Driving Mid-Atlantic States to the Fort

[KristaBelle]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I tried searching and read several pages back and can't find anything.

Does anyone have any recommendations for stopping for the night on the way to the Fort? Or places to stop along the way to let the kids run around a little bit? Do you stop at a campground? Hotel? Walmart parking lot?

We are coming from Pennsylvania and plan to take two days to travel leaving as early as possible on a Friday morning and arriving late Saturday. It is my sister and I our 3 kids, 7, 7, and 3. We are pulling a fifth wheel so the ride should be interesting with the three of them in the back seat of the dually.

We will be there for the 4th of July so maybe we will see some of you there!

Thanks!

 

[lledman]

We travel down 95 and the last 2 times we visited we made it to Brunswick, GA when we decided to call it – we didn’t aim to stop here but rather just drove until we were tired. This put us about 4 hours from Disney when we woke up in the morning. The first trip we stopped at the rest stop (the kids and I slept in the truck b/c they were already passed out and hubby got in the camper so he could get comfy). The 2nd trip we stopped at a Flying J and just over-nighted in their parking lot, again sleeping in the truck.

I like to save money whenever possible so that’s the reason we didn’t choose a hotel. I also feel if I have my camper with me I can be self contained so why pay someone else. As for stopping at a campground – again I’m cheap the rest stops allow us stay over night so why pay a campground when I don’t intend to even unhook the camper from the truck. I should add that we drove until 1-2 in the morning. We try to leave around noon - right after lunch & the kids will nap. We'll stop around 3 for potty breaks then again at 5 or so for dinner and we usually make it to south of the border around 7/8 and stop again to let the kids run around one last time before they crash for the night.

 

[dande54]

We are leaving June 12th for the fort and are staying the night at Jacksonville North / St. Marys KOA
2970 Scrubby Bluff Road
Kingsland, GA 31548

It is right off of I-95 on the Georgia-Florida border and was only $40 for full hook-up for the night.

Don

 

[Disneylitch]

We stop at a rest area for the night also. When we stop is up to my husband, he's the one driving. We do make stops at rest areas along the way because we travel with our dogs and they need potty breaks. We live in Street, MD, which is northern Harford County. Hope this helps.

 

[KristaBelle]

Thanks for the replies.

For those that stay at rest stops, do you stop at the ones with food/fuel or the rest stops with just bathrooms and vending machines? Since we are leaving the DH's at home I want to make sure we stop somewhere safe.

Thanks again!! I appreciate the advice/ideas.

 

[bcrook26]

Not sure which way you are coming. But if you are coming by way of 75 there is
Georgia Veterans State Park = http://www.gastateparks.org/net/go/parks.aspx?LocationID=29&s=0.0.1.5 = or of way of 95 there is Crooked River = http://www.gastateparks.org/CrookedRiver. being a mother I do not think that I could sleep well in a public parking lot. I know that there are people that do that kinda thing, but it worries me every time I see a camper in the local Wal-mart parking lot. If those people only knew that the neighborhood behind the store is know fore drugs and shootings they would not be there. I love georgia, but there are tater heads everywhere.

 

[lledman]

Thanks for the replies.

For those that stay at rest stops, do you stop at the ones with food/fuel or the rest stops with just bathrooms and vending machines? Since we are leaving the DH's at home I want to make sure we stop somewhere safe.

Thanks again!! I appreciate the advice/ideas.

We've stopped at both. If you are a light sleeper be warned that most of the trucks are running generators all night and they come and go at all hours.

I've never worried about safety - I guess I'm kind of naive to the dangers of the world but I figure that people mug people at stop lights & in stores, and break into homes all the time, heck some idiots even steal from baby strollers in Disney.

 

[LarryJ]

Thanks for the replies.

For those that stay at rest stops, do you stop at the ones with food/fuel or the rest stops with just bathrooms and vending machines? Since we are leaving the DH's at home I want to make sure we stop somewhere safe.

Thanks again!! I appreciate the advice/ideas.

I would not recommend anything but a regular CG based on your initial post stating you want a place for two 7YO and an 3YO to run around and you being two younger females.

Also, you OP did not say what was early on the day you leave and didn't say how late you want to arrive so you need to split the time up based on how far you want to drive and about where you will be at when you want to stop each day and then ask what we recommend based on that.

I can plan your trip, but you will need to send me $$$$ for being your personal travel agent/planner

Larry

 

[KristaBelle]

Thanks for the input. I was a little uneasy at the thought of a parking lot type senario to begin with, now I am definately set on finding a campground.

We will be traveling 95, leaving as early as I can possibly get my sister and the kids moving. The exact time is still up for debate. Would like to make it to South Carolina, but we definately won't make it as far as Georgia.

Has anyone ever stayed at the campground at South of the Border? Camp Pedro? I haven't stopped at South of the Border in quite a few years, I never even noticed they had a campground. The reviews don't seem bad for a overnight stop, but it's only $24.53/night, perhaps that should tell me something...

Or the Florence KOA in Florence, SC?

Or is anyone familiar with New Green Acres RV Park in Walterboro, SC? It boasts the "THE LONGEST AND WIDEST PULL-THRU SITES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI" which is right up my alley. The reviews look good.

