Old Federal
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 84All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 14 notices
In the agency’s own words
Old Federal Campground lies on the eastern banks of Lake Sidney Lanier in Northern Georgia. Popular for its aqua-blue waters and spectacular scenery, Lake Sidney Lanier hosts over 11 million visitors annually for fantastic fishing and boating opportunities. Keep reading
Recreation
Old Federal Campground offers many outdoor recreation opportunities including fishing, swimming, picnicking and bike riding. On the lake there are opportunities for wake boarding, kayaking, boating and much more. There's also a swimming beach and boat ramp available for campers.
Facilities
There are 65 campsites that have electric and water hookups (no sewer) and 12 primitive tent-only campsites. There are also 7 walk-in sites for those who don't mind leaving their vehicles behind. Campers will have access to restrooms/bathouses, laundry facilities, two picnic shelters and a dump station.
Natural Features
Lake Sidney Lanier is nestled in the foothills of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. The lake features 692 miles of shoreline and spans 38,000 surface water acres and 17,000 acres of lush terrain. The reservoir was created in 1956 with teh completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River. Contact Info This location is staffed. Please call (770) 533-7225 to speak with local staff.
Nearby Attractions
Lake Lanier Islands as well as other nearby Army Corps and county parks provide may different recreation opportunities at the lake. The nearby city of Gainesville provides many opportunities for those looking to explore the local area.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations must be made via the online/phone reservation system or in person at the gatehouse. Cancellation calls to the gatehouse will not be honored.
What the agency tells you
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Check-in is 3:00 p.m., and check out is by 12:00 p.m.
Due to COVID-19, camper registration will take place through the gatehouse window. Upon arrival to the campground, please have your ID, license plate number, camping unit’s license plate number, site number, and discount pass (if applicable) ready to give the Park Attendant. Please approach the gatehouse slowly and bring your vehicle close to the window. At no point should you park and walk to the gatehouse window. Do not attempt to enter the gatehouse.
Everything else this campground posts · 11
Gatehouse open 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday - Thursday. Gatehouse open 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday - Sunday.
Payments are not accepted at the gatehouse.
For more information on Lake Sidney Lanier, please go to: http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Lake-Sidney-Lanier/
The campground does not accept mail or food deliveries for campers in the campground. Campers must coordinate to accept these items at a location outside the campground gate.
Gates lock at 10:30pm and reopen 7am.
"NO SHOWS" will be charged the full amount for their reservation.
DISCOUNT PASSES must be presented upon arrival and can only be used for ONE site where the cardholder is the REGISTERED camper. Fraudulent use of a discount pass may result in a mandatory appearance in court in accordance with Title 36 CFR 327.23 (d) RECREATION FEES. DISCOUNT PASSES must be applied at the time the reservation is made.
Gatehouse Attendants have limited or no internet access and are unable to perform actions affecting a reservation.
LENGTH OF STAY for campers is no longer than 14 days during any 30 consecutive day period for any USACE campground on Lake Lanier (Ex. Cannot stay at Bolding Mill Campground 14 days with another reservation immediately following at another USACE operated campground on Lake Lanier). Consecutive reservations under different names that exceed 14 days are not authorized and are subject to eviction and/or the issuance of a citation in accordance with Title 36 CFR 327.7 (b).
Commercial operations are prohibited in USACE operated campgrounds. Rental campers must be operated and set up by the registered camper.
