Overview
James H (Sloppy) Floyd State Park is a precious gem nestled in a little valley near Summerville in Northwest Georgia. This is the park that inspired this family to buy an RV, but that's another story. The park is named for James H Floyd, otherwise known as "Sloppy", a local politician (state representative) from decades ago.

The park has a couple of fishing lakes where you can rent row and pedal boats. There are two playgrounds, one of which is in the campground. There are a few sites located near enough to sit by the fire and watch the kids play. Hiking and mountain biking is virtually unlimited because the Pinhoti Trail runs along Taylors Ridge, a short hike from the lake. If a shorter hike is what you have in mind, you can hike up to the old marble mine and reflection pool (en route to the Pinhoti).

If you like rockhounding, this is the place for you. Taylor's Ridge, especially this portion, is covered with shattered rocks. Apparently a geological event caused the limestone to buckle and shatter, like an explosion. The result is amazing. What's even more amazing is the fact that much of the rock is a very fine laced agate. You will also find rose quartz, druzy quartz, pink marble, purple chert, fossils, and more. There are also a couple of other rockhounding and fossil sites nearby.

There are occasional events at Sloppy Floyd State park. One of our favorites is Adventure Day, an entire day dedicated to rock climbing, fishing, bows and arrows, bb guns, snakes, good food, and more.

In summary, this little park is simple. There's no miniature golf or gimmicks. It's a place to fish, hike, mountain bike, rockhound, and relax.

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Adventure Journal
Entry Date: September 2010
It was time for the annual Adventure Day at James H (Sloppy) Floyd State Park again, and we had to be there. Adventure Day 2009 was cut short for the Tribe because of rain, so the kids were anxious to do some of the things they didn't have time to do last year. The weather this year was about as perfect as it could be.

We camped at the park so we could get an early start (and we love camping there). Our first stop was archery. All the kids received straight bows last year for Christmas, so they knew the basics. They all did pretty well with the compound bows the rangers provided, but they still need some practice. The helpful DNR rangers gave them some pointers though (pardon the pun).

We then wandered over to the area where the rock wall was located. The kids enjoyed the educational snake show provided by Jason Clark of Southeastern Reptile Rescue before climbing the wall. Smokey Bear and some DNR fire fighters were there with their cool equipment, including a Polaris UTV with all kinds of neat firefighting gadgets onboard.

There had to have been 25 rangers present to make everything run smoothly, including keeping the loaner fishing rods in working order. Adventure day is the one day a year they let kids (16 and under) fish in the stocking end of the lake. Lee Thomas landed a nice catfish, and there were people there with strings of fish totaling 25 or more pounds. It was a little crowded, but fun was had by all.

After fishing for a while and eating a free hotdog lunch, the kids got a short shooting lesson and target practice with pump bb guns. To wrap-up this wonderful event, we toured the Southeastern Reptile Rescue trailer. Jason Clark captures reptiles such as snakes and lizards when they're somewhere they are not supposed to be. In the trailer he had a small alligator, a Gila monster, and a respectable collection of venomous snakes.

click to zoom

Jason does events like this, but he also does private birthday parties that include encounters with reptiles like the Albino Burmese Python pictured above. He shares a lot of funny stories about the animals he has rescued, the places he has found them, and the unusual people he meets in his job. It's an entertaining and hair-raising show, but most importantly, it teaches kids to safely respect these widely misunderstood animals. Personally, I liked the show, but I'm not going to be sitting on the front row.

Back at the campground, we enjoyed a nice afternoon of play and exploration. Sloppy Floyd State park is our favorite place for rockhounding, and the kids are avid rock hunters, so that kept them occupied much of the afternoon. We found some very nice purple and pink chert with a .2" layer of agate partially enclosing it (very unusual).  There was also a little game play Mancala) and fireside relaxation at the site which had a nice view of the playground.

In summary, this was a most perfect day. The temperature was pleasant, the activities were fun, the DNR staff was hospitable, the park was beautiful, and the food was free. How much better can it get?

That night, I got a lesson about being a prepared camper (which I normally pride myself on). About 3am, I woke to the sounds of thunder. I hurriedly jumped-up, threw on some shoes, and ran outside to replace the windows I had removed from the Jeep three weeks earlier. Finally, a relief from the Summer drought. Unfortunately for me, it ended in a big way about the time I got outside. It's ok, the Jeep, my camping chairs, and I all needed a good shower.

Note: The only complaint we could muster on such a perfect day was that Mother Nature unleashed the yellow jackets (aggressive yellow wasps). For some reason, this time of year, yellow jackets are abundant up on Taylors Ridge and the vicinity (could be the fruit-bearing muskadine vines- aka wild grapes). No one in our crew got stung, but it made us uneasy a lot of the time.

The Richardson Tribe

Features	Rating (1-10)	Description
Official Website	9	Georgia's State Parks website is very well done. Could use more pictures of campsites and amenities. Making reservations is a breeze!
Campground - Reserve	9	25 Tent, Trailer, RV Campsites (**$25-$28) - No full hookups. Beautiful campground with a steep approach. A 9 only because of no hookup.
Playground(s)	8	One in the campground and one at the lake. The one at the campground is awesome, especially if you have kids and are lucky enough to get the site that is right behind it (see pictures below).
Cottages/Cabins - Reserve	9	*($125 - $135 per night) we stayed in one of the cabins our first time at Sloppy Floyd. It was very nice. Website's description -Two bedroom cottages. Each bedroom has two double beds and one full bath. Sleeps 8. Bed and bath linens provided. Fully equipped kitchen with microwave. Fireplace (wood not provided.) heat/AC. TV. No phone. Covered front and back porch with rockers. Picnic table and grill outside. Has tin roof. Cottage 2 is ADA accessible.
Hiking/Mountain Biking	10	Take the Lake Trail from the campground around both lakes, then up the Marble Mine Trail to the Pinhoti Trail. Note, the campground is fine for the kids to ride, but the main road running through the park is no place for little kids on bikes.
Geocaching	*	Geocaching is available, but we didn't have a chance.
Rockhounding	10	This is our favorite place to rockhound. Just walking around the campground can keep rock lovers busy for hours. There is also a rock quarry in Summerville with tons (literally) of agate. There are also a couple of forestry service roads with fossils galore.
Local Attractions	9	Summerville, Rome, Taylor's Ridge, Rocky Mountain Recreation Area. Rome Braves, Ridge Ferry Park, Mentone, AL, Desoto State Park, Sequoyah Caverns (check hours)
*Note: We rate only the amenities we have personally reviewed. **Accommodation pricing is based on 2010 http://gastateparks.org website pricing. No financial consideration or favor has been received for listing in PB&J Adventures' website. We are in no way affiliated with this facility or any other facility we review. Any paid advertising seen on this site was arranged after the destination was reviewed. You can trust the reviews to be unbiased.