Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Padena Dispersed Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · GA · 34.85925, -84.23190
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Padena Dispersed Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Padena Dispersed AreaNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Padena Dispersed Area · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · GA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel1 mi
- GGrocery1 mi
- @Mail1 mi
- OOutfitter3 mi
- MMechanic3 mi
- RxPharmacy4 mi
- HHardware4 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- ShShower18 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- WWater19 mi
- DDump20 mi
- AAir-up26 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 1 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Padena Dispersed Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
GA
Coordinates
34.85925, -84.23190
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Padena Dispersed Area · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · GA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureStar Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townPadena · ~0.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCitgo · ~5.3 mi
- Propane / LPGFolger's Gas Co. · ~4.5 mi
- Dump station~20.0 mi
- GroceriesIngles · ~4.1 mi
- PharmacyBlue Ridge Pharmacy · ~3.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicBlue Ridge Medical Center · ~9.0 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~4.0 mi
EV charging — from Padena Dispersed Area · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · GA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.5 mi straight-line E — BRMEMC STATION 2, Blairsville, GA · ChargePoint Network · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach7 within 25 mi · 52 within 50 · 377 within 100 · 597 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO15.5 mi — BRMEMC STATION 1, Blairsville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)5.2 mi — Hampton Inn, Blue Ridge, GA (at a hotel) · AMPUP · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2022-10-11 · hours: Contact station for hours of availability.
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Best Western Milton Inn, Blairsville, 15.4 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guests only
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 302512 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Padena Dispersed Area · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · GA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~11.6 mi SE · FWS
- Flush restroomCherokee Lake Picnic Area · ~14.7 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPanther Top Shooting Range · ~16.0 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletJack'S River Fields Campground · ~16.2 mi W · USFS
Open Padena Dispersed Area elsewhere
Other camps near Padena Dispersed Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Morganton Point Recreation Area~1.0 mi · fee
- Toccoa River -Sandy Bottoms Campground~4.9 mi · fee
- Deep Hole Recreation Area~9.8 mi · fee
- Rock Creek Dispersed Area~11.1 mi
The unit that manages Padena Dispersed Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Padena Dispersed Area are set by Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Padena Dispersed Area
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Padena Dispersed Area
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Padena Dispersed Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading the aerial →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →