plants and animals. I walked down the paved Tsalaki Trail towards the Cathy Ellis Trail (approximately 2.6 mile away). The trail starts off as a fairly steep incline. Along the way I saw a sign saying "caution - bees". I thought that was a curious warning until I noticed the white honey bee houses in the woods nearby. Next came the wetlands with a one mile looping trail and a boardwalk into the marshes. Here you have a strong possibility of seeing a beaver at work on a dam. I decided to save this area for my return hike and I'm glad I did. My energy on the return leg was running very low and I needed the benches here for a nice long rest. I reached the covered bridge about 37 minutes after leaving the visitors center. It was a real beauty made in the simple Town Lattice style. The memorial plaque at the entrance was titled "Bay's Bridge In loving memory of 'Bay' Elizabeth Smithgall Watts", whom died the year the land for the state park was gifted. It crosses the amazing mountain stream known as Duke's Creek. The creek from here will be a large part of your journey. The trail turns to gravel just past the bridge. MARTIN'S MINE was one of the first Gold mines in Georgia. Most of the mining occurred from 1829 to 1935. By the 1840's most of the easy gold was gone and hard mining began. Miners dug tunnels and shafts to remove ore from deep underground. You can still see some of the entrances and shafts. The trail is well marked with numbers, so be sure to pick up the Mining Trail brochure at the Visitor's Center to help you decode the locations. There is a spur trail off the Martin's Mine loop that takes you to a waterfall used for hydraulic mining, which began in the 1850's. It is an uphill hike, but the waterfall is very nice. Back on the main trail I traveled another 1/2 mile to Cathy Ellis Trail. This 1/2 mile trail starts off uphill, but once you reach the shelter it's all downhill from there. The trail ends at the beautiful Chunannee waterfall (which means friendship). Lots of vegetation on this portion of the hike. This land was once the home of Lucy Bryant, a Cherokee Indian widow whom was granted this 640 acre parcel in the Treaty of 1817. But by 1839 the Trail of Tear forced all Cherokee Indians off their land to relocate in Oklahoma. They curiously chose to name the trail after a 19 year old girl who fell over a waterfall in a different county altogether instead of the Indian widow Lucy. I don't get that, but whatever. The waterfall here is beautiful. I sat here about 25 minutes resting and admiring its beauty and feeling sad for the ancient Cherokee Indian nation. I arrived here approx. 2.5 hours after I began my journey from the visitors center. NOTE: Prior to arriving at the Cathy Ellis trail there is another steep incline, similar to the one near the Visitor's Center. ----- FINAL THOUGHTS In total I hiked approximately 7.5 miles today. I would normally have done this in probably 3 hours, but I tried to go at an easier pace since I'm still recovering from surgery. I allowed myself plenty of places to sit and rest, the most enjoyable of them being the waterfall on the Cathy Ellis Trail. Smithgall Woods State Park is indeed a wonderful place for those who love nature and peaceful hiking venues. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND giving them a visit.

    Photos
    Smithgall Woods - Beautiful state park

    Beautiful state park

    Smithgall Woods - Visitor's Center

    Visitor's Center

    Smithgall Woods - Bay's Covered Bridge

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    Bay's Covered Bridge

    American Archery - American archers

    American Archery

    3.0(2 reviews)
    36.2 mi

    Needed a part for my PSE and called them up and they got my info and got me my part in the mail and…read morewas just in time to get ready for my hunting weekend.

    Over 20 years ago I bought my first PSE compound bow from Russell when American Archery was located…read morein Tucker Ga. Throughout the years me, my family, and friends have bought dozens of bows and all sorts of accessories from American Archery, either through the shop or online. We would shoot at the indoor range at the old shop locations and really I never would have bought a bow from anyone or anywhere else. Now with that said I was not going write a bad review and its taken me 5 years to write a bad review but people need to know what kind of person Russell the owner is. So after doing business exclusivly with American Archery and specifically Russell I wanted the all new (at the time) PSE Dreamseason DNA. I called Russell and he knew who I was and he told me well I come on over and get one. So I went to his internet only store and pad out about $1200 for the bow. The next morning I went and got the correct arrows cut and went home eager to shoot my new bow. I shot the bow 3 times and it exploded on the 3rd shot. I thought no problem its under warranty theres a cam lean issue being talked about im sure Russell will just switch it out for me. NO I WAS VERY WRONG. When I called Russell and told him what happened he literally argued with me to the point of yelling that I didnt know how to properly nock an arrow, its my fault, and he would not honer the warranty! I argued with him 3 days and then he calked me with a supposed PSE rep who proceeded to tell me tge same thing Russell continues to say which was I didnt know how to nock an arrow correctly. It was a month before deer season with this bs about me not able to shoot a bow correctly or nock an arrow right had become what was consistantly said. Even with me getting to the point of absolutly pissed off every time it was said because he knew I had been shooting for 20+ years. Russell never gave in telling me pretty much I was an idiot and would not give me any warranty on the bow brcause I didnt know how to shoot a bow (UNFRICKINBELIEVABLE). Anyway I bypassed the fake PSE rep and called PSE directly to explain my situation. They told me they didnt know any rep that would be in Russells shop at that time but PSE got right on it. Without going directly to PSE Russell woukd never have done anything and I would have lost $1200.00 in 1 day. PSE HAD ME A NEW BOW IN 10 DAYS THANKS PSE...Now you would think after over 20 years of business Russell would care and get me right...but he didnt care about anything but taking my money and screwing me out of my warranty. I have bought 5 more bows in the last 4 years but none would ever come from American Archery. I will not buy anything from American Archery ever again. If they would completly screw over a 20+ year customer jist imagine how he is if he dosnt know you.

    Red Top Mountain State Park - boating - Updated June 2026

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