McKinney Campground – 100

04.03.24-04.07.24

You can still get great campsites at the last minute! We know this first hand.

McKinney Campground is located in Acworth, Ga on Lake Allatoona. A Bartow County park, it has 150 RV campsites, two beaches, one playground, and a boat ramp. We have camped at McKinney seventeen times; it’s our go-to campground, nine miles from home. To help you choose your next reservation, details and photos from all of our previous visits can be found by site number in the McKinney Campground category. Directions on how to book at McKinney Campground are at the end of this blog post. 

We were originally scheduled to go to another park for the week, but canceled and decided to stay close to home. Thankfully there were still some great campsite options. 

Campsite 100 is located in a loop with multiple waterfront sites. It is a 25 ft back-in campsite that overlooks a cove. Our camper is 26 ft long, but we had plenty of room in the campsite for it. We did bring two cars this trip and had to have both of them slightly off the driveway to fit. This campsite has a path down to the water, but I would not swim in the area. It would be a great campsite to fish in front of though. We saw several turtles basking in the sun each day. 

The best part about these campsites (besides the ones that are truly waterfront) is the island in the middle of the loop. There are trees suitable for hammocks and large rocks that the kids enjoy playing on. The road was made into a race track for the kids and with little traffic, they could play. 

There is a bathhouse up the hill with two shower/toilet combos. We had great cell service from this campsite (Verizon and AT&T). Heather was able to work from the camper on Friday. 

My favorite campsite from this loop is 99. It’s a back-in with a super long driveway and it has a path off the back of the campsite down to the water. It is still in the cove so not too busy on the water, but it’s far enough out that the water is deeper and clearer. There are also a couple trees close to the water that would be good for hammocks. 

Campsite 98 is a 38 ft pull-thru campsite with a great water view. In the McKinney website photo you can see a large 5th wheel in the site and while we were there we saw the same. I do want to preface that the campsite is somewhat tight and when the people pulled out of the site you could see how much they had to cut through the mud on the side of the driveway. 

Campsite 97 is a 35 ft back-in campsite looking out over the busy part of the lake and straight across at the train bridge. There is water access off the front of the campsite, but it would be difficult for young children to get in there. Off the side of the campsite there’s a path down to large rocks and water access, but again it could be difficult to get in the water there. 

Campsites 93-95 are located down a one lane road that includes a small turnaround near campsite 93. With our set-up we would not be able to make the turn around and back into any of the three campsites. All three campsites are listed at 25 ft in length and honestly I think that a truck and 25 ft camper would also not be able to make that turn. One option would be backing down into the campsite from the road, which is doable. Campsite 95 is really nice with steps down to the camping pad and great water access.

We paid for Sunday night so that we would be able to pack up and leave Sunday after enjoying the campsite the rest of the day. We also had zero line at the dump station, took our time, and flushed our black tank by filling a bucket and dumping it down the toilet multiple times. 

How to Book with Bartow County

Bartow County’s website is not the most user friendly (don’t try to book on a cell phone) but now that I have done it a few times it is not a big deal. First—if you want to use the senior discount you will have to call and reserve the campsite by calling the county. If you are booking through their website I always google search Bartow County parks and rec, but I will include a direct link here as well. Scroll to “Click here for Campground Reservations” in red. Click Campground Reservations, find McKinney Campground. Campsites will show up in a catalog showing green for available and red for booked. You can book 6 months in advance. 

I always have my McKinney map from one of my blog posts opened in one tab (it’s larger than the one on Bartow County’s website) and the catalog in another tab. Once you figure out what campsite you want based on the availability, you have to add each night individually to the cart (clicking back and forth). This is the most frustrating part, but that is how their website is set up. Also want to note that if you need to cancel the reservation you will need to call them and choose a credit or check in the mail for your refund.