This is an interesting park that you can find at the foot of the Allatoona Lake damn on the Etowah…read moreriver. It's also the on the edge of the former town of Etowah and the home of Cooper's Furnace - a huge truncated-pyramid of stacked, mortared stone originally used to smelt iron ore. The furnace is still standing but now cordoned off - also, while it's apparent that visitors could at one time get closer to the Allatoona Damn, on this day the road and access to that part of the park was blocked-off with no trespassing signs (it's unclear if on other days the area is accessible or not, we visited on the day after Thanksgiving). The area is lush with vegetation and includes a pavilion, play-area with one of those crazy jungle gyms, bathrooms, fixed barbecue boxes and picnic tables. It's a surprisingly large park that's only open for day visits so no camping. It's also a bit weird to access - you get off of i85 South of the park then travel first West, then North to get under the highway. Next you travel a road alongside the Etowah river to get to the park itself with is East of i85. Once in the park make sure you checkout the trails and overlook - we were just scoping it out and plan a return to walk the trails - on this day we weren't in the right shoes or clothing. It's apparently a pretty good fishing spot too so make use you bring your pole.

Just a beautiful ride on red top mountain road going to see 2 of my 12 grandchildren.read more

The place is beautiful and quiet and very well taken care of…read more The only complaint is the check in process needs to handled more efficient

We love camping at McKinney ! Campgrounds are well kept and clean,always a great camping experience…read moreas we've camped here several times. Beautiful waterfront lots is what we love to reserve as our camper at the end has a full size window. Lake Allatoona has to be the most prettiest lake I've seen and camped on. Only one little complaint ,the eldery lady at check in does all the work as the man stands around and watches her . She's not friendly at times and takes it out on campers instead of coworkers. Think they both need to retire LOL

This is a great location, assuming you have the correct military access to these types of…read morefacilities. Very clean, modern cabins with current amenities (stove, fridge, microwave & flatscreen). Easy access to the lake with two fishing piers and boat launch access. Medium size sandy beach and a small playground area. The small road that loops around the campgrounds is just shy of 1 mile for a quick jog or casual evening walk.

So this was my second time coming here, after coming up with friends two weeks ago and having a…read moreblast. This place is certainly up in the middle of nowhere Blue Ridge but worth the trip. You'll find deeper water here and less spots to get stuck. There is a huge grassy parking lot across the street from the ticket office, with an underpass (walkway under the highway) to safely cross. The only issue with the grassy field is the amount of flies and bugs over in it, so I'd suggest doing all your pre-tubing stuff in the tubing parking lot (sunscreen application, changing, etc). This place is an actual campground for RVs, Campers and tents. It's actually pretty nice, if you're looking to camp. Plus, you have a tubing place onsite! They have two types of tubes: ones with a hole so your butt gets wet and ones with a hole and cover at the bottom (no wet butt). They also have kayaks available, which might be something I get next time. The life jackets are required for each person but you can use them to anchor each persons tube to another tube. Cost was super cheap (I think it was $8 a person?). The drop in is easy and it's about a 2 hour tubing trip. Very scenic, cleaner water than you'll find closer to Atlanta, deeper, colder and less spots to get stuck. They have a pickup spot just before a bridge on the left hand side of the river, with short buses running about every 15 minutes or so. There is no alcohol or coolers allowed, or cans/bottles allowed on the river. You can bring a 32oz container with a "drink" in it. Yes, genius, loophole. My recommendation is to bring a dry sack with you and attach it to your tube ... you can put sunscreen, change of clothes, etc . The river water is very cold and can keep your "drink" cold. I had a blast both times! Be very weary of huge rocks you can't see in the river where the rapids are. They can certainly cut up your legs and also hurt your butt if you have it in the water during the faster rapids. Will certainly recommend this spot to others and come back. Wish it were a little closer!

We went tubing here while on vacation, it was the second time and it was amazing. It's easy to get…read moreto, park, and launch in the river. People are extremely friendly. Will definitely be returning on our next trip!

Brand new spot with all the amenities you could use. Terrific check in process with lots of…read morefriendly people.

Great resort New, so needs more shade…read moreNeed better WiFi signals for the capacity Bring your booster or hot spots Seems a bit off the track but actually if you turn right out of the resort, you hit a town! Huge investment in the pool - amenities, and comfort stations. I only wish there were more showers/toilets in the comfort stations and usually the garbage is collected daily for RV guests- the garbage can is far far far. My puppies enjoyed the open grass by our riverside campsite, but the back area 'riverside' can't access or even see the river - overall Great stay

This place was a blast!!! I'm an old man, but could still catch a few laps around these two awesome…read morefeatures! The staff was patient and really helpful. I highly recommend this experience! Here's a little video of my experience. https://youtu.be/EehBclQC0IY

Enjoyed this breath of fresh air event place, we opted for the obstacle course for the kiddos…read moreallowing them to run off some energy from the rainy days, this place has it all for the entire family. Water sports, wake boarding, corn hole, connect four, concession stand on site. I'd rate this place 5/5 however the only down fall was trying having little to none of a changing space other than that we had a blast.

Good environment, helpful employees. All that being said... it's super overpriced in my eyes. But…read moreit's the only female only gym in Cartersville, which I know some women are more comfortable being with other women only. If you can justify the price of it, it's a good gym.

Can you say a treasured jewel in Cartersville? The staff is soooo amazing! Heather and Ashlie are…read moreeager to help and make you feel right at home! This gym not only state of the art but is also equipped with a hair salon, childcare, and a lash and skin studio! Can you say all in one! I highly recommend you stop by you would be amazed!!!!

