What a sweet park this was. Another new Georgia state park for me. Unbelievable, I know, thought I had hit them all as much as I stay in Georgia. I originally thought I was staying here 3 nights. But on the day I was supposed to check in, I was already booked for the night at Hamburg SP. When I called to see how much I was going to lose by canceling,  the angels at the state park readjusted my reservation. I had booked for 4 nights not 3, she got me a refund for $78 with no change fees. The down side was not having enough time to explore this place. Next time! Enjoy the pictures!

I say near Sparta, Georgia but really this is in the country and it’s one of my favorite Georgia state parks. Only 30 sites and almost all of them are on the water. I was in 29 this time with 2 other campsites nearby. It’s not the most private site but both my neighbors were very respectful and quiet. Highlights were hiking,  paddling, fires at night with gifted wood, enough cell signal to stream some football and my one neighbor gifting me a plate of cooked Bacon! I will definitely be back.

As promised,  here’s some pics of Mary, Dave and my adventures here. So much to do and they were going all out for Halloween! Too many scary things to post. Highlight was the Ziplining!!

This was the first time at this park and a suggestion from my sister Mary to meet up and camp together.  I arrived a day earlier and was able to do the Museum and House tour with Miss Melanie. What a fantastic history and  Miss Melanie was full of information. She’s a life long resident of  Crawfordville and knows inside information you don’t normally get from signage. As we did so much this trip there’s 2 posts. This first one is all about the man A.H. Stephens and the Civil War. Next post will be filled with Mary, Dave and my exploration here in the campground.

This was a spur of the moment find thanks to Dave’s sharp eyes spying the roadside marker on our way to Washington, Georgia. What a fantastic place and we learned a lot about this historic battle. Our only regret was there was no indication of how long each trail was and we were not prepared to hike multiple miles. Next time.

At the Museum, we had a history lesson about the battle as well as history of Washington County and the family that once lived in this house. I believe she mentioned the house was 7000 square feet. It seemed like it as we were going thru it. I only added a couple pics of objects in the home. It’s worth checking out if you’re in the area.

I’ve stayed here before and truly enjoyed the trails and water. This time I lucked out getting a site on the water. But unknown to me, there was a huge drop off to the water. It was still beautiful and trails were just as nice. They had an early Halloween so that was fun seeing so many kids dressed up. I did have to make an emergency trip to the store for candy. Lol! Otherwise,  it was College football,  sunsets and reading.

All I can say is wow! This was a fantastic site! End of the road, pull thru and glorious sunsets each evening.  Wood available to pick up around the campground with sunny skies each day. There were a few drawbacks however. No trails, just walking the campground. No access to the water from my site as there was a rock embankment that was pretty steep. Would have loved to paddle board but no way to get there without endangering myself. So that left reading and catching up on this blog. If you saw the 2 from Smokey Mountains you’ll understand that took some time. Lol!

This is a mix of the hiking we did in both Cherokee and Deep Creek areas. Oh and a few at the highest point! The pictures really don’t do justice to the incredible beauty here. Even though it was busy given the fall colors, everyone was polite and willing to help with pictures.

Views from the top!

We were treated to a little concert at the visitor center. It started of with just a few people,  then grew! We all agreed after about the 4th song, it started to sound the same. But we still enjoyed it!

First days of exploring the Bryson City,Cherokee and Gatlinburg areas.

I have way to many things to share about this trip as there’s going to be a couple of posts. Mary, Dave and I spent 3 days/4 nights at a private campground north of Bryson City, North Carolina. It was about a 2 mile drive up to get to Smokey Mountain Meadows campground. Once there and set up, we went into Bryson City to explore and get dinner. Native Brews was disappointing, thank goodness we shared a flight.

Next morning we were on the road early to explore Gatlinburg. Taking a drive through the National Park. Stopped at some overlooks along the way. I’m pretty sure I’ve driven this in Pearl, but was happy to leave the driving to Dave. 35 miles of winding/ steep roads. Once there, we were blown away with how busy it was. Luckily found a parking spot somewhere near the center of the main street. We walked one side meeting some new friends,  stopped for lunch and finished the other side of the street. Needless to say, we prefer the woods.

Driving back, we hit a slowdown due to some big Elk very close to the road. Everyone slowed down to gawk and take pictures. I zoomed in from the car. I didn’t need to get that close and hold up traffic anymore then needed.

As we drove home, we detoured into  Cherokee. Our driver needed ice cream. As they went to indulge, I popped into a store. Walking out, the town had 3 Elk in the town square eating and drinking. Some people got much too close to these huge animals.  And did I mention,  it’s mating season so they were not liking the attention.

I’ll post tomorrow morning of our hiking experiences.

I thought I hadn’t been here before because it wasn’t highlighted on my map but as I drove in, I kept thinking this place looks familiar. Yep! After searching my blog posts (*search box is in Desktop mode on homepage) there it was! I did reach out to friends who live nearby but their schedule was packed so we didn’t meet up this time. It was fun 4 years ago when I was here. I have no idea how the time goes by so quickly. 

I did a lot of hiking both on the ridge overlooking the lake and along the creek. Met some super interesting people, two solo women (one was in her 80s!) and a couple who had a 2021 Travato. Campers are great people, just saying! I do think I’m a little ahead of the fall colors though.