Camping along the I-79/I-77/I-95?

[Sarah_Rose]

Hey!

I'm planning our first family camping trip down to the Fort for May! My husband and I did lots of primitive-style (hike in, hike out) camping when we lived in the Pacific Northwest, but we haven't been brave enough to take the kids out until now. My oldest will be 3.5 (turns 4 in August) and my youngest will turn 2 during our trip. We're going to be driving down from Toronto over three days, and then three or four days back. We are tent camping, but definitely not "roughing it" - I'm bringing my espresso machine!

I was just wondering if anyone drives this route down from the north and could suggest any nice campgrounds along the I-77/I-79/I-95 route down from Erie, PA. I've booked one night at Fort McAllister State Park near Savannah, GA for the way back, and we would like to spend one night near St Augustine on the way down. Other than that, we're open.

Our loose plan is to leave around 3:00 am on the first day, so that we can hopefully get down to the North Carolina state line by early afternoon, just to get the bulk of the driving done in the first day. Our trip back will be much more evenly divided, we think.

And one last, totally unrelated, question. My husband and I have hardcore, good to -20, mummy-style sleeping bags. The kids do not currently have sleeping bags. We should probably pick up two adult and two kid warm-weather sleeping bags, right? Or would duvets and blankets cut it for early May weather? I know it'll be warm enough in the south, but I'm more concerned about West Virginia....

Thank you so much for any help! We're so excited to be planning this trip - it's so unlike anything we've ever done before, and the Fort has been on "my list" for a long long time!

 

[RandolphNY]

It looks like you will be traveling our "normal" route, although we are planning a different route for a change of scenery and we try our best to travel non-stop.

Anyway, may I suggest that you review the KOA and Good Sam Club websites / smartphone apps. By doing that, you will be able to get a feel for what is along the route and more importantly, where not to stay.

Have a save trip and enjoy!

44 days to go!

 

[Sarah_Rose]

It looks like you will be traveling our "normal" route, although we are planning a different route for a change of scenery and we try our best to travel non-stop.

Anyway, may I suggest that you review the KOA and Good Sam Club websites / smartphone apps. By doing that, you will be able to get a feel for what is along the route and more importantly, where not to stay.

Have a save trip and enjoy!

44 days to go!

Thank you!

I've been trying to look at some review sites, and generally staring at Google Maps and then searching for campsites in that area, but I'm getting pretty overwhelmed since it's such a huge geographic area, and I don't know any of it! It's hard to know from looking at a map where it might be a nice place to stop for the night, vs whether it would be better to continue an extra hour down the road, etc.

I guess we can always just keep driving until we find somewhere nice to stop for the night, but my OCD side likes to have at least a short list of possibilities.

 

[daemom]

Take a look at Stonewall Jackson Resort--it's on I-79.

 

[tina.tina]

Gosh, I feel like I'm having company! You're going to pass by about 1/2 hour away from me. I'd be happy to try to help you. I don't have much of any camping experience but I'd be happy to help out any way I can- with details about locations, etc. Feel free to PM me!

Fancy Gap is right at the NC state line. That mountain gets really foggy and can be dangerous with lots of wrecks during fog and bad weather. Hopefully, it won't be too foggy for long on August mornings. There are lots of campgrounds around that area.

I've never posted a photo & I'm not sure how, but I found this image online which is probably taken from I-77 in the fall.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/62183955

 

[AidensMommy3]

We currently live in southern West Virginia and are originally from northern WV. Early May temps are around 60-75 during the day and can dip into the 40s at night. They would probably be okay with lighter bags anywhere south of Fancy Gap NC but once you are north of there the temps are about 20 degrees cooler. I would definitely bring extra blankets or thicker bags and long underware.

The Broken Wheel Campground in Weston WV is nice and there are a few around Summersville lake as well along US 19. They had the boyscout jamboree last summer in Fayetteville WV but I'm not sure if the public can camp there yet. However there are campgrounds along that area as well.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Take a look at Stonewall Jackson Resort--it's on I-79.