Day using is prohibited. Registered campers must occupy their site overnight.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 84 · 14 tent-only, 7 walk-in
- Hookups
- 65 electric, 64 water
- Longest rig
- 160 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 5
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, River, Beach
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Picnicking
- Swimming
- Water access
- Night sky · 93rd darkest of 96 in GA
- Bortle 5
- Fall color · reported 4 days ago, 24 km away
- Patchy color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 10
What you actually pay
“Cancellations must be made via the online/phone reservation system or in person at the gatehouse. Cancellation calls to the gatehouse will not be honored.” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
84 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 82 mapped sitesAll 84 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 82 of the 84 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| OFED | 01 | rv electric | 52 ft | 50 amp | 117 ft | 78 ft | 554 ft | |
| OFED | 02 | tent only electric | 50 amp | 117 ft | 103 ft | 443 ft | ||
| OFED | 03 | rv electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | ||||
| OFED | 04 | rv electric | 160 ft | 50 amp | 106 ft | 189 ft | 135 ft | |
| OFED | 05 | rv electric | 120 ft | 50 amp | 106 ft | 173 ft | 225 ft | |
| OFED | 06 | rv electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | ||||
| OFED | 07 | tent only nonelectric | 50 ft | 211 ft | 89 ft | 353 ft | ||
| OFED | 08 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 203 ft | 47 ft | 561 ft | ||
| OFED | 09 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 198 ft | 67 ft | 759 ft | ||
| OFED | 10 | tent only nonelectric | 45 ft | 114 ft | 90 ft | 954 ft | ||
| OFED | 11 | tent only nonelectric | 40 ft | 114 ft | 109 ft | 965 ft | ||
| OFED | 12 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 114 ft | 64 ft | 918 ft | ||
| OFED | 13 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 99 ft | 69 ft | 830 ft | ||
| OFED | 14 | tent only nonelectric | 45 ft | 99 ft | 91 ft | 750 ft | ||
| OFED | 15 | tent only nonelectric | 40 ft | 160 ft | 83 ft | 624 ft | ||
| OFED | 16 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 125 ft | 112 ft | 588 ft | ||
| OFED | 17 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 104 ft | 117 ft | 480 ft | ||
| OFED | 18 | tent only nonelectric | 40 ft | 104 ft | 97 ft | 376 ft | ||
| OFED | 19A | walk to | 115 ft | 89 ft | 467 ft | |||
| OFED | 19B | walk to | 115 ft | 85 ft | 508 ft | |||
| OFED | 20 | walk to | 124 ft | 102 ft | 373 ft | |||
| OFED | 21 | walk to | 126 ft | 132 ft | 239 ft | |||
| OFED | 22 | walk to | 103 ft | 129 ft | 113 ft | |||
| OFED | 23 | walk to | 82 ft | 139 ft | 15 ft | |||
| OFED | 24 | walk to | 82 ft | 155 ft | 75 ft | |||
| OFED | 25 | standard electric | 87 ft | 50 amp | 139 ft | 197 ft | 365 ft | |
| OFED | 26 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | 85 ft | 104 ft | 324 ft | |
| OFED | 27 | standard electric | 67 ft | 50 amp | 85 ft | 66 ft | 327 ft | |
| OFED | 28 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | 95 ft | 79 ft | 383 ft | |
| OFED | 29 | standard electric | 63 ft | 50 amp | 100 ft | 66 ft | 448 ft | |
| OFED | 30 | standard electric | 57 ft | 50 amp | 106 ft | 84 ft | 604 ft | |
| OFED | 31 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 73 ft | 101 ft | 720 ft | |
| OFED | 32 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 57 ft | 72 ft | 822 ft | |
| OFED | 33 | standard electric | 43 ft | 50 amp | 57 ft | 29 ft | 797 ft | |
| OFED | 34 | standard electric | 55 ft | 50 amp | 73 ft | 74 ft | 722 ft | |
| OFED | 35 | standard electric | 35 ft | 50 amp | 96 ft | 34 ft | 640 ft | |
| OFED | 36 | standard electric | 64 ft | 50 amp | 94 ft | 58 ft | 521 ft | |
| OFED | 37 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 80 ft | 97 ft | 490 ft | |
| OFED | 38 | standard electric | 46 ft | 50 amp | 72 ft | 101 ft | 513 ft | |
| OFED | 39 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50 amp | 72 ft | 76 ft | 521 ft | |
| OFED | 40 | standard electric | 55 ft | 50 amp | 139 ft | 147 ft | 502 ft | |
| OFED | 41 | standard electric | 43 ft | 50 amp | 98 ft | 82 ft | 779 ft | |
| OFED | 42 | standard electric | 35 ft | 50 amp | 65 ft | 84 ft | 866 ft | |