Larry-I was checking out your trailer pictures, nice work, I got a few ideas!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[bcrook26]

From my understanding the one in Walterboro is really nice. Easy to get into not far off interstate. But depending on your site can get a little noisy from 95 being so close.

 

[LarryJ]

Thanks for the input. I was a little uneasy at the thought of a parking lot type senario to begin with, now I am definately set on finding a campground.

We will be traveling 95, leaving as early as I can possibly get my sister and the kids moving. The exact time is still up for debate. Would like to make it to South Carolina, but we definately won't make it as far as Georgia.

Has anyone ever stayed at the campground at South of the Border? Camp Pedro? I haven't stopped at South of the Border in quite a few years, I never even noticed they had a campground. The reviews don't seem bad for a overnight stop, but it's only $24.53/night, perhaps that should tell me something...

Or the Florence KOA in Florence, SC?

Or is anyone familiar with New Green Acres RV Park in Walterboro, SC? It boasts the "THE LONGEST AND WIDEST PULL-THRU SITES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI" which is right up my alley. The reviews look good.

Larry-I was checking out your trailer pictures, nice work, I got a few ideas!

Thanks again everyone!

Over the years we have stayed at every KOA from Fredricksburg, Va to St. Augustine Fl. ... Fredricksburg, Rocky Mount, Smithfield, Point South, Florence, Savannah, Jax (when there was a KOA there), and St. Augustine and this last time spent the night at New Green Acres in Walterboro when we took 17 from Norfolk back to 95. Any of them are good and they all run together anymore, but IIRC New Green Acres was quite nice.

Thanks for the compliment on the mods and I just finished tally up the total cost for all those mods and some of my upgrades like new foam for the dinette seats ($150) since 10/07 and it's up to close to $2400

Larry

 

[taborekle]

Well, check in at FW is 1pm, so if you want to arrive as close to that time as possible, then roll back the clock about 4 to 6 hours. That would mean that you're stopping someplace between New Brunswick Ga and Jacksonville. I'd be looking at campgrounds in that area.

 

[CDNCruiser]

From my understanding the one in Walterboro is really nice. Easy to get into not far off interstate. But depending on your site can get a little noisy from 95 being so close.

We stay at New Green Acres in Walterboro several times a year. We've never had a noise issue.

It's a terrific spot, easy in and out, lots of dining and shopping options in the area and all sites are super long - no need to un-hook.

 

[RocklandRVers]

We travel down 95 and the last 2 times we visited we made it to Brunswick, GA when we decided to call it --- we stopped at a Flying J and just over-nighted in their parking lot, again sleeping in the truck.

I like to save money whenever possible so that’s the reason we didn’t choose a hotel. I also feel if I have my camper with me I can be self contained so why pay someone else. As for stopping at a campground – again I’m cheap the rest stops allow us stay over night so why pay a campground when I don’t intend to even unhook the camper from the truck...

TOTALLY AGREE! We have stayed at the Flying J's on I-95 on the way down and back. We like Brunswick since its just a few hours from WDW. Although we are CHEAP too, we do buy gas, meals, even use their showers on occasion so its not like we don't hand over some of our money to them.

As far as safety, we feel 100% safe sleeping over. There is a lot of activity in truck stops that would stop mischief makers. We crank on the generator and run the AC to drown out the noise and believe me that we sleep like babies through the night.

 

[McPackers]

We stopped at the Florence KOA on the way back in April. It is a nice park, with a nice sandy playground for the kids to play in after being cooped up. We did not make advance reservations and called from the road. We have a 5 year old and found it much easier to stay in a campground overnight so he could burn off all the energy before he went to bed. The first thing we did was take his bike out and take him to the park. The Florence KOA was not near any restaurants that I recall. On the way down we stayed at KOA Jacksonville/St. Mary’s which was also a nice campground for an easy overnighter but it was a long day of driving to reach this stop from Maryland. We found it easier to stop at the rest stops for potty breaks and open the campers for food and stick to the Flying J’s for gas.

The one thing I found invaluable on the trip was the printed book The Next Exit. It was a great perk to know what each exit had to offer so I could plan my stops.

Good Luck on your trip.

 

[thecplusplusguy]

The campground there I thought was a little tight. There wouldn't be much room for the kids to run around, and the area itself is quite run down. When we go in November we are going to do a Rest Stop, a Walmart, or a something like that. Saying that I don't have kids, so I don't need to worry about them running around in the parking lot to blow off steam. I would do a campground if I were you. For me it wouldn't be a safety issue, I feel safe where I sleep, but having a play area for the kids will be a big deal. When I was a kid, I was ready to burst when we stopped overnight on the way down to Disney.

Dan

 

[Disneylitch]

We stopped at rest areas when our kids were little. They all have a picnic area and lots of grass. We now have grown kids, but travel with dogs. So grass is important. The rest areas are very safe. We always see lots of campers and tractor trailers when we stay.

 

[Yensid_MD]

We stopped at South of the Border on the way down. It was cheap like $25 or so, clean restrooms, easy on and off 95 and easy pull thrus. We will do it again next year when we go.

 

[KristaBelle]

Thanks for the responses. Do most of you make a reservation ahead of time? Or do you see how the day of travel is going and call ahead?

Thanks!

 

[dande54]

We just arrived at the KOA today and it is really nice and clean. We made reservations ahead of time. But looks like there are some open spots.

Don