We have had several threads in the past where members are looking for a good spot for, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, etc. There was mention of making a tacked thread but one was never created that I know of. So lets make this one official.

Rules, in this thread we recommend places that we have enjoyed ourselves outdoors. Lets try to keep out back and forth banter but you can ask for recommendations and I'll try to keep the OP updated with all the recommendations so people don't have to scroll through the entire thread looking.

Camping
Cloudland Canyon
Oconee National Forest
Lakepoint State Park

Hiking
Kennesaw Mountain National Park
Cloudland Canyon
Tallulah Gorge
Amicalola Falls
Springer Mountain

Fishing
Just south of Jones bridge park (go down the river a couple hundred yards) this will get you out of the way of the mass of people at the park during the summer. This is literally in my backyard so if you want someone to join you give me a holler. The fishing here is great. I don't fly fish but I have had great luck with Rapala countdowns and small spinners. - Gentleman4561

Lake Eufaula, Lake Juliette, Lake Sinclair are the main lakes I fish during the year. Juliette has a 25hp motor restriction and they WILL ticket you if you run anything bigger. - ElevenBravo87


Hunting
Lake Russel and Wilson Shoals WMA are both decent. I have only deer hunted on them a time or to but do a good bit more turkey hunting. The key is to scout the land out early and get as far away from roads as possible. This will put you farther away from the masses. WEAR YOUR ORANGE  - Gentleman4561

Oconee National Forest, thousands of acres of prime piedmont hunting all for the cost of a hunting license. - ElevenBravo87

Outings
Appalachian Outfitters in Dahlonega - Shep.

Hiking camping caving bouldering- cloudland canyon near la fayette

Camping/Hiking:



Tallulah Gorge/Panther Creek falls.  Both of these are very close to each other and offer great hikes.  Tallulah you can hike down into the gorge and do a rock slide into a big pool of water which is loads of fun in the summer.  This are has allot more visitors and is probably around a mile hike with about half of that being stairs.  Panther Creek is a good 11 mile round trip hike close to Tallulah, its a beautiful area and has plenty of camping spots and runs along a nice creek with a good looking fall at the end.



Fishing:

Just south of Jones bridge park (go down the river a couple hundred yards)  this will get you out of the way of the mass of people at the park during the summer.  This is literally in my backyard so if you want someone to join you give me a holler.  The fishing here is great.  I don't fly fish but I have had great luck with Rapala countdowns and small spinners.



Hunting:

Lake Russel and Wilson Shoals WMA are both decent.  I have only deer hunted on them a time or to but do a good bit more turkey hunting.  The key is to scout the land out early and get as far away from roads as possible.  This will put you farther away from the masses.  WEAR YOUR ORANGE




 

Camping
Oconee National Forest...double your pleasure during hunting season.
Lakepoint State park and Marina...Eufaula Alabama, can also fish here since its on the banks of Lake Eufaula

Fishing.
Lake Eufaula, Lake Juliette, Lake Sinclair are the main lakes I fish during the year. Juliette has a 25hp motor restriction and they WILL ticket you if you run anything bigger.

Hunting
Oconee National Forest, thousands of acres of prime piedmont hunting all for the cost of a hunting license.

Nail your foot the the floor of your porch Sorry had to do it...

Hunting
Fishing
Hiking
Range Time
Are always good things to do.

Fishing: Boys in SW Ga can confirm Abrams Shoals on the Flint River to catch Shoal Bass.

I can now vouch for Springer Mountain and Amicalola Falls

If ya got young 'uns, I recommend taking them canoing with Appalachian Outfitters in Dahlonega, on the Chestatee River.  Relaxing trip, I've taken kids as young at 5YOA.

Hiking: Conasauga River Trail
Great backpacking trip for 1 or 2 nights, and follows the river for the most part. Good spots for fishing if you're into that. Prefer to go in the summer and warmer weather since there's dozens of river crossings along the trial and feels good to get your feet wet. Eventually I got tired of taking my boots off at every river crossing and once slipped on a stepping stone and got it all submerged, so I hiked the rest of the trip in crocs.

If you live in Cumming the hike up Sawnee Mountain to the indian seats is relatively short, but the lookout at the top is great. They have a nice park at the bottom with clean restrooms.

Pools Mill Park in Forsyth county is pretty cool and historic if you read up on it. Cherokee used to use the shoals there as a recreation spot.

