National parks have been booming in popularity within the past 12 months.
Yellowstone National Park saw a record-breaking 1 million visitors over the summer and Maine’s Acadia National Park had 2.7 million visitors in 2020.
It doesn’t seem as if the popularity will be waning any time soon, either.
“We don’t ever intend to limit the number of visitors,” National Park Service spokesperson Jeffrey Olson told Men’s Journal. “We’re trying to limit visitor use.” Instead, steps have been taken to improve infrastructure.
But you don’t have to go to a national park to have a getaway. USA Today spoke to The Dyrt.com cofounder Kevin Long, who shared a few of his favorite state campsites. One was in Georgia.
Not far from metro Atlanta is Cloud Canyon State Park. You’ll still have to be patient if you go on weekends since large crowds are common. However, the area gives you the chance to encounter untouched nature without traveling too far from home.
“With opportunities to climb, mountain bike or even explore wild caves (by permit), there’s plenty to do at this Appalachian Mountain park in northwest Georgia. As one of the state’s largest parks, it offers walk-in camping, RV sites, cottages and yurts, along with backpacking sites,” USA Today reported.
Visitors rave about the campgrounds, which offer picturesque views.
“We stayed with our RV in the West Rim campground and the spaces are big and private. Looking out the back of our RV we had very nice scenery of the trees and felt secluded, with no one behind us,” one TripAdvisor review said. “The campground is (quiet) and well kept. We would highly recommend staying at this campground, and if we were ever in this area again would book here without hesitation.”
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