Yes, we arrived at Barnwell State Park in great time. The trip was pretty much unremarkable. If anyone wants to know how the pups travel all I can say is, most of the time we don't know they are back there. And of course Stuart is Stuart, he just goes anywhere Susan goes.
Barnwell State Park is located near Blackville, SC. The park is one of 16 parks built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). The CCC was a program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This program was designed to provide employment during the Great Depression while addressing national needs in conservation and recreation.
The park has 307 acres with recreational opportunities such as fishing, hiking, camping, picnic shelters, and more. We could tell right away the park emits a laid back feeling ...just what we wanted.
We arrived at the front office to check in and found the head ranger doing paperwork. He explained this time of year they are only open an hour per day. Luckily, we hit that magical hour.
The fall foliage leading into the campground was beautiful. The trees still had some colour and with the sun shining through made it even more spectacular. However, the road was a little narrow so I will wait to sight see.
Barnwell SP has a total of 25 campsites. Sites 18-25 will accommodate RVs up to 36 feet and have water, 50 amp service, and sewer connections. I knew we downsized for a reason. There is a dump station but it was destroyed during the tornado.
The sites are a little hilly but definitely doable.
After setting up, I went out exploring with the pups in tow. Even though it was not a long drive we still needed to stretch our legs and the pups needed to wear off some of that puppy hyperness.
This is one of three small lake. This one hosts a variety of activities such as swimming, non-motorized boating, and fishing. Not sure if I would swim in them there waters...it's called alligators. This man-made lake was one of many made by the CCC.
The dike system also made by the CCC is to hold back lake water allowing the lake to remain a certain levels.
A large activity area with volleyball nets. The volleyballs are provided by the park.
I had mentioned earlier a tornado. Two years ago a category 5 tornado rolled through this area destroying everything in it's path. Even with a massive cleanup effort the damage is still quite visible.
There are 5 cozy cabins available to rent located about 100 yards from the upper lake. Some are new...it's called tornado.
There are 4 picnic shelters like the one below available for picnic gatherings.
All-in-all this was a great park to hang out for a couple of days. Lots of areas to walk the dogs, it was extremely quiet, and best of all it was free. Yes, for helping/volunteering in the Amazing Challenging at Myrtle Beach State Park I received these 2 nights at Barnwell for free. Not a bad deal.
Well, it's that time of year again where we pack up the 5th wheel and head south. This year the magical date was 1 November and the place is Bonita Springs, FL. Yes, our park took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma but they reassured me it's open for business as per usual.
We moved into the 5th wheel the day before we left. That gives me time to winterize the park model and do the final cleaning. Normally I have the winterizing done in an hour. This year it took almost 5 hours. Let's just say different place, different things to go wrong.
We crossed the border at Fort Erie Peace Bridge. All of our ducks were in order so we were through in a matter of minutes. It started raining as soon as we crossed and didn't let up until Morgantown, WV our first stopover. We were noticing that many of the trees had not yet changed. We're hoping the leaves in the higher elevations are colourful this year.
The second days drive did not disappoint. The fall foliage was beautiful. Unfortunately it was rainy and overcast, but still breathtaking. Our climb was just over 3,000 ft at this point and the leaves are still on the trees. How unusual. We arrived at Fort Chiswell RV Park in great time, the sun was shining, the temperature was in the 70's, the shorts came out, and the pups are all pooped out from a long walk up and down the hillside. Life is good. Again a single night stopover.
The next day we woke to fog so we waited an extra half hour and it was like magic. The fog lifted, the sun was shining, the dogs are packed in the truck, and away we go. Oops forgot Susan. Here she comes 😓
When I was in Myrtle Beach last season I received a gift certificate for 2 free nights of camping at Barnwell State Park in South Carolina. It's not really out of our way so we decided to take advantage of it. More on that later. Coming down out of the mountains is always breathtaking. There's about a 7-10 mile descent out of Fancy Gap, about 2500 ft drop in elevation, and 10 degrees difference in temperature. Amazing.
We arrived at Barnwell State Park in great time, stay tuned for my blog on this great park.
