Looking for suggestions on our 14 day trip to the southeast

[mrad]

We will be leaving later this week on a 14 day trip starting north of Minneapolis with the final destination being Savannah GA. We will be pulling our 43' toy hauler. No toys except for bicycles.

I plan on leaving Friday the 7th for Cave City KY and will probably spend Friday night in Springfield Illinois (will not drive through Chicago).
Looking for things to do/visit in the following cities

Cave City KY- 3 nights

Gatlinburg Tennessee- 5 nights

Savannah GA-5 nights

We have not decided on the route home. My wife is retired and I am a teacher so no need to hurry back. Any suggestions would be appreciated as we are not familiar with this area of the country.

Also, any suggestions on a mapping app that will keep me away from low bridges??

Thanks in advance

[mgirardo]

mrad wrote:

Savannah GA-5 nights

Thanks in advance

I'd skip Savannah or maybe 1 night. You can easily see all there is to see (not much) in a few hours. There is so much more to see in Coastal GA and in my opinion, Savannah is at the bottom of the list.

I would suggest Charleston, SC as your final destination, it is a lot nicer than Savannah. James Island County Park is really nice, but might be tough to get into at the last minute. There are other nice options in the area, like Oak Plantation Campground (closer to downtown Charleston).

I'm thinking stop for a few nights in Brunswick, GA (exit 29 area). Camp at Coastal GA RV Resort or Blythe Island Regional Park and Campground. You can then hit Savannah for one night on your way to Charleston or just a day trip from Brunswick.

One day head south down to Amelia Island just north of Jacksonville, FL. It's about an hour from Brunswick. The beaches on Amelia Island are nice and the downtown area has some good restaurants. I'd also suggest St. Augustine, FL about 90 minutes south of Brunswick. Amelia Island and St. Augustine should be 2 separate trips. There is enough at both to warrant an entire day each.

Then, since you like to bike, I would suggest Jekyll Island, GA for a day. You can bike the entire island, along the beach and river as well as inland. Lots of wildlife to see as well as a rich history of the wealthiest of America in the early 1900s. Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach has been rated one of the nicest beaches in the country.

Jekyll Island is about 15 minutes from Coastal GA RV Resort and 20 minutes from Blythe Island. Savannah is about an hour north of Brunswick.

I would also suggest the Okefenokee Swamp as previously mentioned, both the Park in Waycross (take the boat and train tour) and the National Wildlife Refuge outside Folkston, GA. From Brunswick, they are about 45 - 50 minutes and they are about 1 hour apart from each other (yes, the Swamp is that large) At the Park, you can also visit the Reptile Center for some education. At the National Wildlife Refuge, you can rent (or bring your own) Kayaks and Canoes and travel the swamp. They also offer boat tours at the Refuge.

I would not limit your tour of GA to just Savannah, you will miss a lot. In Coastal GA, there are no low bridges that I am aware of.

-Michael

[Valpo_Camper]

Driving thru Chicago will suck, but driving around Chicago on 294 will be fine.

Rock City area near Chattanooga would be a good stop if you have the time.

[Bob806]

If you have time, check out all the waterfalls near Brevard, NC.

[pbeverly]

Diamond c wrote:
I suggest the Roaring Fork motor trail . It’s a great drive up and down the mountain with scenic pull offs along the way. It’s on my list to do every time we go to the mountains.

If you do this go EARLY or LATE in the day. We went mid-day and it was horrible due to traffic. Once you are on it there is no turning back. It was so bad we didn't stop anywhere along the way.

Lesson learned, when we did Cades Cover, we got there early and it was awesome. Stopped a lot along the way. It is the same as Roaring Fork, once you are on it there is no turning back.

[Diamond_c]

The road is just horribly rough. They are constantly working on it,but there is so much truck traffic that they just can’t keep up. Try to watch the traffic ahead of you and change lanes to avoid the major dips and bumps. Make sure before you leave that morning that you have everything secured very well knowing that the road will be bad and you will be ok

[mrad]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We leave tomorrow morning. Can I ask what makes I The section of I 65 so bad and how long is that stretch? Had a similar stretch last year. Got to the campground and found out we had broken a light fixture.

[Diamond_c]

Roaring fork motor trail is in Gatlinburg Tennessee. There is a certain pull off with a log cabin and barn next to the roaring fork where we walk out on the large boulders and sit for a while. Maybe my favorite place in the world.

[Pine_Barren]

Fort McAllister state park is close to Savannah and has a lot of civil war history. Nice campground also just make sure you have bug spray for late evening

[wowens79]

It might be a little too far out of the way, but there are lots of Springs in central Florida that are incredible to kayak. Most have outfitters that rent kayaks, and have shuttle services.
Look up Rainbow River, it is 5 miles of water that is crystal clear. Icheetucknee springs is incredible, but not a long it big as rainbow. There are numerous others that I haven’t done, but look incredible.

[Gulfcoast]

Have a nice trip...

[mrad]

Diamond c wrote:
I suggest the Roaring Fork motor trail . It’s a great drive up and down the mountain with scenic pull offs along the way. It’s on my list to do every time we go to the mountains.

Which state would this be in?

[Diamond_c]

I suggest the Roaring Fork motor trail . It’s a great drive up and down the mountain with scenic pull offs along the way. It’s on my list to do every time we go to the mountains.

[ken56]

Be aware that the smoky mountain national park has implemented a parking pass for any parking anywhere over 15 minutes. 5 dollars for a day pass. Lots of water falls to hike to. Go to Cades Cove for a hike and then go into Townsend to Company Distilling distillery. He is a former master distiller from Jack Daniel and started up his own place. There is the Appalachian heritage museum there also that is neat to go through.

As far a G'burg itself it has a great aquarium and lots of great restaurants. It is a good walking town but also has tons of touristy tee shirt shops along with some nice stores too to find most anything you want. You might consider going over the top and into Cherokee NC. Great Museum of the Cherokee Indian there. If you do go up to Newfound Gap then detour over to Clingmans Dome and hike up to the observation tower. All can be done in a good day trip.

As long as you're in the area come up to Sevierville and maybe take in a Smokies baseball game and stop into the new Buc-ee's that just opened at the I-40 407 exit. There is the Knife works too that's worth seeing. Not sure if a stop at Dollywood would be your thing but is really is a wonderful park to go to. Do the Dolly's Stampede dinner show. It's one of the best. Go to the Bush's Bean factory store too out toward Newport. Very good little museum about their history and a great cafe too for a lunch.

If you want an authentic Appalachian experience look up Annies pork-n-beans. They have a Facebook page. A little bit of a drive into the mountains though and you will wonder where the heck you going when you hit some of the roads but it is worth the drive trust me. They have a great little restaurant.

What park do you have reserved to stay at in G'burg if I may ask. If you have any specific Q's about the G'burg area just ask me.


Just learned Annies Pork-n-Beans will be closed for their vacation until July 14th.

[wapiticountry]

Make sure your AC is in perfect working condition. And pack extra antiperspirant.