Camping in Doll Mountain Campground: Serene Solitude

More often than not, camping at a campground can feel like camping in a can of sardines.  Not at Doll Mountain Campground in Ellijay, Georgia!  This well-thought-out and spread out campground is perfect for anyone who wants to get away for a weekend.  

With 68 campsites, most with RV hook-ups, this is an excellent place to escape for a weekend or longer.  The rolling hills throughout the campground truly make you feel like you are camping in the mountains.  We camped here for 5 days and loved the serenity of our campsite.  It was secluded and we could hear the lake lapping below our site.  

Doll Mountain Campground is dog friendly and great for campers, boaters and fishermen alike.  So let’s jump right in!

Important Links

Doll Mountain Campground Booking Site – Book reservations here

Doll Mountain Campground Map

Location

Doll Mountain Campground is located in north Georgia, near Elijay.  This puts the campground approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes southeast of Chattanooga, TN and a little over 2 hours north of Atlanta, GA.

With such close proximity to 2 major cities, it’s a great place to escape to, without being completely in the middle of nowhere.  Elijay, Georgia is about 15-20 minutes away, so you can easily run to town if you forget something.  

This campground is spread out along the banks of Carter’s Lake and is a beautiful place to get away for a weekend or longer.  But how much time should you spend here?

Time to Spend Here

Very often I get asked “How long should I stay here?”  And while this very much depends on your interests, and budget, I can offer some insight into how long I would spend here.

For Boating of Fishing

With a centrally located boat ramp and a huge lake surrounding you, Doll Mountain Campground is a great place to spend a week here.  You can go fishing or take out your boat/kayak everyday (weather permitting of course).  

If I were here to go kayaking/boating/fishing, I would easily recommend a weekend or even a week here.  There are bass, crappie, catfish, walleye, and bream to catch here, so fish away!

Relaxing Around the Campsite

If you are looking to just get away from it all, then I would probably just recommend a weekend at Doll Mountain Campground.  

Doll Mountain Campground is a great place to relax and unwind, regardless of how you choose to stay.  But once you’ve relaxed around a fire and enjoyed a quiet morning or two, there isn’t much to do.  

The nearest hiking trails are a 40 minute drive and the closest town is about 20 minutes.  So for all you foodies or hikers, or people who like to do a lot of things on vacation, this might just be a peaceful weekend stop-over.

Our Itinerary

As previously stated, my husband, myself and our dog camped here for 5 days.  We enjoyed the peaceful and shady campsite (#25) that we stayed at.  But as avid hikers, there wasn’t much for us to do that didn’t require a 40+ minute drive.  

So our itinerary looked a little different than usual, but feel free to copy it or use it as a guide.

• Tuesday: Arrived at the campground, made dinner and relaxed outside until it was time for bed.
• Wednesday: We worked from the campsite and went for a walk around the campground.  While the campground is all paved, the hills don’t mess around here!  It was a great walk of the entire length of the campground.  
• Thursday: Worked from the campsite again, took our dog to the boat ramp for some swimming.  Then we walked around the campground again and finally ran to the East Ellijay Walmart for some groceries.
• Friday: This day was a total rainout as we sat in the camper and worked and meal prepped for the weekend ahead.
• Saturday: We drove over to Amicalola Falls State Park and hiked a few of the various trails over there.  We then came back to relax and pack up our site.
• Sunday: Woke up early and left our site by 8am for our next destination.  

While yes, this is a relatively low-key itinerary, it was nice to just sit back and relax.  If we had had our kayaks or a boat with us, we would have been able to enjoy the lake a lot more.  But as avid hikers, we were a little bored and 5 days was more than enough.   

Hiking Options 

Normally, we always camp where there are trails to hike.  Unfortunately, Doll Mountain Campground doesn’t have any trails.  We were able to get our steps in by walking the length of the campground each day, but besides that, the nearest trail was too far and we would have burned a lot of gas.

