Dobbins Lakeside Campground

Stopped in Dobbins for a few days on my way south for the season, easy to find and easier to get into- kudos! No host but the office is an easy walk and the guys are knowledgeable of the local area, accommodating and very easy to work with. No commissary but the BX is a short walk across the street and will fix you up with vittles on short notice. Yeah I'll do Dobbins again.

Location was great. Most sites are not conducive to larger campers with slideouts. Shower facility clean; however, Luke warm water only available in the showers. When reported to the front office they said they would have someone chichi into it. Four days later no change. I wonder if the dorms and gym are the same.

Only 4 sites are suitable for large RV's. When we arrived there were 5 empty sites available. We were able to get a site across from the dump station which helped since there is no sewer hookups available. The shower/laundry facility needs upgrading. There is one washer and dryer located in womans and mens bathrooms.

I have stayed at Dobbins Lakeside Campground on two separate occasions. Other review comments accurately reflect my observations and impressions. I had a 1-ton crew-cab ford pickup and 36 foot fifth wheel trailer at the time. Many of the camp sites were unsuitable for my rig even if they had been available for occupancy. The road through the campsites is a narrow one-way winding single lane with one steep hill at mid-loop. All RV sites are back-in, with some conveniently angled, and many not, being approximately perpendicular to the road. Close on either side of the roadway are pine trees, dirt banks, etc. I had great difficulty trying to maneuver into some of the spots, needing to drive the front truck tires off of the roadway into the "wildlands." In some sites the close proximity of pine trees severely hampered my ability to maneuver to swing the trailer's rear overhang into a parking pad. Most sites have very small relatively level concrete pads, but the access drives onto the pads requires either backing up or descending down a steep slope to park on the pad. Backing downhill, the rear overhang of a long RV would contact the pad due to the abrupt angle difference . . . or backing up-hill, the front trailer jack would be down-slope from the pad. I deemed these sites totally unusable for my rig. On one occasion MWR management allowed me to park and dry camp for several days in the parking lot next to the tennis courts, near the campground entrance while waiting for a satisfactory site to become available. I walked through the entire campground with the MWR manager trying to point all of the problem areas and deficiencies that I had noted. There has probably been no improvement since then. It sounded like it would be a back burner priority for any attention and funds. Basically, it is an old campground designed for short light weight RVs that needs serious updating to modern RV size and weight standards.

Like my previous review, not much has changed, except that now they're even allowing homesteading in the "14-day-stay" sites. Outdoor Rec states that "command" would rather have people paying all the time than meet the needs of campers for the two months a year they pass through (in spring and fall). Perhaps if more people could count on a spot (either by reservations or at least having rotating spots) more would stop. I plan to write a letter to the command.

We TRIED to stay here but the campground is so small and the homesteaders who can stay up to 6 MONTHS made it impossible. With almost no turn over this place should be re-named a trailer park. For the thousands of people who want to go camping in the area you either have to go commercial or Corps of Engineers or go up to Lake Allatoona. The people in the office were nice enough but then, they should be, there is very little for them to do if they don't have to bother with registrations. It is obvious that they are not serious about having a FamCamp on base so save the time and pass this one up.

We figured this campground would be totally deplorable before our arrival but we needed a base-camp for "doing" Atlanta. We were somewhat surprised when we found our camp site (#17). Knowing ahead of time that there was no sewer, we came in with an empty tank and was okay for our four days by being careful. The park is something like a state park; 30 amp, no sewer, sites cut into hills, very forested and a nearby lake. We got our 40 footer backed in on the concrete slab and with a 2/6 under each front wheel, we were level. The slab is only the width of the motorhome so one does have to step off onto dirt. There are very nice aluminum picnic tables and a bar-b-que grill. The bathrooms each have three showers and were very clean; washer and dryer in each and one sink each. The interior roads, although narrow and winding, are all paved and a great place for walking. Very quiet campground other than the occasional sounds of freedom. There is a lounge area that serves "lounge items" while sitting on an open deck overlooking the lake.The campground is more adult orientated. The one real downer was the guy that checked us in. He was the south end of a north bound horse! Still $12 a night with no weekly rate. It looks like about 4 or 5 sites have a two week limit for transients, while the others are for TDY etc. which to us is okay during war time. We would come back having been here once. We would "try" to get site #17 again. The BX is right across the road from the FamCamp. Easy walk.

This pretty little CG could be so great, minus the homesteaders' stuff all around their "permanent" sites. I alaways love meandering roads and tucked-in pads among trees, although some of those 40-footers might not, and this park has that. The pads are very even/flat, but most are not long enough for all four wheels of a big rig, and aren't really wide enough for any, to give a place to walk without getting in the dirt/mud. If you're not in sites 1-4 or 14-18, then you'll need a car to get to the showers and laundry. By-the-way, one W/D set is in the ladies bathrm, and the other set is in the men's. They don't mind if you use both, if the shower isn't occupied. Convenient? The playground is big, but is too far to have children visit it unattented, and there is no fishing in the lake. There is recycling (glass/cans/plastic) onsite, but no gas station or commissary on base (a very nearby "Harry's Market" has a huge selection of reasonabley priced organic foods, though; off Cobb/Roswell). If you need to be close to Atlanta for a couple days, this is an inexpensive and scenic park to be, but I don't know how the homesteaders find it so worth the long term.