Vagabond photographer in an Alto trailer
I’ve been to this state park twice, and each time I wonder why I didn’t stay longer, always on my way to somewhere else. It’s a nice park, quiet, smallish, and right on a lake. A lake with gators. Big gators. In 2019, this lake made the national news when someone pulled a 700 pound gator out of the water. In case you’re wondering that works out to 13 feet and 4 inches of gator that came out of Lake Blackshear here.
[Read more…] about Review: GA Veterans Memorial State Park
It might have an odd name (there’s a Big Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee river in South Carolina), but this is a sweet little park. Mostly, it seems to get a lot of people who grew up in nearby Myrtle Beach area and a few vagabonds like me who are drawn to it being not really near anything cool or notable. It’s on a little lake, there are some good hiking trails, and it’s quiet and dark at night. What more could you ask for in a campground?
[Read more…] about Review: Little Pee Dee State Park
If you’re familiar with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) campgrounds, you know they almost always are near a big body of water, which makes for nice paddling if the weather cooperates. Watsadler, on the Georgia side of the GA/SC line, is no exception to this rule, and the two days of paddling I did were quite nice, exploring the edges of Lake Hartwell and, on one occasion, being surprised by a blue heron taking flight a few yards away. I guess I surprised it first!
[Read more…] about Review: Watsadler USACE Campground
I’ll admit it, I only picked this park so that I could tell my friend Paris that I was staying at “her” mountain. Hey, when you’re picking places mostly to wait out the month of March till you meet up with friends in April, it really doesn’t matter where you go. And since most of the tourist sites are still closed, there’s still not much sightseeing going on (Furman University gardens were a miss here, along with downtown Greenville).
The Garmin directions had me winding through back roads and then taking a right turn away from the actual park entrance, so be sure you map this site before you drive. It’s a fairly good approach from south or west, with two-lane roads and not much traffic. The real challenge is from the camp entrance to the campground. Those Campendium reviews weren’t kidding, it’s a bunch of tight curves with little visibility and a lot of traffic until you get past the vistor center. I was once again thankful I have a small trailer and not a 40-footer with a toad on the back. Still, the forest views from the road were definitely enticing!
[Read more…] about Review: Paris Mountain State Park, SC
Kalaloch is one of those campgrounds where planning six months ahead can really pay off. If you score one of the bluff campsites, you have pretty good privacy and a view of the ocean and beach 24×7. I did not have one of those sites. But I could still hear waves crashing all the time, so that was cool enough.
Kalaloch is remote and rugged. The nearest convenience store is 7 miles away, the nearest showers 28 miles. While there is the Lodge and a tiny grocery store 1/4 mile south of the campsite, be prepared for few choices and top dollar pricing.
[Read more…] about Review: Kalaloch Campground, WA
Continuing my November tour of Florida State Parks within driving distance of my home base of Gainesville, I stayed four nights at O’Leno State Park, about five miles north of High Springs, and maybe 15 minutes of I-75 and Alachua. If you want a stop on the way north or south, this is a pretty good park.
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You know that saying, “It’s the journey, not the destination?” Well, this post is all about that because getting to Reed Bingham was definitely about the journey. I took all back roads because my brief foray with just the Ridgeline onto I-75 was enough to convince me I didn’t want to tow on that interstate: four southbound lanes of fast 18-wheelers, cars, and trucks and a lane repaving project that meant changing lanes involved a bit of a height change as well. And when I say fast, I mean I was going 70 mph and getting passed by almost everyone. So going 55 while towing on that interstate was definitely a non-starter.
[Read more…] about Review: Reed Bingham State Park, GA
This was my first time here, since I usually stay at the USACE Modoc campground about 2 miles south. Modoc closed Oct 1 for the season, so if I wanted a midway point between Asheville and my first Georgia stop, it had to be Hamilton Branch.
[Read more…] about Review: Hamilton Branch State Park, SC
I needed a two-night stop between Falls Lake, NC and Elizabethton, TN, so Fort Hamby fit the bill nicely. That it is also a USACE (Army Corps of Engineers) campground was a plus, since it gives seniors a serious discount on the daily rate. And it was only 15 minutes from Wilkesboro, where I could stock up and find some supplies at the hardware store that I needed.
[Read more…] about Review: Fort Hamby, NC
The whole of Falls Lake State Recreation Area in North Carolina encompasses three separate campgrounds. This is a review of the Rolling View campground, east of Durham and north of Raleigh.
[Read more…] about Review: Falls Lake SRA, NC
