Vogel State Park

Vogel State Park is a small park nestled in the North Georgia Mountains near Blairsville, GA. You know you’re there when you drive down into the valley and see a beautiful little lake. Very easy to get to, right off Hwy 19/129.

Visitors Center

The visitors center is at the bottom of the main entrance road on the left and has plenty of parking for campers and cars. Inside has a little shop with sundries and souvenirs. Hiking maps are available here and this is where you would go to buy a round of mini golf.

We reserved our spot ahead of time, so after a quick check-in we headed over to the campground to find our spot. It was across the street from a babbling brook and was next door to one of the campground hosts. The tree cover was ample and the lot was clean and level.

The campground wasn’t huge….we walked the whole thing several times during our stay but it was one of the busiest campgrounds that we’ve visited. It almost felt like people “cruised” the campground and there was a lot of car traffic. That being said, we saw a lot of kids riding bikes (no big hills made this easy) and the cars were mindful of people in the road.

Back to hosts…there were several hosts at this campground but they weren’t nosy or annoying. One of them was an old Airstream! The host next to us obviously lived there…and for awhile. The hosts get a pretty sweet setup with a covered pavilion and plenty of space. Our neighbor had his RV in the lot sideways and had a big screen TV set up outside under the pavilion!

Vogel Park had a lot of interesting campsites. They had several lots that were multiple levels, different sizes, some for campers, some for tents. The bathrooms were normal for a state campground: old but clean. The showerheads weren’t great. There is a laundry facility but it wasn’t close by.

Wifi is available only at the Vistors center and cell service is extremely spotty. One part of the campground had a pretty good signal but our lot had none. We did see a lady on a cellphone so maybe it was just ATT that is sucky there.

Things to Do

Hike

There is no shortage of hiking around Vogel. 17 miles to be exact. One of them being the Trahlyta Lake Trail which is a very easy hike around the lake and down a short path you have access to the waterfall right there on the property! We also did the Bear Hair Gap Trail in the rain. The views are fantastic from the top of the mountain and you can see the whole lake below. I tried to take a picture but it was pretty foggy.

Mini Golf

Vogel has an 18 hole mini golf course. It requires a fee to play.

Kayak, Canoe, Paddle, and Swim

Near the pavilion, on the lake, there are boat rentals. I would assume you can also bring your own but this trip we didn’t bring our Kayaks. Seasonally open, the lake has a sandy beach area with a roped off area for the kiddos to swim in.

People Watch

With all the car cruising the campground, it makes for excellent people watching from your campsite.

In Summary, Vogel State Park is a great park for families. There are ample things to do for everyone and having lake access is a plus when the kids are out of school in the summer. It’s close to Atlanta so I would recommend this particular park to families for a long weekend. We will definitely be back!