Dawson Forrest has some pretty neat hiking opportunities. The open air nuclear reactor structures are still around and you can explore around them and hike to the Etowah River from there and fish. Also, after deer season is over there's pretty decent squirrel hunting there.

Winding Stair Gap Road in Dawson County is pretty cool. It winds up into the Chattahoochee National Forrest and crosses the AT. There are fee free camping sights along it right against Noontooley Creek which are nice. Good area for backpack camping trips which we do every year. No live bait fishing in Noontooley though. The road is a fun drive in a 4x4. Not too rough but very steep and lots of switchback turns.....hence the name.

The Wildcat tract of Dawson Forrest has some pretty neat hiking trails along Wildcat Creek. It's near Big Canoe and there's a pretty nice restaurant there called the Appalachian Grill.

Chicamauga Battlefield in GA just south of Chattanooga is very nice and they have a phenomenal civil war firearms collection on display. The CD you can buy at the center gives a great car tour with marked spots. There are dozens if not hundreds of individual unit memorials along the union lines that were placed there in the years following the battle. Pretty neat stuff.

Can we post hunting lease info if we have one available?

Johns Mtn WMA has plenty of fun things to do, the pocket for kids baby to 100+YOA..splash around in the springs and creeks criss-crossing with plenty of picnic tables and grills around for everyone as well as easy access to restrooms. If you wanna break away from that, several trails to hike: the Keown Falls loop is very enjoyable(and can be done in two hours or less if you just wanna look and walk back). Id say go in spring or fall if you wanna see the waterfall, anytime if you just love being outside somewhere I go year round.

 Also you can continue up the Johns Mtn Trail that takes you to the OverLook at the falls and the Overlook at the top that has one of the best views around. Adds maybe 3miles to the hike one way maybe...??? Take two cars, park one where you want to finish then drive to the next spot(ex. park overlook hike to falls, V.V) and you wont have to double back on trails it take maybe 5 mins going slow to drive from one to the other. These are a part of the Pinhotti trail, and you can ride horses, bikes, or hike. Pretty sure ATVs arent allowed on these trails.

 Pretty decent trout fishing, nothing major just fun and good eating. They dont get much of a chance to grow as alot of folks fish there. Good hunting for deer and turkey if your into that. Camping is good for "camp spot" type camping, but its not for me as I dont care much for pitching a tent in a gravel square with eighty neighbors.  lol  Stupid people that have no care for others or the land recently put a stop to camping outside the pocket camp area. THANK YOU FELLAS!!!

 If youve never been up there(or have been), shoot me a PM sometime and ill try to make it up with you...been almost a few months now im having DTs.

@Jeffco-  werent they talking about putting a new ORV trail up in fairmount..? My buddies that live up there were talkin about it maybe a year and a half ago, havent asked since. They need to...

Hiking- Pine Mountain Trail in Pine Mountain GA.   26 miles plus two loops; multiple trail heads with good parking and, well established camp sights.  Also in the area is callaway gardens and FDR state park.  The trail is well kept and clearly marked. Nice weekend hike from end to end not much traffic on trail either.

Outdoor fun- Kackleberry Farm

Corn maze (seasonal)
Zipline (year round)
Petting zoo...

It might be expensive on a regular trip but I do know Groupon and some of the other bulk coupon distributors offered a great deal. Did it with my kids before deploying and had a great time.

Hiking/Adventure - Georgia Area 51
 

Camping/fishing/boating Lake Chatuge, Lake Blue Ridge, or Nottley Lake.  Plenty of places for both tag-along trailer camping and tent camping in the area.  Interestingly, Lake Chatuge has a cemetery on an island in the center of the lake.

What is the situation up in North Georgia in the Chattahooche National Forest area with the shutdown?  Are rangers writing tickets for hikers who are camping there?

I can't imagine how in the world the entire damn forest is "closed."

I love the hike on Kennesaw Mountain

was on it yesterday.  Live fire cannon demos throughout the year at the Welcome center.  

numerous cannons in the park including at the top of the mountain.

great time of year to hike it as well

Was there yesterday with my wife and a coworker hiking the 6.9mile Longleaf Loop. It's a great place for a casual run or a serious hike. We took our bug out bags and humped them fully loaded. I saw no signs about concealed carry being prohibited so I had both mine and my wife's handgun with us. Lots of Boy Scout troops and hippies, but the scenery is beautiful and worth the trip. If you're a motorcyle enthusiast there are quite a few rallies going on starting and finishing at F. D. Roosevelt park.