Watsadler
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 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:02 UTC
- A night
- $36–$76Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 49All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Watsadler Campground is a 36 acre site consisting of a relatively dense cover of pine and mixed hardwoods. The area is open year-round and is one of Hartwell’s most popular camping destinations. The site presently offers camping and boat launching facilities to include 1 gatehouse/entrance, 2 park attendant campsites, 51 public campsites with full water/electric hookups, 3 comfort stations (2 with showers), 1 dump station, 1 boat ramp, 1 courtesy dock, 2 playgrounds, and associated paved roads and parking areas throughout. Keep reading
Recreation
Fishing is one of the most popular activities at the lake. Sought-after species include largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish, striped bass and hybrid bass. The lake appeals to boaters of all kinds, whether their specialty is canoeing, sailing or motor boating. Coves and areas of quiet water provide water skiers with excellent surfaces. Swimmers will find sand beaches and designated swim areas in many parks along the shoreline.
Facilities
The site presently offers camping and boat launching facilities to include 1 gatehouse/entrance, 2 park attendant campsites, 51 public campsites with full water/electric hookups, 3 comfort stations (2 with showers), 1 dump station, 1 boat ramp, 1 courtesy dock, 2 playgrounds, and associated paved roads and parking areas throughout.
Natural Features
Hartwell Lake is a man-made lake bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers. The dam and lake area boasts 8 campgrounds and 11 day-use facilities that are operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Hartwell Project was originally authorized for hydro-power, flood control, and navigation. Later, recreation, water quality, water supply and fish and wildlife management were added. Surrounding vegetation allows for plenty of shade, and the 962 miles of shoreline provide numerous swimming beaches, picnic areas and boat ramps.
Nearby Attractions
Charges & Cancellations - Once your reservation has been created, there will be a $10.00 fee to cancel and a $10.00 fee to change your site or dates. - Cancellations made the day before, or up to the day after your arrival date will also be charged the first nights use fee. - Reserved campsites will be held until check out time ( 2 p.m.) on the day following your scheduled arrival date. If you do not arrive at campground by 2 p.m. to fulfill your reservation, your reservation will be cancelled and you will be assessed a $20 service fee and forfeit the first nights use fee. - No-shows are charged a $20 fee plus the first nights use fee. - If your reservation is for one night and you have been charged the first nights use fee, there is no $10 service fee. Refunds: - To insure fairness for all Recreation.gov customers, any reservation with departure dates outside the 6 or 12 month maximum window cannot be changed or cancelled until 18 days after the reservation is made. - Refunds must be requested no later than 14 days after scheduled departure date. Refunds may be requested through Recreation One Stop Customer Service at 877-444-6777. Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Cash and check purchases will be refunded by check and may take up to 8 weeks for approval and processing.
What the agency tells you
Entrance gate OPENS at 7 a.m. and LOCKS at 10 p.m. No vehicle entry or exit between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. You must check-in before 10 p.m.
One wheeled camping unit (RV, camper, camper van/truck, etc) per single site and must be parked on impact pad (gravel area). Tents are restricted to impact pad.
Off-road vehicles including golf carts, 4-wheelers, motorized or electric scooters/ride-on devices are not permitted.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
Only registered vehicles are allowed in the campground. Up to 3 vehicles may be registered per site. All vehicles and boats trailers must be parked on gravel area of campsite or in designated parking spaces.
Check in time is 3 p.m.; check out time is 2 p.m.
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Maximum stay is 14-days within 30 day period. Changing names on a reservation, changing campsites, or making multiple reservations in order to stay over 14-days is PROHIBITED! VIOLATORS MAY HAVE RESERVATIONS CANCELLED WITHOUT NOTICE. Please do the right thing.
All pets must be penned, caged or on a leash no longer than 6 feet; pets are prohibited on swim beaches, playgrounds, and in restrooms. You MUST clean up after your pet!
Golden Age/Access and America the Beautiful Interagency Senior and Access Passes are accepted at this campground and cardholders receive a 50% discount on camping fees. Cardholder must be present at registration, show pass and ID, and camp during entire stay.
Fireworks and firearms are prohibited.
Maximum of 10 campers per single site. Registered campers are required to occupy campsite and must be 18 years of age or older.
Gray water (any wastewater from sinks, dishwashing, bathing, etc) or other waste water must be disposed of properly at campground dump station.
For campfires, use only dead wood gathered from the ground and contain fire in designated fire rings or grills only. Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Don't movefirewood.org for further information.
Keep your campsite and campground clean. Keep your trash contained and frequently remove trash from campsite (dumpsters located within campground). Do not leave litter in fire ring or on campsite upon check out.
Inflatables including water slides, jumping houses, etc. and/or carnival type rides/events are not permitted.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 49
- Hookups
- 49 electric, 49 water
- Longest rig
- 50 ft
- Paved pads
- 2 of 49
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- 48 of 49 sites
Facilities
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “The site presently offers camping and boat launching facilities to include 1 gatehouse/entrance, 2 park attendant campsites, 51 public campsites with full water/electric hookups, 3 comfort stations (2 with showers), 1 dump station, 1 boat ramp, 1 courtesy dock, 2 playgrounds, and associated paved roads and parking areas throughout.”
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Playground
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Beach
- Boating
- Fishing
- Swimming
- Night sky · 71st darkest of 96 in GA
- Bortle 4
Full this Saturdayread 16:02 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
2 campgrounds have sites open within 30 miles, read 15:59 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
Every one of the 48 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 27 are free on Wed, Oct 21. read 16:02 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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $36–$76 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.
