The Quick Rundown

Time of Year: Mid-June

Site: F-19 (Falcon Ridge Section)

Where Would We Stay Next Time?: Same section, Falcon Ridge. We’d try a lot of sites in this section. If you’re looking for shade, check out F41-F50, the elevation of Eagle Crest behind the sites gives that section some really nice late afternoon shade.

Waterfront Site: No

Length of Stay: 3 Nights

First Time Visit or Return Trip: First Time Visit

Rig: 36′ Fifth Wheel

Cell Provider – Coverage: Verizon – Great Service

TV Antenna Coverage: Great Coverage – Multiple Channels Found

Cost ($,$$ or $$$): $$$ ($95-$130/night + taxes/fees)

Accessibility: Easily Accessible, Even with Large Rigs

Location: Hiking, Wineries, Breweries, Restaurants & Walkable Towns all within 20 minutes of the resort

Pros: 1) Amenities 2) Location 3) Views 4) Layout

Cons: 1) Lack of Shaded Sites 2) Intermittent Evening Wi-Fi

Bathhouse Rating (The Ritz, The Holiday Inn or The Motel 6): The Ritz! (They’re gorgeous)

Would we go Back?: Yes 1000%, we’ve already booked our next trip for October. Follow along with us on Instagram (@fifth.wheeling) for our past and future adventures!

The Long Rundown

This was our 1st time camping at a RV Resort and I think we were spoiled. This will be hard to beat! We’d always camped at local COE campgrounds or State Parks and this was our first time with Full-Hookups. It was so nice being able to take real showers in the camper.

Speaking of the hookups, our site was laid out perfectly. The electric, water & sewer hookups were in a great location. We only needed about 5′ of our 20′ sewer hose and it drained nicely “downhill” without assistance. The entire resort was well thought out; they really thought of every detail. It’s laid out in 3 different levels. The top level at the highest elevation is called Eagle Crest and it has the best views. It wasn’t overly windy when we were there, but I imagine it can get pretty breezy in Eagle Crest and they issue warnings in your paperwork to remind you to keep an eye on your awning. The views are absolutely spectacular though, it’s definitely the most popular section in the campground and most expensive! I’d say it’s worth the splurge at least once, but we were very happy with our site in Falcon Ridge, which is the middle section. We stayed in F19, which was a back-in site and only had neighbors on one side. We also had a great view of the mountains out of our back window, even if they were partially blocked by trees. In our opinion, this is one of the best sites in the section, but there really isn’t a bad site in the entire resort. If you’re looking for some shade, check out F41-F50, they back up to the upper level of Eagle Crest and that upper section provides some great afternoon shade. They do have some pull-in sites which were new to us, as well as pull through. They provide clear specs and a nice graphic on how to enter your site on their website when booking and I guarantee they’d answer any questions you have if you gave them a call. Their check in period is from 1-4pm with late checkout until 6pm. We got a later start than we’d hoped for and hit excessive Atlanta traffic (surprise, right?!) so I called to let them know we’d be there after 5pm. They were extremely polite and assured us someone would be at the check-in building until 8pm that night. So there was some flexibility for us, but if you visit, plan to arrive before 6pm so you don’t have to stress.

I could go on and on about how nice this resort was. To not make this a novel, I’ll highlight a couple of our favorite things. The amenities are amazing, the pool belongs in a 5-star resort and the views are breathtaking. Again, it goes back to how well laid out the entire resort is. You can tell someone really cared about people’s experience when they stay here. When we were there, a wedding took place and I can only imagine how beautiful their pictures turned out. I’ll note that I was extremely impressed with how they parked the wedding guests in various areas of the campground, shuttled them up to the ceremony on a golf cart, but left parking spots near the pool available for their resort guests. We enjoyed an afternoon at the pool while the wedding was taking place and really appreciated that we were still able to enjoy the amenities. On our first night, they had a food truck and live music outside the Grandview Hall. We met and talked with a lot of really nice people, it’s a great opportunity to socialize! They texted us to tell us about the mimosa truck that comes by in the morning, but we must’ve missed it. The daily site garbage pickup was a great perk and we often saw employees riding around performing maintenance on the facilities and grounds. There is a lot of love put into this place and it shows. The bathrooms and other community spaces are gorgeous; this really is the true definition of “glamping”.

The icing on the cake is the resort’s location. We’ve always stayed at COE campgrounds or State Parks because we like to feel like we’re camping and “in nature” for the weekend. What intrigued us to try Talona Ridge as our first RV resort was the views and the close proximity to great hiking and exploring the gateway to the mountains. We felt like we were getting the best of both worlds. We were able to hike to a waterfall (Tumbling Waters Nature Trail), check out a winery (Engelheim Vineyards) and visit a brewery (Grumpy Old Men Brewery) all within 20 minutes of the campground. Then, at the end of a busy (and hot) day we could come back to the resort, cool off in the pool and relax with gorgeous views from our camper.

It is difficult to find any negatives to this place, but I will point out that if you’re looking for huge mature trees for shade, you won’t find it here (yet). It’s a newer resort, so everything is still growing, but you definitely don’t feel like you’re on top of your neighbor. If you want to be able to enjoy your evenings outside, don’t book a site where your “party side” faces west. The hot and bright evenings were the only downside to our site, but the mornings were perfect in the shade… so take your pick and book accordingly! We did have some trouble streaming our tv in the evenings, but I expected that and that’s not why we camp anyways. During the day, the Wi-Fi was perfect and it was nice to stream some movies for our kids while we did dishes or wound down after a busy day exploring.

Overall, this place impressed us beyond our expectations and I’ve been recommending it to everyone we’ve talked to. We loved it so much, we booked another trip this fall. This has opened our minds to trying out more RV resorts, but I have a feeling that it’ll be hard to beat the love and care that was put into designing and building Talona Ridge. If you’ve visited, I’d love to hear your experience and please let us know where you explored while staying at the resort!

Make sure to follow along on Instagram (@fifth.wheeling) for more on our past and future adventures!