Winter Yurt Camping at Sweetwater Creek
For Christmas, I bought my partner a Georgia State Parks Pass so we could take more trips out of the house. We’ve been stuck inside so much due to the pandemic and most of our normal activities (shows) have been shut down, so finding a way to stay active and try new things has been difficult.
I’ve been wanting to exercise and adventure more, so it was a win-win gift.
A few weeks ago, I wanted to go for a run, and equipped with our new Park Pass, I drove out to Sweetwater Creek State Park to go run the trails. I had a lot of fun on the red trail, and it was pretty scenic, and I wanted to come back with my camera.
I pitched the idea and we started making plans to take some time away from the house and try to do something new. We took the short trip back to Sweetwater Creek State Park and rented a yurt.
I’ve never been camping as an adult, and I don’t have a tent, so it seemed like a yurt was the way to go. I read that the ones at Sweetwater were heated, and the weather was calling for near-freezing temperatures, and as two amateur campers, it seemed like a bold try to go somewhere unheated.
Sweetwater Creek State Park is a half-hour drive west of Atlanta.
Getting to Sweetwater Creek Park
The drive was super easy, it’s barely 10 minutes off of I20 out towards Lithia Springs. It was close to society (we even snagged Moe’s on the way out) and I figured it would be a relatively simple trip to make, especially for our first excursion.
I became an REI Member last year when the pandemic began and bought a bunch of survival & camping gear (don’t judge me, I didn’t know what would happen, plus it would be useful if I ever get to tour to do music photography again), so I packed up my little cooking kit, my fire starting gear, camera equipment, packed some clothes and blankets, and took off to our yurt!
Checking in was super easy, they called with all the info before hand, and the visitor’s center had a cool little museum and gift shop with some camping necessities, so if you forget something, you can still stock up.
The yurts were a five minute drive from the visitor’s center, and had ample parking. The nearest occupied campsite was 500 feet away, on account of it being literally January in a pandemic. It was great!
Exploring the Yurt
The yurts were advertised to be able to fit 6 people - though I don’t think I’d want to hear 5 separate people trying to fall asleep. They’re definitely roomier than you’d think.
Arriving at the yurt was super exciting - it was bigger than we expected. We arrived as the sun was going down, so time was of the essence. I tried miserably and failed to get a fire started. It had just rained, so all the tinder and kindling we had had an awful time starting. I also found out lighters barely work when they’re cold, so lesson learned. Next time I bring a blowtorch.
We spent the evening snacking on apples and bagged sandwiches that we brought with us since I failed to get the fire going. I did however have a fully charged eBook reader and a digital copy of a political nonfiction book I’ve been trying to finish since last year, and with the ample lighting inside the yurt, I decided to keep working on it.
The yurts were advertised as being heated, which we discovered to mean that it had a large electric space heater. With the partially unsealed windows, the yurt didn’t ever really get warm, so we spent the evening shivering a bit as we read our books together. It was about 33°F outside, and about 55° inside. I hoped that it would get warmer overnight, as the room and furniture absorbed the heat, but it stayed consistently around 55°, and god help you if you opened a door.
That being said, we brought warm clothes, under armor, and were well equipped for the cold. The masks we wear for PPE proved to be helpful for warming our faces as well, so we wore those when we went out to the bathrooms.
The facilities, bathroom, campsite grounds, and parking lot were all phenomenal - well lit paths, warm water and heat in the bathrooms, and well-groomed woods made it an enjoyable experience to relax, despite the cold. Being from New York, I had a good time reminiscing about freezing my butt off trying to shovel my driveway or catching the next Metro North train down to the city. It was very refreshing.
Waking Up in the Morning at the Yurt
I woke up sharp at 6:30am and was much warmer than it was when I went to sleep. The yurt had soaked up some of the heat and the sleeping bag and blankets had made me nice and toasty. It was pitch black out, but I was determined to get the fire going since I had such a hard time the night before. I climbed out of the mattress (which sunk a bit in the middle) and got suited up with two layers of underarmor (leggings and shirts) and got out to start working on getting the fire going.
After twelve fire starter cubes and about an hour and a half, I FINALLY got the fire logs going enough to cook. By then, Aly was up and we were able to make some tea, sliced green peppers, vegan breakfast sausages, and quinoa for a kick-ass high protein camping breakfast. Other than the food getting cold immediately due to the 40° weather, it was absolutely delicious.
We got some friends to come out and hit the trails with us, and we had decided that we probably wouldn’t stay another night because of how cold it got, so we needed to cook as much food as we could stomach to make the most of my hard-earned fire.
The fire circle had a built in barbeque unit, and also had a grill - and in retrospect, I probably should have used the grill, but the fire circle just felt right when I first started.
Successfully made a fire after hours of trying.
Hitting the Trails at Sweetwater Creek State Park
Our friends joined us for a hike through the trails, and we were walking by 11am. We drove to where the trails start, geared up, and went off through the intermediate trail to see all the sights on the creek. I brought my Sony A7III and my Sony 24-105mm f/4 with me to snap some shots. Most of the colors had already gone for the season, but there were still a couple of mossy patches and green trees out and about to be able to add some colors to the photos of the park.
The red trail was pretty tough in some spots, and it definitely took a ton out of me, but it was well worth the adventure. I felt incredibly accomplished after completing it, and I can’t wait to pick the next trail to go hit!