I think this may be the most beautiful campground we've seen in a long time. It is in a very…read morewooded and secluded area, on a lake, with gorgeous scenery all around. We actually found it by accident after talking to a gentleman at a gas station. We came in late, we were lucky enough to get a spot, and the gentleman in charge couldn't have been friendlier. We would recommend this hands-down! What a wonderful place!

We made the drive to Rome Labor Day weekend for an "end of the season" last float. We planned to…read morerent tubes, however, when we arrived we found out the water was very low and the 6 mile float was taking 6 hours. We've done 4.5 and 5 hour floats before and knew we didn't want to float for 6 hours. The River Ratz staff was very helpful and suggested we would be more comfortable kayaking. Luckily we have kayaked before so we felt confident in our ability to get ourselves 6 miles down the river. (We've kayaked a Reservoir and I've paddled a creek as well.) Since the river was the second lowest it has been, we were told there may be one spot in particular where we may scrape a little and it was near an old Cherokee Indian fish trap. It's pretty amazing that the fish trap is still standing but that was the only place we scrubbed just a little. We saw a lot of wildlife during our paddle including turtles, fish, egrets, heron, and my partner even said he saw sturgeon. We definitely saw more wildlife during this float than the others we did this season. The length and time it took to complete the 6 miles were spot on with what we were told when we departed the boat ramp. That is the first time I've ever had that happen. It just goes to show this group knows the river and gives very good instructions. The information on where to get out was also spot on, another first in my floating experiences. I usually start getting anxious and concerned trying to count bridges or ramps but this was a clear 5 bridges and then the boat ramp was on the right. Again, perfect instructions from River Ratz. Another thing that really stood out was the number of people we saw on the river. Maybe it was because the water was low but we saw about a dozen people the entire time. Every other float we've done there have been a lot more people around, and that's kind of what we expected for the Labor Day weekend. It was a pleasant surprise for us, and perhaps why we were able to see so much wildlife this time. We even got a few suggestions for local places to eat nearby and had time to checkout some of Rome. We will definitely be back to kayak (and maybe even float next time) with River Ratz in Rome. My tips for going: 1) call before you go and check their Facebook page for updates. If they don't answer when you call leave them a message and they usually call back in 5 minutes. 2) Take your drinks and snacks with you. The nearest store is a few miles away. 3) Stop at a bathroom before arriving. There isn't one on site. 4) Try to refrain from using the public bathroom at the ending location. It's in a public park and there were at least 4 men standing around the bathrooms. Looked like people were living in the bathrooms and other not so good things for families to be around. So if you have to go to that bathroom go in a group, not alone! (This isn't in River Ratz control and it doesn't reflect on their business, but the city should do something because that didn't make Rome look good.)

As an active river type, my boyfriend and I decided to pack up and head out to Rome for a day on…read morethe river. Our expectations were simple: Tubes, music, and enjoying each others company. We put in the information for our GPS for River Ratz, only to be met with an old, dilapidated building beside the tracks. Come to find out, this was not the right location. So, we put in another address, which then took us to the drop off, still no place to pay. At this point, we're frustrated, so we ask the gentlemen there at the drop off "Where do we actually pay for this float?" He gives us the address, and yet again, we start another journey. We finally get to this bar called Cosmic Dog. The 'place to pay' was a pop up tent on a sidewalk that was leeching off of the Cosmic Dogs parking lot. The attendant was really sweet and personable. With that said, we quickly learned that at 11:00... they already sold out all of their equipment. We just drove an hour, to three locations, to find this place. She reached out to her team and she said they would get back to her. After 30 minutes, we come back to the tent and learn that she still hadn't heard anything. We asked her to check again, and come to find out, they could squeeze us in. We were happy to hear this, and decided to stick around. At 12:18, an hour and some change later, the 'shuttle' (which was an out transport van that sounded like it was about to break down) came to pick us up and drop us off where we'd just been a little over an hour before they picked us up. FINALLY, we get to the water. We're given two tubes, two life vests, and we're offered a tube for our cooler. We denied the additional tube and asked for straps to connect to one another. Apparently that was against the rules, even though they wanted us to strap the cooler tube to our tubes... After 2 hours of trying to get on the water, we finally get down the boat ramp (which is public access), and we get in.... The flow of the river was exhaustingly slow, you are in the heat of the sun for anywhere from 3-5 hours, and there are hardly any places to stop. We understand that this had nothing to do with the company, just nature. BUT.... Over the course of our 5 hours float, my boyfriends tube deflated 3 times, where we had to stop and inflate it on the bank of the river that did not exist. We paid $41 dollars for this... you'd think that the tubes would be good enough to withstand a gruelingly slow float down the river. At the end of the float, you have to 'stick to the right' or you will 'go bye bye' down the wrong side of the river. You have to get off at this boat ramp (also public access) that is surrounded by extremely deep water until you get up to the ramp. You hand a gentleman your tube, and then walk 'a couple blocks' back to your car. Ultimately, our first experience with this business was very underwhelming. It was unsafe, seemed like they threw the entire operation together in less than 24 hours, and then you get off of the river into the middle of a public boat launch. Not to mention the deflating tube that we paid $20 a piece for... and the exhaustingly slow float. ---------------------- If you are looking for a nice, comfortable float that offers some shade... take an extra hour drive up north and hit up the original tubing joints in Helen. If you are looking to kayak/ SUP, RIVER RATZ is the PERFECT PLACE FOR YOU. But us, we will never visit here again. Thank you for the experience and we hope you all the best, but our first impression just didn't work out well. ------------------ If you would like to have a better impression on your new patrons, post your current status on your website. Let people know that you are sold out. Get a safer, bigger van OR BUS. Let people tie their floats together. Recommend bringing paddles or ores to gain some speed on the float. Or just offer kayaking and stand up paddle boarding.