Campground recommendations from Cincinnati to FL along I-75, then back up I-65

[MUDoug]

Hi Everyone!

We're planning a trip to central Florida to visit my parents, and
will be gone for about 2 weeks over the holidays. I need to plan the
stops on the way down, the way back, and perhaps some alternates
while down there.

We're leaving from the Cincinnati area, and will travel down the I-75
corridor. Probably will take 3 days and 2 nights to get down there.
Right now, I'm thinking about a stop in Tennessee, and one in
southern GA or northern FL.

My parents are South of Orlando, near Winter Haven, so we're planning
to stay a few days at Lake Kissimmee S.P. Other suggestions are
welcome.

On the way back, we'll pass near Pensacola so my wife can visit her
father's grave (military cemetary near Pensacola.) Then we'll
probably take another 2 stops or so on the way back to Ohio.

Oh, and yes, we do have some size limitations. We're pulling a 34'
Excella with a Dodge ram 3500, so length and departure angle are
important to us.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

--Doug

PS I can't figure out how to start a new thread, so had to tag on to this one. Can anyone tell me where the "post new message" command is? http://www.airforums.com/forum...te=1&p=132253#

[wheel interested]

If you go to the tab on top for forums then pick one, i.e. community, at the bottom of the page with all the different subject threads , on the left is a button for new thread. I don't think you can make a new thread in the list of posts (only a reply.)

[MUDoug]

Thank you, Carol! I see it now.

And thanks for moving my question to a more appropriate location!

--Doug

[kposey]

There are several places to stay around the Chattanooga/Atlanta area. There is a campground at the Lookout Valley exit just before entering Chattanooga, I think it is exit 274. Then there is a campground at Shipp's RV at exit 1, just before the Georgia state line. Red Top Mountain is also a very nice place to stay. It is in Cartersville, which is closer to Atlanta. Easy access to and from the freeway though.

Hope you have a safe trip!

[ALANSD]

Also if you hit "reply" at the bottome of the thread instead of in one of the posts, you won't get the long quotes form the posts repeated.

A suggestion for a spot to overnight- in N. Florida just over the line from Georgia is the Suwannee Music Park Campground. Just a few miles west of I 75, it is a large wooded park with many music events going on in season, and a good spot for a quick off highway rest. We hit on it by accident, and there were many bluegrass pickers all over the park playing in and around the campsites. Great fun.

[sander17]

Along I-75 in Tenn. near the Kentucky border are several state parks. We stayed in one on a trip and it was fine for a rest stop on the road. The ones in Kentucky are a ways off the road. I have no knowledge if the state park campgronds close in the winter, but their web site should have that info.

[Camp-Dog]

If your looking for a good stop in N Florida I would highly recommend Stephen Foster State Park. It's about 10 miles north of the I10/I75 interchange (off of I75). Access is good, park is really nice. Rig size shouldn't be a problem on most sites.

There's not much at the exit other than a Mcdonalds and 2 gas stations (diesel sold there too). The park is about 5 miles off the exit. I'm not sure the exit number, but White Springs is the town where the park is located. If you're interested I'd be glad to send you any info.

[74Argosy24MH]

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/ for the Florida state parks website.

http://www.reserveamerica.com/client/client_fl.jsp is a map of the state parks and link where you can make reservations. Click on the park and then the areas, it will give you lengths of various sites. Reserve early, they fill very quickly.

John

[74SovereignInt.]

I was in Tennessee last week and stayed in the "Rippling Waters" CG in Sevierville near Pigeon Forge. It was just a short distance off of I-40 on SR 66. Paid $22.08/night with my Good Sam discount and was very happy. Pull thru sites, good hookups and facilities. The owners were great as well. Hope it helps.

[HP9K]

I'm not generally a KOA fan, but if you are looking for a quick and easy overnight stop, the next to the last exit in Georgia (exit 5) has a brand new KOA campground. It's right off the interstate and has plenty of large, paved pull thru sites.

There is everything you could want at that exit - an outlet mall, all the fast food you could want, gas and diesel and a supermarket is just 1/2 mile east of I-75. All of it is accessable with your rig.

[MUDoug]

Thanks, Everyone! With your help, I think we've got the first part of the trip planned. Now for the trip across the panhandle and back up I-65.

Thanks for your suggestions!