| OFED | 43 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 65 ft | 69 ft | 923 ft | |
| OFED | 44 | standard electric | 46 ft | 50 amp | 111 ft | 79 ft | 1,109 ft | |
| OFED | 45 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | 111 ft | 71 ft | 1,142 ft | |
| OFED | 46 | standard electric | 59 ft | 50 amp | 90 ft | 63 ft | 1,278 ft | |
| OFED | 47 | standard electric | 60 ft | 50 amp | 90 ft | 86 ft | 1,344 ft | |
| OFED | 48 | standard electric | 25 ft | 50 amp | 86 ft | 42 ft | 1,448 ft | |
| OFED | 49 | standard electric | 39 ft | 50 amp | 92 ft | 69 ft | 1,456 ft | |
| OFED | 50 | standard electric | 47 ft | 50 amp | 87 ft | 84 ft | 1,516 ft | |
| OFED | 51 | standard electric | 51 ft | 50 amp | 83 ft | 84 ft | 1,624 ft | |
| OFED | 52 | standard electric | 44 ft | 50 amp | 83 ft | 99 ft | 1,707 ft | |
| OFED | 53 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 96 ft | 58 ft | 1,797 ft | |
| OFED | 54 | tent only electric | 20 ft | 50 amp | 84 ft | 13 ft | 1,872 ft | |
| OFED | 55 | standard electric | 48 ft | 50 amp | 84 ft | 25 ft | 1,829 ft | |
| OFED | 56 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | 86 ft | 50 ft | 1,563 ft | |
| OFED | 57 | standard electric | 51 ft | 50 amp | 86 ft | 55 ft | 1,538 ft | |
| OFED | 58 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 86 ft | 62 ft | 1,508 ft | |
| OFED | 59 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50 amp | 102 ft | 31 ft | 1,372 ft | |
| OFED | 60 | standard electric | 56 ft | 50 amp | 99 ft | 70 ft | 1,218 ft | |
| OFED | 61 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 99 ft | 126 ft | 1,198 ft | |
| OFED | 62 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 75 ft | 90 ft | 1,683 ft | |
| OFED | 63 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 75 ft | 113 ft | 1,752 ft | |
| OFED | 64 | standard electric | 47 ft | 50 amp | 78 ft | 123 ft | 1,825 ft | |
| OFED | 65 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 81 ft | 79 ft | 1,910 ft | |
| OFED | 66 | standard electric | 55 ft | 50 amp | 81 ft | 81 ft | 1,989 ft | |
| OFED | 67 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | 105 ft | 79 ft | 2,122 ft | |
| OFED | 68 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 100 ft | 51 ft | 2,236 ft | |
| OFED | 69 | standard electric | 53 ft | 50 amp | 100 ft | 36 ft | 2,329 ft | |
| OFED | 70 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 113 ft | 10 ft | 2,269 ft | |
| OFED | 71 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 108 ft | 56 ft | 2,162 ft | |
| OFED | 72 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 105 ft | 22 ft | 2,055 ft | |
| OFED | 73 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50 amp | 87 ft | 25 ft | 1,946 ft | |
| OFED | 74 | standard electric | 60 ft | 50 amp | 94 ft | 56 ft | 1,858 ft | |
| OFED | 75 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | 95 ft | 59 ft | 1,743 ft | |
| OFED | 76 | standard electric | 61 ft | 50 amp | yes | 95 ft | 88 ft | 883 ft |
| OFED | 77 | standard electric | 75 ft | 50 amp | yes | 51 ft | 106 ft | 756 ft |
| OFED | 78 | standard electric | 58 ft | 50 amp | yes | 95 ft | 32 ft | 849 ft |
| OFED | 79 | standard electric | 44 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 32 ft | 813 ft | |
| OFED | 80 | standard electric | 52 ft | 50 amp | 72 ft | 42 ft | 791 ft | |
| OFED | 81 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 72 ft | 36 ft | 732 ft | |
| OFED | 82 | standard electric | 74 ft | 50 amp | yes | 51 ft | 122 ft | 725 ft |
| OFED | 83 | standard electric | 64 ft | 50 amp | yes | 77 ft | 113 ft | 692 ft |
25 of 84 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Duckett Mill5.9 mi
Bald Ridge Creek7.9 mi
Bolding Mill8.0 mi
Sawnee8.1 mi
Toto Creek Campground12 miDockery Lake Recreation AreaChattahoochee National Forest · 31 miTake I-85 north to I-985, take Exit 8, turn left on Hwy 347/Friendship Rd., turn right on McEver Rd., turn left on Jim Crow Rd. and follow signs to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Flowery Branch, GA
Typical weather
Typical October night 50°F, day 72°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 31°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Old Federal is in Georgia’s 7th congressional district. Its representative, Rich McCormick (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →