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Fall Creek Falls State Park, Spencer, TN
06/09-06/12/2026
Site 80 (Loop B)
Connections: water and electricity; dump station

We've camped at Fall Creek Falls State Park several times now and have developed a preference for Loop B. Our site this time (#80) was on a 7-site cul-de-sac, convenient to the bath house (but not too close), level, mostly shaded, and had connections for water and electricity. It was very nice.

Despite a little sleep deprivation (see below), we enjoyed our 3-day stay. We paddled 3 to 4 miles each day and did 1.5 kts using one of our "Houdini" wind breakers as a sail. We also hiked the 2-mile round trip to the Falls from the nature center. Meal highlights included pot roast and a cinnamon-roll Bundt cake from our RockPot, and one meal out at the Ugly Mug Bar & Grill, in Spencer, a 25-minute drive. The Ugly Mug was recommended by our son.

Launching a personal kayak at the boat dock costs $6. For campers, that's a 1-time fee for the duration of your stay and it's well worth it. We used the ADA compliant launch, which was really handy, disabled or not. On one of our paddles, we noticed that there's a similar launch at the northwest end of the dam, which may be free.

Loud conversations of several teenagers in the site next to us continued well into quiet hours, which made it difficult to sleep with the windows open. Fortunately, they left after our first night and their site was vacant for the rest of our stay. But to be honest, sleep was a bit of a struggle anyway. Our air conditioner is a bit too loud and the evenings were a bit too warm and humid to be comfortable without it. We were reminded of why we prefer to camp in the dry air and cool evenings of the west, where we commonly sleep under a lofty quilt and in complete silence, even in the summer.

The Park has renovated their main dump station, expanding it to 3 islands. I don't recall perfectly, but there may be 2 stations at each island, which is a huge improvement. However, each island is elevated, with a high curb, such that dumping from a low trailer, like an R•Pod, is very difficult. On our next visit, we'll dump at the old dump station in Loop E, assuming it's still there.

Some of our past visits to the Park have included our grandchildren, who thoroughly enjoyed swimming in Cane Creek, searching for gemstones in the sluice at the General Store, roasting marshmallows in the campfire, and riding their bikes around the campground.

Spring in the Blue Ridge of Southeast Tennessee and Southwest North Carolina

Standing Indian Campground, Franklin, NC
05/04-05/07/2026
Site 34
Connections: none; water spigot near site; dump station

Standing Indian, with its 84 sites, distributed in 5 loops, is a beautiful campground in Nantahala National Forest. Our site (#34), at the edge of a clearing in Loop 3, provides considerable sunshine (solar opportunity) in early May, before trees are completely leafed out. Several nice hiking trails lead out the campground and a trailhead for the AT is just a mile or so up the road. On a rainy morning, we drove to Franklin for breakfast at Ms. Lois' Restaurant, which was a perfect choice. We made a few visits to Poplar Cove Overlook, on Hwy 64, for cell service. The Episcopal Chapel and graveyard, on the road into the campground is worth checking out. At the time of our visit, Loop 5 (sites 55 to 84) was closed, apparently for site renovation (new timbers, gravel, etc.). Thinking about our next visit, he last several sites along the outside of this densely wooded loop are particularly nice and would accommodate our small trailer, if trailers are permitted.

Parksville Lake RV Campground, Benton, TN
05/01-05/04/2026
Site 2
Connections: electricity; water spigot near site; dump station

The RV campground is very nice; it's densely wooded with only 16 reasonably spaced, level sites, arranged in a single elongate loop, bounded by a creek on one side. (Sites 6, 7, and 9 are creekside; 7 and 9 are nice pull throughs.) The entrance is a bit obscure; don't miss it. We've stayed here twice before, once in site 1 and once in site 16; this time, we're in site 2, across from the hosts. The hosts for this visit, the Smiths, are very nice and take great care of the campground, which includes a single small building with separate heated restrooms for men and women, each with flush toilets and a single hot shower. The new Food City in Benton (jct. 64/411), with its Starbucks and 5G cell service, is a great grocery store, just 6 miles west of the campground. We intended to put our inflatable kayak into the lower Ocoee at the first designated access above Parksville Lake, but found it extremely crowded with avid white-water paddlers on a Sunday afternoon. Rather than face the embarrassment of our inflatable among all the high-tech white-water boats (and the wet suites, helmets, GoPros, etc.), we decided to return another day, midweek. Apparently, there's a small abandoned cemetery on the hill across the road (TN 30), south of the Group (tent-only) Campground, variously known as the Price Cemetery, Cloud Cemetery, or Rock Creek Cemetery, with graves as old as the mid 1800's (the cemetery detective). We tried to find it, among the dense undergrowth and blown down trees, without success. From here, we go to Standing Indian Campground, near Franklin, NC.

