Camping at Allatoona Lake: McKinney Campground

McKinney Campground on Lake Allatoona is one of nine campgrounds in Georgia run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Allatoona Lake is only 30 miles from Atlanta, offering a quiet peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The lake draws over 13 million visitors every year in the form of campers, hunters, fishermen, swimmers and hikers. There are never a lack of jet skis, pontoon boats, house boats, and speedboats that dot the lake from sunrise to each gorgeous sunset on the lake. Allatoona Lake is the oldest multipurpose project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ South Atlantic Division. The dam was completed and operable in January 1950 and designed at a cost of $31.5 million. It is located on the Etowah River, one of the tributaries of the Coosa River.

This campground has one parking space, one dump station, two shower houses, two beaches, 8 restrooms, and one boat ramp. It has a spreading outline of sites, with a spidery twist of turns throughout the map. Maps of the campground are available at the information and gate house of the campground. The sites are well done, clean, and easy to get in and out of...there won’t be any easing your camper into a site that it won’t go easily in this campground. One of the largest of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ campgrounds on Lake Allatoona, McKinney Campground is a favorite of many and in checking available reservations it was booked well into a three month time zone of reservable spots.

McKinney Campground allows 3 cars per campsite and a maximum of 6 visitors in addition to the registered camping party. Even with this generous allowance, the campsites never seemed crowded or closed in. It was a peaceful night due to the noise ordinance of quiet hours between 10pm and 6 am. They will lock up the gates at 10:30pm until they “re-open” the campsite at 7am. Your checkout time at this campground is a very reasonable 3pm.