“- Once your reservation has been created, there will be a $10.00 fee to cancel and a $10.00 fee to change your site or dates. - Cancellations made the day before, or up to the day after your arrival date will also be charged the first nights use fee. - Reserved campsites will be held until check out time ( 2 p.m.) o…” · this campground’s own no-show 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 · 6
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 2
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first. read 15:59 UTC
- SpringfieldHartwell Lake · 7.2 mi · 2 of 148 site-nights open
- Oconee PointHartwell Lake · 18 mi · 2 of 132 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 16:02 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
49 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 49 mapped sitesAll 49 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. 49 of the 49 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| W1 | 01 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 95 ft | 221 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 02 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 95 ft | 143 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 03 | standard electric | 37 ft | 50 amp | 90 ft | 52 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 04 | standard electric | 35 ft | 50 amp | 90 ft | 31 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 05 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | 124 ft | 102 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 06 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | 140 ft | 31 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 07 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | 123 ft | 62 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W1 | 08 | standard electric | 29 ft | 50 amp | 123 ft | 21 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W18 | 18 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | 121 ft | 92 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W18 | 19 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 121 ft | 74 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W18 | 20 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 123 ft | 65 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W18 | 21 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 76 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W18 | 22 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 33 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W18 | 23 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 129 ft | 129 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 24 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 347 ft | 364 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 25 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 107 ft | 34 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 26 | rv electric | 35 ft | 50 amp | yes | 107 ft | 139 ft | $38 |
| W24 | 27 | standard electric | 32 ft | 50 amp | 64 ft | 46 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 28 | standard electric | 32 ft | 50 amp | 48 ft | 94 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 29 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 48 ft | 65 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 30 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 56 ft | 46 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 31 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 61 ft | 74 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 32 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 61 ft | 71 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 33 | standard electric | 31 ft | 50 amp | 61 ft | 67 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 34 | standard electric | 35 ft | 50 amp | 64 ft | 64 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 35 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 75 ft | 25 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 36 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 75 ft | 20 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 37 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 71 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 39 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 90 ft | 63 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 40 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 69 ft | 67 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W24 | 41 | standard electric | 29 ft | 50 amp | 69 ft | 59 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 42 | standard electric | 35 ft | 50 amp | 108 ft | 49 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 44 | standard electric | 28 ft | 50 amp | 102 ft | 50 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 45 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 89 ft | 38 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 46 | standard electric | 28 ft | 50 amp | 89 ft | 25 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 47 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | 97 ft | 81 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 48 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 47 ft | 90 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 49 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 47 ft | 67 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 50 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 51 ft | 60 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W42 | 51 | standard electric | 37 ft | 50 amp | 51 ft | 73 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 09 | rv electric | 44 ft | 50 amp | yes | 100 ft | 16 ft | $38 |
| W9 | 10 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 100 ft | 28 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 11 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50 amp | 89 ft | 47 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 12 | standard electric | 28 ft | 50 amp | 80 ft | 35 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 13 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 69 ft | 94 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 14 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 69 ft | 37 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 15 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 70 ft | 41 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 16 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 70 ft | 67 ft | $36–$76 | |
| W9 | 17 | standard electric | 33 ft | 50 amp | 97 ft | 62 ft | $36–$76 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
25 of 49 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Big Oaks0.6 mi
Elrod Ferry1.6 mi
Crescent2.9 mi
Springfield7.2 mi
Singing Pines10 miMilltown Campground11 miWatsadler Campground Address: 286 Watsadler Road, Hartwell, Ga 30643. From I-85 North in Georgia, take exit 177 onto Highway 77 towards Hartwell, Georgia. In Hartwell, take Hwy 29 North towards Anderson, South Carolina. Continue approximately 4 miles, take a Left onto Watsadler Road; entrance will be a short distance down on the right. From I-85 South in South Carolina, take exit 14 (Hwy 187) and follow Hwy 187 until the 4-way stop with Hwy 29. Take a right onto Hwy 29 towards Hartwell, Georgia. After crossing into Georgia, continue approximately 1.5 miles and take a right onto Watsadler Road, campground will be a short distance down on the right.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Hartwell, GA
Typical weather
Typical October night 52°F, day 72°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 33°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
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 · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
Watsadler is in Georgia’s 10th congressional district. Its representative, Mike Collins (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
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.
- The member who votes the moneyMike CollinsU.S. Representative · Georgia’s 10th district
- 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 Watsadler, Georgia
Dear Mike Collins, I’m a constituent in Georgia’s 10th district. I tried to camp at Watsadler, Georgia, and couldn’t. All 49 sites at Watsadler are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 48 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. Watsadler keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Watsadler. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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 Watsadler (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 Watsadler, Georgia
Dear Jon Ossoff, I’m a constituent in Georgia. I tried to camp at Watsadler, Georgia, and couldn’t. All 49 sites at Watsadler are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 48 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. Watsadler keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Watsadler. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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 Watsadler (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 Watsadler, Georgia
Dear Raphael G. Warnock, I’m a constituent in Georgia. I tried to camp at Watsadler, Georgia, and couldn’t. All 49 sites at Watsadler are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 48 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. Watsadler keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Watsadler. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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 Watsadler (Georgia) via campanac.com