Foghorn Outdoors: Alabama & Georgia Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 380 Campgrounds [Paperback]

Marilyn Sue Windle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Foghorn Outdoors | Publication Date: June 9, 2002

Devoted campers, hikers, boaters, anglers, bikers, and golfers agree: Foghorn Outdoors guidebooks are essential for anyone who wants to spend less time planning and more time enjoying the outdoors. Each book is an excursion guide packed with the latest information on a variety of adventures near and far. This brand new guide offers the most extensive listings available to the public campsites in Georgia and Alabama. Choose from a variety of camping options, from primitive campsites to RV resorts. Author Marilyn Windle provides prices and contact information and gives advice on selecting gear, clothing, and food, choosing a campground, and handling emergencies. She also recommends non-camping attractions nearby, such as museums, theme parks, and historic sites, and includes a detailed index for ease of use.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marilyn Windle spends nearly every weekend camping in the Southeast. She lives in Marietta, GA. Bob Race lives in Chico, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing (June 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566912849
• ISBN-13: 978-1566912846
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,569,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Alabama

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not comparable to Foghorn California, August 25, 2006

By 

Carl J. Jonard (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: Alabama & Georgia Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 380 Campgrounds (Paperback)

When I lived in California, I picked up Foghorn Outdoors: California Camping, and I was extremely impressed. The California book is written by Tom Stienstra, a real outdoorsy kind of guy, and it's filled with detailed advice and amusing anecdotes. Best of all, each campground listing provides a detailed, opinionated description which makes it clear that the author has actually personally checked out most, if not all, of the sites. Each site is even rated on a scale from 1 to 10, and there are overview lists like "Best Coastal Hikes." It's a great book.

I was disappointed, then, after moving to Atlanta and ordering Foghorn Outdoors: Alabama & Georgia Camping. Marilyn Sue Windle is no Tom Stienstra. She makes it clear in her introduction that she is fairly new to camping, and didn't even like it until some friends dragged her on a car camping trip an unspecified number of years ago. She does provide some useful advice at the beginning of the book, but most of it comes from her friend Gautam at the Sierra Club, and it's much more from a casual perspective ("My camp bed is more comfortable than many I've found in motels") than Tom Stienstra's ("This made sense to me until the first time I came face-to-face with a nine-foot grizzly 40 yards away.")

Once the introduction is out of the way, you get to the meat of the book. Like the California Foghorn book, this is divided into sections based on map grids, and the locations of each campground are easy to find on the map. You get all the basic statistics about each site, like facilities, reservations, directions, etc. Beyond that, there's just a couple sentences of "trip notes," most of which sound like they were lifted from a park brochure. There is little to indicate that the author has ever been to most of the campgrounds herself (she says in the introduction that she "personally contacted each campground"), and there is very little in the way of personal opinion. I didn't see any negative points listed for any of the campgrounds, making it very difficult to pick which ones are worth visiting.

Perhaps I'm too hard on this book, because my expectations were set high by Foghorn's California edition. And I don't know if there are any better books for the Georgia area. If you're just looking for a reference listing all the campgrounds in the area, this is a great place to start, and it's well-organized. I'm sure Marilyn Windle is a fine person, but "When my work schedule permits, I'm out nearly every weekend" just doesn't compare to Tom Stienstra's "this is my full-time job--and has been for 25 years." Is there some way they can get Tom to write all their books?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great outdoor resource!, June 26, 2003

By 

Sharon Barklett (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: Alabama & Georgia Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 380 Campgrounds (Paperback)

I've been camping in the Southeast all my adult life, moving from a tent to a popup, then to a motorhome, and this is the first complete camping guide to the area that I've found. This book has it all. Where else are you going to find everything from RV parks to wilderness areas, along with information on where to find wildlife, where the hiking trails are, and even recipes for camp food? It even has a section about camping with children. This is the only book my husband and I need for camping here. When is Windle going to do the Carolinas and Tennessee?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete guide to the region, June 21, 2003

By 

Craig (Chatsworth, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: Alabama & Georgia Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 380 Campgrounds (Paperback)

Great guide! It covers everything - RV sites, tent campgrounds, backpacking areas. The best part is how to get your spouse to like camping. My wife used to hate it, and we've been on three trips since I got this book. Better than anything else I've seen on camping here. Get it.