Indian Boundary Campground, Tellico Plains, TN
04/26-05/01/2026
Site 50B
Connections: electricity; water spigot near site; dump station

Left home at around noon to arrive at Indian Boundary around 2:30. The drive from Tellico Plains to the campground on Cherohala Skyway was an experience, to say the least, due to sharp curves and large groups of fast sports cars and motorcycles. Even mid-day of midweek, we encountered groups of 30 or more Porsches, Minis, Corvettes, Harley Davidsons, etc., paying no mind to the 40 mph speed limit. Indian Boundary is one of the nicest campgrounds we've been to in the southeast, considering our interests in hiking and kayaking. Every day, we hiked the trail around the lake (3.5 miles) and explored its shores in our kayak and, on each of these adventures, we discovered something new. There's not a bad site in the campground and ours (#50) is pretty typical, though there are a few in A loop with direct access to the lake. The campground also has a nice camp store with a great selection of ice cream. Although there's no cell service in the campground, we found minimal service at Turkey Creek Overlook, 5 miles up the Skyway, and excellent service in Tellico Plains (15 miles).

Our First Southeast Coastal Trip (Georgia—South Carolina—North Carolina)

Tanglewood Park Campground, Clemmons, NC
03/17-03/18/2026
Site C17
Connections: water, electricity and sewer (full hookups)

This was just an overnight stop for us, on our way home to Chattanooga from Oregon Inlet. Tanglewood is a very nice, wooded, rv-only campground. The sites are relatively large and nicely spaced, but some are not particularly level. Our site, at the edge of a large field, was nicer than most. Although this was just an overnight stop for us, we took advantage of the extensive walking trails in the park, which are easily accessed from the campground.

Oregon Inlet Campground, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Nags Head, NC
03/13-03/17/2026
Site C17
Connections: water and electricity; dump station across Highway 12

Sites at Oregon Inlet are very narrow, are not particularly long, and are closely spaced. We had no problem fitting, but it was a bit of a struggle for larger rigs. The campground is a short walk, through the dunes, to the ocean-side beach, where we flew kites one afternoon. We spent our last night hooked up to our tow vehicle, as Millie shook in gusty 40+ mph winds. She performed perfectly, despite heavy wind-driven rain. We enjoyed our visit with friends, who camped in a nearby site. We went out with them to The Dunes (restaurant) for a breakfast and to Salt & Cypress Kitchen and Cocktails for a dinner, both of which were very nice. We also thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Kitty Hawk First Flight Museum and the Wright Brothers Monument. Note that the dump station is not in the campground; instead, it's at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, on the other side of Highway 12.

Cedar Point Campground, Croatan National Forest, near Emerald Isle, NC
03/09-03/13 2026
Site 14
Connections: electricity only; water spigot near site; dump station

Sites at Cedar Point Campground are all pretty similar, paved and level with ample space between them; most are quite large (long), by our standards. The bathhouse is OK, but could stand some renovation. Showers, in individual shower rooms (a plus), are warm, if you wait long enough (several cycles of the spring-loaded push button). Found beach access, with free parking, near Indian Beach, on Bogue Banks (island), 13 miles from the campground. It's a short drive to Publix, just 10 minutes (4.5 miles), for groceries. Considered doing the Paddler's Loop at Cedar Point, but parts of it, viewed from Tidelands Trail, would not be navigable in our kayak. Time and weather constraints also worked against us for kayaking. Tidelands trail, some of which is on elevated boardwalk, is very nice and the trailhead is a short walk from the campground. Overall, this is a nice, quiet campground, very pleasant.

Little Pee Dee Sate Park, Dillon, SC
03/06-03/09 2026
Site 9
Connections: water and electricity; dump station

Had a beautiful lake-front site at Little Pee Dee State Park. Enjoyed kayaking, hiking, and relaxing. Be forewarned; it is a bit noisy, with honking (geese), quacking (ducks), peeping (frogs), and hooting (owls), all pleasant sounds. For supplies, Walmart, Food Lion, etc. are 20 minutes away, in Dillon. The sites are sand and the roads are dirt, but even with the rain we had on our last night, it wasn't bad. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, GA
03/02-03/06 2026
Site 65
Connections: water and electricity; dump station

Drove to Skidaway from home (Chattanooga). Left very early trying to avoid Atlanta traffic, but ended up in the midst of it. Arrived at Skidaway shortly after 1:00 pm to discover that site 65 is a handicapped site, with indicated restrictions. When we made our online reservations, all sites were represented as handicap accessible. We were assured by park staff that it was no problem for us to occupy it. Other than that, our pull-through site was perfect for our stay in this beautiful park. The bathhouses are very nice, each with 2 showers and laundry facilities; walking trails lead from the campground to an adjacent marsh; and the camp store is well worth visiting. At the time of our visit, major renovations to parts of the campground were underway, which were a bit of a distraction, but should benefit future visitors. During our three full days at Skidaway, we enjoyed downtown Savannah, Tybee Island, Fort Pulaski National Monument, and Wormsloe Historic Site, all of which were worthwhile. Heidi is only now reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and wishes she had done so before visiting Savannah.

Winterized
11/15/2025-03/01/2026

Millie took a long winter's nap after our Fall trip to the southwestern states (CO, AZ, UT, NV, CA, AZ, NM).