On Saturday we headed over to Amicalola Falls State Park for the day – making it worth the 45 minute drive, but as far as nearby hiking, there isn’t much.  

When I booked our site, and looked at the map, it appeared to have several trails just on the other side of the lake.  And there are several trails on the other side of the lake.  However, unless we could have kayaked over there, it was a 40 minute drive to those trailheads, even though it was just a few miles as the crow flies.  So don’t expect hiking if you plan to camp at Doll Mountain Campground.  

Campground 

Doll Mountain Campground is a hidden gem tucked away in the mountains of north Georgia.  This campground might not have the bells and whistles of some campgrounds, but it does offer above average campsites and facilities at a wonderfully low price.  

Doll Mountain Campground is open from mid-April to late October each year and is a lovely getaway location for boaters, kayakers and fishers.  The layout of the campground is perfectly spread out with a few pods of campsites, as well as a few sites that are completely isolated.  

There are nonelectric, tent-only sites and there are Tent/Camper/RV sites with electric and water hook-ups.  The entire campground is dog friendly and offers a centrally located playground for children and a boat ramp for the fisherman in your life.  

We’re going to get into a price breakdown shortly, but before we do, here are a few facts about the campground.  

Details

• 1 playground
• 2 Large Bathhouses/showers
• 1 boat ramp
• 68 sites total 
• 41 Camper/RV sites with electricity and water hookups
• 27 Tent Only Sites
• Dog Friendly Campground

Tent Only Sites (Dog Friendly)

With 27 Tent-Only sites to offer, Doll Mountain Campground is a great place to relax and enjoy a wooded stay in your tent.  From what we saw, the tent sites offer their campers some of the best views in the entire campground!

Most of these sites are located in a pod at the far end of the campground, but there are several that are dispersed throughout the campground for a more secluded feel.  I highly recommend Site #38!  This site was all alone, had a gorgeous overlook of the lake and was less than 50 yards from the bathhouse.  

Camper/RV Sites – Tents Welcome Here Also (Dog Friendly)

Of the 68 campsites at Doll Mountain Campground, 41 of them will accommodate Campers/RVs.  Several of the pads will allow up to a 40 camper, but the average site allows for a 25 to 30 foot camper.  Most of the sites are gravel pads that are well-shaded and offer 30-amp service as well as water hook-up.

These sites all provide the typical picnic table, pad for your camper and a grill and firepit.  They are all dog friendly and several of these sites offer a deck-like section where you can enjoy an evening without ever touching dirt (such as site #31).  

There are no cabins or cottages here, so you will have to “rough it” a little if you want to stay here.  But let’s look at the prices of these two options.

Price Comparison

Disclaimer: These are the prices when we stayed here.  Prices can change and fluctuate with time and depending on the weekend/holiday.*

Tent Only Sites

• 1 Day: $18 per night
• 1 Week: $126 per week

Tent/Camper/RV sites

• 1 Day: $24 – $28 (depends on the site size)
• 1 Week: $168 – $196 per week respectively

Both of these options are fairly budget-friendly for a weekend or week away with the family.  So if you are looking for affordable getaways, this might be your best bet!

Our Camping Experience

For 5 days we enjoyed the shaded sites of Doll Mountain Campground.  The solitude of our site (#25) and the peaceful woods that surrounded us, were a welcome surprise compared to other campgrounds where it feels like we’re on top of our neighbors.  

From our site, and most of the sites, we had an obstructed view of the lake.  But through the trees we could see the water lapping the edge of the lake, feel the breeze of early spring and smell the pine that surrounded us.  

No, this was not the most action packed area, but for the price, we really enjoyed the serene solitude of our campsite.  

Conclusion

All in all, Doll Mountain Campground is a beautiful and affordable camping option.  With their 68 sites located around Carter’s Lake, this is a peaceful area in north Georgia perfect for a weekend away.  

So bring the whole family and enjoy the serene solitude of Doll Mountain Campground. 

As always, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] if you have further questions!  I’ll do my best to help you plan your stay.

Happy Camping!