MICH > W. VIRG > VIRG > NC > TN - Rookie

[LoveForLife]

I'm looking for some advice on where to visit (and what to avoid) during this trip...:h

Homeschooling family of 6 (4 kids 7-14 yrs) renting a 32 ft. Class A (no toad). Took same RV out west (MT, CO, WY, etc.) from Michigan couple years ago and LOVED it. Now were heading southeast to tour WV, PA, VA, NC & TN for the first 2 weeks of June. The only stops we've committed to are Gettysburg, Williamsburg (Busch Gardens) and New River Gorge (rafting slow water). After those things, I am at a loss for "don't miss" stops that the whole family will enjoy.

Considering D.C., but am concerned about the crowds and getting around in a 32' RV. Is it worth it, or should we pass it by. Thoughts?

Suspect we'll do Skyline Dr., Shenandoah, some of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but can't seem to land on "must see" stops along the way that will make the trip most enjoyable for the whole family.

We love nature/scenery, and prefer rural to urban. Kids love adventure but the youngest (7 yrs) limits us to the more mild things.

Any suggestions on how to route this trip? Thanks in advance your your help!! 🙂

[D___M]

Don;t know how close to the Vhesapeake Bay you are going to get, but striped bass (aka rockfish) season opened on April 20th. Trophy rock lasts till May 15th. That means you only get to keep the ones over 30" Then the size drops to 18" for keepers. Good eatin'.

Rockfish season.

Maybe when you come back to DC.

[GoneCamping]

They hold Bass tournements at Kerr Reservior on the Va-NC state line right off I-85, great waterfront COE campground called North Bend Park is about 11 miles from the interstate, most of the sites are waterfront, I'd recommend Loop-C as I think it's the nicest of the 4 Loops. Water & electric only, great campround...

[RGar974417]

In West Virgina,Pipestem State park has everything.Nice campground,mini and regular golf,tennis,indoor and out door pools,horseback riding,archery,nature walks,fishing,2 restaurants.If you do Blue Ridge parkway,a nice campground at mile marker 18 is Sherando lake.

[LoveForLife]

Thank you all for the great ideas and advice - both the to-dos and the not-to-dos. I wish we did have more time, but I think we'll save DC for another time, and sort through the remaining spots as we plot a map.
One more thing that I could use help with. My three boys and I LOVE to fish for bass here in Michigan, but would like to fish some of the fabled bass waters of the South. Any water/guide recommendations that float to the top of your lists?
Thank you all again for all the help!!

[Oaklevel]

You are talking about taking in alot for only 2 weeks You could easily send a week in Virginia..... Blue Ridge Parkway & Colonial Williamsburg go in different directions......

Williamsburg / Yorktown / Jamestown all 3 worth while for the history lessons & Water Country & Bush Gardens for fun.......... In Newport News just south of Williamsburg if interested the iron clad Monitors turret was raised & is on display.......

Couple hours or less east of Gettysburg is Hershey & Lancaster Co PA & a lot to see & do including Strausburg RR & PAs RR Museum , lots of other fun things (Could easily spend a week in Lancaster County)

You could easily spend 2 months & not take in all the great things to see & do.........

[byrdr1]

the sugesstions have not even gotten you into NC yet. Blue Ridge parkway from the Skyline parkway would bring into NC from VA. YOu have West Jefferson and the cheese factory, up the hill is Boone has lots of interesting things around town and a large Unvi. lots of mountains to explore. Come on down to Asheville for lots of exploring around Biltmore House(expensive) but nice. YOu got Maggie Valley area below that and again Mountains and streams, rivers to raft. We have rafted the French Broad that runs along side I-40 from NC into TN. and the grand finally the Great Smokey Mountians right beside TN around Gatlinburg, TN

[D___M]

Sounds like you have enough on your plate without a side trip to DC. DC is a destination place. You can spend your whole vacaion here and not see everything. Plus there is no place to park your rig that is readily avaiable to you.

[GoneCamping]

I'm in the Williamsburg area, and can offer the following for you. Campgrounds there are plenty of, most popular seems to be American Heritage Campground, pretty nice and it's clean, if you like it more rustic then Newport News Park or Chippolks Plantation SP (kids will love the free Ferry ride across the James River). Most people tend to avoid Anvil Campground due to the CSX train tracks run up beside the campsites.

No shortage of stuff to do here, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown contain huge amounts of history and historic things to explore, when the kids get bored there is Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, Air & Space Museum and more. Virginia Beach Resort area is about an hour away too, so a day at the beach is always possible too, lots of things to do in VB as well...

[sdianel_-acct_c]

Harper's Ferry National Historic Park. KOA right next door. Cass Scenic RR in West Virginia. Stephen F Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly VA at Dulles Airport an extension of the National Air & Space Museum in DC.
There is a Corps of Engineers campground near New River Gorge on Lake Summersville. No sewer but dump station. Reasonable price.

[bid_time]

oops double post

[bid_time]

I would stop in Dayton, OH, Air Force Museum (free); Hocking Hills State Park (Old Mans Cave); Smokey Mtn National Park, Cades Cove (Wildlife Loop, early morning hiking-not to be missed).

[PamfromVA]

In Virginia I would do the presidential home tour:

http://www.virginia.org/birthplacepresidents/

[Doug_and_Cassi_]

You could spend a year sightseeing in DC but you don't want to spend one second driving an RV in there. And that's about all you'll do is drive because parking is extremely difficult for a car so forget an rv. Stay at Cherry Hill and use mass transit. Passes make it fairly cheap especially since you won't have any parking fees. The DC traffic both in DC and the freeways surrounding it is horrible.

The museums and monuments are all free. Just make sure everybody wears comfortable shoes (not flip-flops) as you will do SIGNIFICANT walking. The Mall from the Capitol Bldg to Lincoln Memorial is over three miles. You could spends months there alone with the Smithsonian right there plus all the monuments.

Though Williamsburg is neat almost ALL of it is re-constructed, not original and it is VERY expensive. Yorktown and Jamestown are both within ten miles of Williamsburg so tons of history there.

Have fun.

[epusher]

We just did a similar trip out of Michigan last year. The Flight 93 Memorial wasn't on our list but we ran across it. Very good stop with a great deal of discussion points.

If you choose DC, look at Cherry Hill Campground. You can take a bus/shuttle from the campground that will drop you at the subway system. Its a great system and very easy to use. But, you can easily spend a week in DC.

Skyline Drive is very nice. We stayed at Loft Mountain. Blue Ridge Parkway is very scenic. There are caves off the parkway. But do your research as driving a Class A on some of the roads off the parkway would not be recommended. Grandfather mountain could be fun. We didn't make it. We did enjoy Blowing Rock and the town of Boone. Also, most camping on the parkway is for smaller units (20/25 feet) or tents. Good luck planning as there is a lot to see and do.