Pocket Campground
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 16 of the next 16 nights read 15:34 UTC
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 26All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Pocket Recreation Area is located within the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in the ridges and valleys of northwest Georgia. The campground sits in a low lying geographical area between Horn and Mill mountains. This low lying area was formed by limestone dissolving, leaving the ridges above and valleys below. These ridges are rich in iron ore "pockets" giving this area its name. Deer and turkeys thrive in the surrounding forest. Spring wildflowers and autumn colors abound, showcasing the beauty of the region. Keep reading
Nearby trails and overlooks allow visitors to enjoy the National Forest from different perspectives. The Pocket area is rich in cultural and historical history. In the mid-1800s until the Great Depression in the 1930s, this area consisted of two communities, Pocket and Zone. These communities consisted of farms, churches, home places, a grist mill, a saw mill, and a general store. Between 1938 and 1942, the Pocket Recreation Area was the site of a thriving Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work camp for Company 3435. The men of the CCC, under the guidance of the U.S. Forest Service, had a tremendous impact on the area. They were involved in building roads, bridges, erosion control, tree planting, fighting wildfires, and the construction of recreation sites. The CCC played an instrumental part in helping local farmers with erosion control and road maintenance. Remnants of the camp can be found throughout the Pocket Recreation Area. These remnants include foundations for buildings, drainage trenches, retaining walls, and spring box in the picnic area. Activities in the Pocket Recreation Area include camping, picnicking, hiking, and trout fishing in nearby Johns Creek.
Recreation
The Pocket Campground is a quiet campground which not only serves as a place to rest and relax by the campfire, but serves as a base camp for activities located within other parts of the National Forest. Adjacent to the campground is the Pocket Picnic Area, complete with tables, grills, a reservable picnic shelter, and a vault toilet. The trail heads for the Pocket Loop Trail and Pocket Interpretive Trail are located in the picnic area. A Civilian Conservation Corps spring box is located in the creek, releasing cold water from deep below the surface. This is a great place to wade and cool off during long summer days. Hiking the 1.5 mile Pocket Interpretive Trail contains signs to provide an educational walk through multiple types of habitat where an array of wildlife and plant species can be found. The 2.5 mile Pocket Loop Trail provides a similar, but longer experience, sharing some of the same tread with the interpretive trail. Trout fishing in Johns Creek (less than a mile away) is a great place to wet a line and fill one's creel. Georgia DNR fishing regulations apply.
Facilities
The Pocket Campground is a 26 site campground with one main loop. The campsites are located in a forested setting. A creek flows through the adjacent Day Use/Picnic Area. Each campsite has a paved parking spur, a gravel tent pad, picnic table, lantern post, and a fire ring with a grill. There is a restroom with flush toilets centrally located (no showers). Water hydrants are located throughout the campground. There is no electricity at this campground. There is no dump station at this campground. Cell phone service is very limited. A host site is located at the entrance to the campground. This site is a host residence, not a store or office. Campsites vary in size, accommodating various types of camping opportunities from tents up to 28 foot travel trailers. The roads leading to the Pocket Campground are paved and easy to travel.
Natural Features
Surrounded by the horseshoe ridges formed by Horn and Mill Mountains, the Pocket Campground is located in a geographical region known as the Ridge and Valley Province of Northwest Georgia, part of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. This region consists of long narrow ridges, sweeping valleys, creeks, streams, ponds, and waterfalls. A small creek, locally known as Spring Branch (a tributary to nearby Johns Creek) meanders through the recreation area, providing a cool relief in the summer months. An informational interpretive loop trail and the Pocket Loop Trail leads visitors through a mixed pine/oak forest, past a small wildlife pond, and near wildlife food plots. This variety of natural features provides habitat for deer, turkeys, a multitude of song birds, and aquatic life, such as amphibians and beavers. The Johns Mountain Overlook and the Keown Falls Picnic Area are found nearby. These two beautiful recreation sites showcase the natural features of the surrounding region.
Nearby Attractions
Johns Creek Trout Fishing Area: A great place to go trout fishing managed by the U.S. Forest Service and GA DNR with the help of Trout Unlimited. Leaving the campground, turn left onto Pocket Road. After 1/4 mile stay right at the Y. After 1 mile look for legal pull-offs for fishing access. (Georgia DNR fishing regulations apply). Johns Mountain Overlook: A U.S. Forest Service overlook where visitors can view the Armuchee Valley and distant Taylor's Ridge. Leaving the campground, turn right onto Pocket Road. After 3 miles turn left at the Johns Mountain Overlook entrance sign (Forest Service Road 208). Follow FSR 208 for 2 miles to the overlook. Keown Falls Picnic Area and Trailhead: A beautiful place to picnic with a loop hike to Keown Falls. Best seen after rain. Leaving the campground, turn right onto Pocket Road. After 2 miles turn left at the Keown Falls Trailhead entrance sign (Forest Service Road 702). Follow FSR 702 for half a mile. The Keown Falls trail is a 3 mile loop trail. The falls are about 1 miles when following the trail counter clockwise. Chestnut Mountain Shooting Range (Fee Area, see Recreation.gov page Chestnut Mountain Shooting Range ): A U.S. Forest Service shooting range to hone your shooting skills. You must provide your own firearm, ammunition, and targets. Leaving the campground, turn right onto Pocket Road. After 4.6 miles turn right onto Furnace Creek Road. After 2 miles on Furnace Creek Road, turn right onto GA-136. Follow GA-136 for 5.7 miles. Turn left at the Chestnut Mountain Shooting Range entrance sign (Forest Service Road 212). Follow FSR 212 for a half mile. Houston Valley OHV Area (Fee Area, see Recreation.gov page Houston Valley OHV Area ): A U.S. Forest Service ATV trail system. This is a designated area with 25 miles of various levels of trails where visitors can legally ride dirt bikes and ATVs (under 50 inches). On the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest ATVs and dirt bikes are limited to designated OHV trails and not allowed to be driven on roads designated as Forest Service Roads ( National Forest Roads ARE NOT part of the county road system ). Visitors must provide their own vehicles at this facility. Leaving the campground, turn right onto Pocket Road. Follow Pocket Road for 7.3 miles then turn left onto GA-136. After 1/10th of a mile turn right onto GA-201. Follow GA-201 for approximately 5.5 miles and veer left onto Old Ringgold Road. After approximately 5 miles turn left onto Houston Valley Road. After 2 miles turn onto Capehart Road. Follow Capehart Road into the Houston Valley OHV parking lot.
