A good family Summer trip?

[Mzocchi]

Planning to hit the road this June with my two teens (13 and 14) for about two or three weeks...have a 27' TT and want to stay in SouthEast of US. We live in Florida and want a change of scenery.
Any ideas?

New to RV world, our first time RV trip

[Fred1609]

Welcome to IRV2 .... I don't know much about the East coast but if when you start planning your trip and are looking for campgrounds...check out campgroundreviews.com . Its a site where campers grade CGs and write short good/bad descriptions of the facilities. Its a pretty honest grading although from time to time you will find a CG owner or friend writing up a high grade on a camp site. Generally I throw out the highest and lowest mark and go with what's in between. Never had a bad CG yet with the review.

[Pepper2]

What are your/children's interests? Multiple stops or destination stop and back home? For the children Brason MO might work. Boating and fishing at Smith Lake in central AL. Again for the kids Sandusky OH would be a blast. Amusement park and camp right on Lake Erie.

[DannyA]

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Plenty to do and very much a change of scenery.

[NLOVNIT]

Originally Posted by DannyA

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Plenty to do and very much a change of scenery.

Have to second that. Lots of campgrounds to choose from. Right next to SMNP, drive the Parkway, Gatlinburg has a Ripley's Aquarium, Space Needle & Sky Lift, Pigeon Forge has Dollywood, Titanic exhibit & Wonderworks is really fun, nearby Sevierville has shows, a Tanger Outlet, gocarts & putt-putt. There's all kinds of tourist-y stuff along that whole strip between Sevierville & Gatlinburg.

iRV2 has held 2 National Rallies in the area & we've gone both times. Never gotten bored. So much to see & do.

Lori-

[bsirby]

Savannah, Ga or Charleston, SC. Both near the ocean, lots of things to do and see, depending on the kids interest. Myrtle Beach, SC has alot going on as well. Let us know where you decide and we can recommend campgrounds.

[Superslif]

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Plenty to do and very much a change of scenery.

I'll 3rd that...

I think it would give the kids a perspective about mountain camping and scenery. You have Gatlinburg which is like a Myrtle Beach without the beach, you can stay inside the Great Smoky Mountains at the RV friendly federal campgrounds for RV's, Elkmont (northside near Gatlinburg) Smokemont (southside by Cherokee NC.)

We did 5 nights at Elkmont, 3 nights in Gatlinburg at Camping in the Smoky's campground then went around to the southside to Smokemont near Cherokee NC for 4 nights. Cherokee has a nice casino. We also went in June of 2012 where it was running between 90 and 100 degrees in Gatlinburg, but 1500 feet higher at Elkmont was in the low 80's. The summit at over 6000' was in the middle 60's. They can get a chance to hike on the Appalachian Trail, view the many water falls in the park, take a view from Clingmans Dome at 6643'. But also they can do Dollywood and all the other attractions in and around Gatlinburg. Here is a galley of that trip.

Smoky Mtns 2012

Of the 10 campgrounds inside the park, 4 I would say are for RV's, the other 6 are for very small RV's (pop-ups or small trailers or tents) the other two RV trailer friendly campgrounds are Cades Cove campground (west) and Cosby (east).

[Kdsgone2dogs]

Ditto Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, especially with kids that age. My advice is to stay outside the area. We were there a couple years ago and stayed about 15 minutes outside the city and it was wonderful!! And cheaper.
Also, the area of Helen, Ga/Murphy, NC is great…as is Stone Mountain and Chimney Rock,NC. Go to the mountains, its cooler than FL in June! Brevard,NC is great also, outside Asheville…lots to do and see in Asheville!
Enjoy the trip…making memories is what its all about..
Andi

[Bug512]

Do you or your kids like music? How about a music festival like Bonnaroo?

Bonnaroo web link

We have attended six times and the families that attend with RV's just keeps growing every year.

More information can be found on this message board Inforoo

[Mzocchi]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

[3catstravel]

We live in NE GA. It's a great location for lots of outdoor activities plus many parks & campgrounds to choose from. Vogel State Park has various activities & a nice camp area. If you want a private campground, check out Trackrock Campground in Blairsville. There is a campground at GA MTN Fairgrounds. Any of these campgrounds puts you a short drive from tons of waterfalls, lots of hiking, historical venues, & several choices for whitewater rafting.

You'll have great memories of family time wherever you plan to go! Safe travels!

[Gary1965]

We did an awesome trip that began in Monticello(Thomas Jefferson's place) in Charlottesville VA, then went to Williamsburg/Jamestown(stayed a few days), then went to DC. First stopping at Mt. Vernon(George Washington's place), and stayed at Cherry Hill RV Park(North of DC) where we anchored for a bit while we did all DC stuff. Our kids(teenagers) loved the trip. One of our favorites !

[JMonroe]

For teenagers, I'd agree with Pigeon Forge and would add, Myrtle Beach. Both are chock full of those "tacky" tourist traps that kids will love. Pigeon Forge is also the home of Dollywood.

A bit closer to you might be Stone Mountain, on the outskirts of Atlanta. Not on the scale of the others (from a teenagers point of view), but much closer to you.

[Superslif]

Besides the Smoky's you have Mammoth Caves KY. & Shenandoah NP. in Northern VA. You can make a loop out of all three if you two or more weeks. There is a nice state park just north of Mammoth Caves we found to be real nice and 15 minutes away. At Shenandoah we always stay on the top off Skyline Drive at the Big Meadows National Park campground.