River Vista Mountain Village

Best Campgrounds of the year – 2018

December 28, 2018Posted in Florida, Georgia, RVing, State ParksTagged campgrounds, camping, Fifth Wheel, Pine Lake Campground, River Vista Mountain Village, Silver Springs State Park, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center15 Comments

These days we are taking shorter RV trips and staying close to our home state of Georgia. It’s no wonder that this year our top three parks are either in Georgia or Florida. All three campgrounds are parks we have returned to numerous times during the years.

Number 3 – Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, White Springs, FL

We’ve been returning to this park over and over since we first discovered it in 2009. This year we camped here twice. Spring flowers were blooming in late February and the Festival of Lights were the highlight of our December stay.

February Azaleas blooming in White Springs

Festival of Lights at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center

All of the sites are large with water and electric hookups, a fire ring and picnic table. The bells from the carillon tower can be heard all through the campground.

20181210-Stephen-Foster-Site-9-(2) — Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

Located on the Suwannee River, the park has a museum honoring Stephen Foster, hiking and biking trails (currently closed for maintenance), a gift shop and craft village with local artisans. Just outside the park is the historic Spring House and the town of White Springs.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Museum

Carillon at Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center

Suwanee River in White Springs, FL

Spring House at White Springs, Florida

There’s more about our latest stay at Festival of Lights and the Suwannee River

Number 2 – Pine Lake RV Campground in Bishop, GA

Located less than 15 miles from Athens and the University of Georgia, this private park is well maintained with large sites, sparkling clean bath houses, full hookups, and fantastic staff.

Whether you stay here to attend a Georgia Bulldogs football game, to visit the University of Georgia or are just passing through, this quiet campground can’t be beat.

20180928-Pine-Lake-(5) — Pine Lake Campground, Bishop, Georgia

Read more about our latest stay at A favorite campground and Georgia Bulldogs Football

Number 1 – Silver Springs State Park in Silver Springs, FL

20180220Gopher-Tortoise-Silver-Springs-(2) — Silver Springs State Park

By far one of our favorite Florida state parks, we have returned to Silver Springs State Park a number of times since we first discovered it in 2009. The sites are all very large with fire rings, picnic tables, water and electric hookups. A few of the sites have been upgraded to full hookup. The bath houses are clean and each one has a washer and dryer.

Located close to the three campground loops are hiking and biking trails, an educational center, and observation decks on the Silver River. Just up the road at the Silver Springs Historic Entrance are the famous Glass Bottom Boat Tours, canoe and kayak launch and rental, more walking trails, a gift shop and snack bar.

20180221Silver-Springs-Glass-Bottom-Boat-(11) — Glass bottom boat at Silver Springs

20180222Kayaking-(17) — Kayaking the Silver River at Silver Springs

Many birds and other wildlife can be seen in the park. Watch out for the monkeys!

Monkeys in Florida?

Gopher Tortoise by our campsite at Silver Springs State Park

There’s more about this year’s visit at Historic Silver Springs

Honorable Mention:

Always a favorite, we camped this February at Stephen C. Foster State Park, Fargo, GA, Number 2 in our “Best Campgrounds of the Year – 2016“.
River Vista Mountain Village, Dillard, GA – This large, well maintained private park in the north eastern Georgia mountains is a great location to use as a home base to explore the area. There’s more about our latest stay at Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Wishing you a very happy and healthy 2019 filled with safe travels and happy trails!

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

October 14, 2018Posted in Excursions, Georgia, Road Trip, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged autumn, Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, Copperhill TN, Fifth Wheel, McCaysville GA, River Vista Mountain Village, Toccoa River, Train Ride17 Comments

For the second year in a row we made a fall trip to River Vista Mountain Village in Dillard to explore the beautiful north Georgia mountains. Last year we explored Black Rock Mountain State Park, visited waterfalls in North Carolina and wandered around Tallulah Gorge State Park.

This year we had adventures in two new places. One day we went to the top of Brasstown Bald. Another day we drove an hour and a half to Blue Ridge, Georgia to take a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.

Our seats were in an open air car for the hour long ride beside the Toccoa River. The train departed the station right on time at 11:00.

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, Blue Ridge Depot

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Open air seating on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

As we traveled along at a whopping 10 mph we were able to enjoy the scenery and snap a few photos. A few trees were starting to show signs of autumn but we were too early for the brilliant oranges, reds and yellows that will come later in the season.

The V in the river is a fish trap made of piled rocks by Native Americans over 500 years ago

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

We rode beside the Toccoa River for most of the trip

The track follows the Toccoa river

It was starting to look like fall

The Toccoa River

The track follows the Toccoa river

Our destination was McCaysville, GA/Copperhill, TN. There was plenty of time to explore the town before the scheduled 2:00 departure. It’s hard to tell which town is which since the state line runs right through the middle of town.

20181003-Blue-Ridge-Scenic-Railway-Iphone-(3) — GA/TN state line

As we wandered around the town we crossed back and forth between Georgia and Tennessee several times. The state line even runs through the middle of some buildings. “Dine on the Line” is the motto for the Copper Grill restaurant where we had lunch. Their address is Tennessee but the state line goes right through the restaurant.

The GA/TN state line runs through the towns of McCaysville, GA and Copperhill, TN

Georgia/Tennessee line

It was nice to sit back and relax on the return trip to Blue Ridge. Before driving back to Dillard we walked across the street from the depot for some fried apple pies from the Mercier Orchard downtown restaurant and store. These pies have been featured on the Food Network and are melt in your mouth delicious!

What’s not to love? A scenic train ride, cool mountain air, beautiful scenery, fresh trout and catfish for lunch, going back and forth between two states just by walking through town, and delicious fried pies! A great day!

Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s Highest Point

October 4, 2018October 6, 2018Posted in Georgia, Road Trip, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Blue Ridge Mountains, Brasstown Bald, Highest Point in Georgia, River Vista Mountain Village9 Comments

Located in the northeast Georgia near Blairsville, Brasstown Bald is the highest point in Georgia at 4,784 feet.

Just getting there is quite an adventure. We drove west from Dillard on beautiful Georgia mountain roads. The last few miles we drove on narrow Georgia Spur 180 with sharp turns, switchbacks, and steep grades before arriving at the parking lot for Brasstown Bald.

The parking lot is located .6 miles below the top of Brasstown Bald. We could either hike up a steep trail or take a shuttle. We chose the shuttle.

20181001Brasstown-Bald-(3) — The observation deck as seen from the parking lot

After the shuttle dropped us off at the top we walked up a few steps to the observation deck where the views were spectacular in all directions. On a clear day visitors can see 4 states. It was cloudy that day but we were able to see three states – Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. We also toured the museum and watched a short film about the mountain.