--Doug

[Pick]

There is a nice campground at exit 404 on I75 in Florida called High Springs Campground. It is right at the exit. There is another at Exit 399, Alachua Exit, called Travelers Campground. I spent over 3 months at High Springs. Good hot, powerful showers and a laundry, with fast clothes dryers

[heybeep]

On your way home and during your stay in Pennsacola, consider Mystic Springs Airstream Park. $13. per night. Very quiet and peaceful. Easy site access. Great Cajun restaurant in close-by Atmore, Al. called Gerlach's.

Mystic Springs is in McDavid, Fl. They have a website for more info.

[MUDoug]

Well, we're back and had a very nice trip.

On the way down, we stayed at the Racoon Valley Escapees park in TN, the Twin Oaks RV park south of Perry GA, and the Stephen Foster SP in northern FL.

All three of these came by recommendations, and all 3 were very nice.
I can't say much about the Racoon Valley RV park, because we came in a bit late and left early. But, the hosts were very nice and the sites were easy to get in and navigate. I certainly have no complaints, but have little information to sing praises either.

The Twin Oaks RV park is a great little park for an overnight! It is situated very close to the highway, it has wireless internet, absolutely flat sites, a hot tub (the pool was closed) and many other amenities. The hosts were very helpful, too!

Stephen Foster S.P. in northern FL: What a nice little park! We were in a great pull-through site (frankly, they all looked pretty good) with a nice bath house nearby. The park has a cute cafe where we ate breakfast, a museum, a big amphitheater, large gift shop, cabins, and many other amenities. We took the kids on a good bike ride while we were there, and I was sorry to hitch up and head out in the morning. We'll certainly be back to this one.

Lake Kissimmee SP: We went down for a visit a cople of years ago, so knew a bit about this park prior to staying here. The hurricanes took a serious toll on this one, but it was still a very nice place to stay. The first thing the ranger told us on checking in was that "the cowcamp is still closed, as are the hiking trails. They're 'use at your own risk'." We opted for bikerides with the kids. Probably safer with an 18 month old anyway, given we almost ran over what looked like a rattlesnake on the road. If you like birds and other wildlife, you'll love this park. We had turkeys, sandhill cranes and deer begging at the dinner table, in addition to the standard squirrels and armadillos! If anything, it was a bit unnerving. When we first arrived, I heard this odd call while I was levelling the rig. Do you remember the sounds the raptors in Jurassic Park made? It sounded eerily similar to that. And it was close. Very close. I looked up from what I was doing and there were 3 sandhill cranes there, asking me what I'd made them for lunch! I told them that it wasn't even teatime, yet, and they should come back in a few hours.

On our way back home, we first stayed at the Suwanee River SP (through the camp book and FL state parks website). If you like an old-style campground, you'll love it. The campground itself has dirt roads (some mud evident from recent storms), lots of trees, and some tight turns. I admit some trepidation at making the tight turn after our campsite, but had no trouble when it came to it. This is a neat campground, but not much on the amenities if that is what you are looking for.

Next we stayed at the Mystic River Airstream Park. OK, so here's the real report: If you are ever anywhere near Pensacola, you really need to stay here! We were only there overnight, but this was unlike any other campground I'd ever stayed in. They've put a lot of work in this park over the years, and a lot of love. It shows. From the moment we arrived, Herb and Sidra Spies (they were on host duty at the time) made it clear that we were welcome there, and went out of their way to back it up. When I went out walking with a kid (or kids), they'd drop whatever they were doing and come sit down on a bench or the swing to chat. They invited Dylan (our 3 1/2 year old) into their beautiful '63 Globetrotter to look around. If you've ever had kids, you probably know what that really means! For what seemed like the next 2 hours, he was jumping in and out of thier trailer. (sorry 'bout that, Sidra! I hope he didn't track very many rocks into it). They also helped me with directions to Barancas Nat'l Cemetary and to a place to get propane. They still have a lot of cleanup to do from the hurricane, but there is no doubt that this is a park by and for Airstreamers. All I can say is "Thank You" to all of the Pensacola chapter who built and maintained this park over the last 30 years or so!

We stayed at 2 other parks on the way home, but really nothing worth mentioning.

The only other adventure of note was that I couldn't get into our drive when we got back to Ohio! I had to drop off the trailer at the local Walmart and go home and plow. I still don't have the trailer back in the yard where it is supposed to be, as it is still too muddy there. It'll just have to sit in front of my garage for a while, until things dry out. I did wash the road salt off, yesterday.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions!

--Doug

[LeeMo]

Doug:

I enjoyed reading everyone's recommendations and about your experiences...Thanks.

Yet another satisfying experience on AirstreamForums.com! Yeah!