What the agency tells you
Check-Out time: 2:00 pm Check-In time: 3:00 pm Campers with reservations should arrive no later than 12:00 p.m. the following day of their first reserved night or their reservation may possibly be cancelled without refund. Your reservation confirmation will show the Arrival date and the Departure date for your reservation. These dates will be used in case of reservation disputes at this recreation site. Please have your confirmation available upon request.
14-Day Forest Stay Limit: Camping or maintaining a campsite in developed and dispersed areas in excess of 14 days within any 30-day time period is prohibited. After the camper(s) has accumulated 14 days within any 30-day time period, the camper(s) must leave that area/campground and move from Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest land before returning for another stay. (36 CFR Section 261.58a)
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. (36 CFR 261.58bb)
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Fireworks and other Pyrotechnics are Prohibited. (36 CFR 261.52f)
Store food and trash properly. Never leave food/trash out on tables or in the open. Store unattended food/trash in bear-resistant containers, in a vehicle in solid non-pliable material, or suspend food/trash at least ten feet off the ground. Remember to use the bear resistant trash receptacles provided at this facility. (36 CFR 261.58cc)
Pets must be leashed at all times (36 CFR 261.16J)
It is prohibited to cut live vegetation or any standing tree whether dead or alive. Firewood may be collected from the forest for use while camping. Only collect wood that is dead and down. Dead trees play an important role as homes for wildlife and insects. (36 CFR 261.6a)
Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Generators are allowed during daylight hours, but may not be used in a manner or at a time which unreasonably disturbs other forest visitors. (36 CFR 261.10i)
Bring your own equipment and supplies. The nearest store and gas station is 8 miles away in Villanow, GA
Cell phone service is extremely limited and unreliable in this area.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 26
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets · Vault Toilets
- “…a reservable picnic shelter, and a vault toilet. The trail heads for the Pocket Loop Trail and… / …and a fire ring with a grill. There is a restroom with flush toilets centrally located (no showers). Water hydrants are…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…toilets centrally located (no showers). Water hydrants are located throughout the campground. There is no…”
- Store
- Nearby
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Creek
- Birding
- Fishing
- Hunting
- Observation Site
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Cell signal · Cell signal · Forest Service says
- Spotty
Full this Saturdayread 15:34 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 26 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 25 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 15:34 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
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 · 12
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $15 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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
recreation.gov availability, read 15:34 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
26 sites
All 26 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 26 of the 26 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| main | 1 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 10 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 11 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 12 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 13 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 14 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 15 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 16 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 17 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 18 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 19 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 2 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 20 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 21 | standard nonelectric | yes | $15 |
| main | 22 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 23 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 24 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 25 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 26 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 3 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 4 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 5 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 6 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 7 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 8 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| main | 9 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
25 of 26 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Woodring Campground (GA)25 miWoodring Branch Primitive Campground26 mi
Chickamauga Battlefield Group CampgroundChickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park · 26 mi
Doll Mountain Campground26 mi
Lake Conasauga Overflow CampgroundChattahoochee National Forest · 31 miFrom I-75, take exit 320 (LaFayette/Resaca) west on Georgia Highway 136 for approximately 14 miles. Turn left onto Pocket Road for approximately 7 miles. The recreation area will be on the left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Resaca, GA
Typical weather
Typical October night 50°F, day 75°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 32°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
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Pocket Campground is in Georgia’s 14th congressional district. Whoever holds it votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. See how its representative votes on public lands →
Our roster still carries Marjorie Greene for this district and the current federal record doesn’t list them as sitting, so we’re not naming a representative here until the two agree.
Who can change it · 2
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJon OssoffU.S. Senator · Georgia
- Your senator, on the same appropriationRaphael G. WarnockU.S. Senator · Georgia
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Pocket Campground, Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia
Dear Jon Ossoff, I’m a constituent in Georgia. I tried to camp at Pocket Campground, Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia, and couldn’t. All 26 sites at Pocket Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 26 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Pocket Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Pocket Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Pocket Campground (Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Pocket Campground, Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia
Dear Raphael G. Warnock, I’m a constituent in Georgia. I tried to camp at Pocket Campground, Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia, and couldn’t. All 26 sites at Pocket Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 26 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Pocket Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Pocket Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Pocket Campground (Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia) via campanac.com
How we know this · 4
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“…There is no dump station at this campground. Cell phone service is very limited. A host site is located at the entrance to the campground.…”