Thanks! That looks like a beautiful area!

Gosh, I feel like I'm having company! You're going to pass by about 1/2 hour away from me. I'd be happy to try to help you. I don't have much of any camping experience but I'd be happy to help out any way I can- with details about locations, etc. Feel free to PM me!

Fancy Gap is right at the NC state line. That mountain gets really foggy and can be dangerous with lots of wrecks during fog and bad weather. Hopefully, it won't be too foggy for long on August mornings. There are lots of campgrounds around that area.

I've never posted a photo & I'm not sure how, but I found this image online which is probably taken from I-77 in the fall.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/62183955

We'll wave as we drive by! Thanks for all the info! We were looking at the Fancy Gap KOA as a possible first night option. I'm going to assume that cold/foggy weather is pretty much counted on in early May? It looks absolutely gorgeous, though!

We currently live in southern West Virginia and are originally from northern WV. Early May temps are around 60-75 during the day and can dip into the 40s at night. They would probably be okay with lighter bags anywhere south of Fancy Gap NC but once you are north of there the temps are about 20 degrees cooler. I would definitely bring extra blankets or thicker bags and long underware.

The Broken Wheel Campground in Weston WV is nice and there are a few around Summersville lake as well along US 19. They had the boyscout jamboree last summer in Fayetteville WV but I'm not sure if the public can camp there yet. However there are campgrounds along that area as well.

Hmmmm, so maybe we will bring the mummy-style bags, along with some warmer weather bags, and then also some lighter blankets and duvets. I like to be prepared, and I hate to be cold! I'm more concerned about my 4 year old, because my 2 year old will climb into my sleeping bag and sleep on top of me, but my older kid prefers that everyone get away from him while sleeping.

Also, thanks for the campground recommendations! I'm adding Weston to my short list! We're not sure if we're doing three or four days on the trip back, so it's nice to have lots of options if we decide we want to do three 4-hour days and one six, instead of a four and two eights!

We are spending 5 nights at the Fort, but we're really looking forward to having fun on the way there and back, too. I booked Anastasia State Park near St Augustine for the night before we arrive at Disney, so the kids should have fun exploring the beach and collecting shells for a few hours on that day. And then it's just an easy two hours to the Fort the next morning.

 

[hushupu]

It might be a little out of your way but my family loves Hunting Island State Park in SC. It's close to Hilton Head and Paris Island. 8 miles of beautiful unspoiled beach with a light house. Early May the weather should be delightful and low occupancy so lots of space.
Sites have 50 amp electric and water and there is a dump station. http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/huntingisland/introduction.aspx

 

[mjstoy]

We'll be driving from T.O. to the Fort at the end of April! Last year we took I-75, and from what others have told me, I-75 is the less scenic route. We will probably go a different route this year.

We use the app "All Stays Camp and RV" and find that it does a terrific job at locating rest stops along the way. We use the app during travel when we stop at a place with free WiFi. The is an "All Stays" website, too.

Good luck!

 

[Sarah_Rose]

It might be a little out of your way but my family loves Hunting Island State Park in SC. It's close to Hilton Head and Paris Island. 8 miles of beautiful unspoiled beach with a light house. Early May the weather should be delightful and low occupancy so lots of space.
Sites have 50 amp electric and water and there is a dump station. http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/huntingisland/introduction.aspx

Thank you for the recommendation!

We'll be driving from T.O. to the Fort at the end of April! Last year we took I-75, and from what others have told me, I-75 is the less scenic route. We will probably go a different route this year.

We use the app "All Stays Camp and RV" and find that it does a terrific job at locating rest stops along the way. We use the app during travel when we stop at a place with free WiFi. The is an "All Stays" website, too.

Good luck!

Ooooh, thanks for the advice on the app! I'm going to download it right away!

We're done the I-75 drive in February (22 hours straight through from London) and it was a really great route in bad weather. But yeah, not much to see along the way. And we accidentally hit Atlanta at 8:00 am, which added quite a bit of time to the drive. *sigh* Have a great trip!