St. Andrews State Park (Florida)

St. Andrews State Park is just outside of Panama City Beach, Florida. After visiting The Keys for several years (and having "our" campground plowed down to make way for condos), we started looking for somewhere to visit between Christmas & New Year's. We have been wanting to go to St. Andrews for a while, so we thought ahead (for once) and were able to get reservations.

 We had an inner site; not the best, but definitely not the worst, either. (Site 161) It was a good size for our little trailer. Robert had no trouble getting into the campsite.

The water-side sites appeared narrow, but then they opened up to give you plenty of room.

The bathhouses (there are 4) were big, nice, and clean.

3 toilets, sinks, and showers are included.

The showers are a bit unique: the control is outside of the shower, which seems like a good idea at first, but the pressure is so hard that it blows the curtain. Not only is the pressure really hard, but the shower head is stuck in one position. Not so much stuck, but it's designed in a way that you can't move it. The drains in the women's showers in #4 bathhouse don't work well, so make sure you don't put anything on the floor.

Each bathhouse has it's own laundry and Coke machines.

They also have a dishwashing sink, which we're always happy to see at a campground since our trailer doesn't have water.

A playground is in the campground, so if you have kids, it's a great place for them to stay busy.

Just across the road from the playground, there's a firepit and a little amphitheater. We were a little bummed that they didn't have anything scheduled for New Year's Eve, but one of the state rangers said they may have something next year.

The campsites have a fire ring, electricity, and water. There are some sites with hook-ups, so if you need them, make sure you get a site with that offer.

 This is another example of in inner site. Deer roam freely throughout the campsite. There were signs of raccoons, but we never saw any animals other than deer in the campground.

We had good cell signal while we were there, and were able to use the hot spot. There didn't appear to be any wi-fi. 

Make sure you take your bike; there are several things that are too far to walk, but are within biking distance:

Take a hike around Gator Lake. We didn't see any gators, but we did see birds and a rabbit.

 And a lot of fauna.

There were a few people fishing on the jetties. And, a few brave souls were actually in the water.

The State Park has a pier. It's a little farther away than the jetties, but would be very easy to bike to.

Another point of interest is Shell Island. The state ferry doesn't run in the winter, but we did see some private ferries at the marina.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay. The campground was fairly quiet; not as friendly as others that we've been to, but the people we talked to were very nice. It's very close to shops, restaurants, and grocery stores. Pets are allowed and are to be on a leash at all times. There were plenty of bag dispensers around the campground for the pet owners to pick up after their dogs. 

Oh, and a definite perk of having the beach close by:

Cumberland Mountain State Park

Cumberland Mountain State Park is located between Knoxville & Nashville, Tennessee, near Crossville.  The Cumberland Mountain State Park Friends Group webpage reports that this park is one of 14 original state parks.

The park is very well maintained; we arrived in a thunderstorm that made some branches fall onto the road. The next morning they were all picked up.

The sites have electricity, water, and full hook-ups. We were able to turn on the hot-spot for internet (to watch Netflix at night before we went to sleep), and had decent cell service. Each site is equipped with a fire ring, grill, picnic table, and lantern pole. There is also a garbage can at each site. The sites we saw were concrete with gravel attached to it, and all of the sites looked fairly level.

 Some of the bathrooms have recently been renovated. The one closest to us had not been, but it was still decent. The shower was hot and had really good pressure.

One thing I really liked about the shower was the number of hooks. There were 2 attached to the door, and then 2 more next to the actual shower.

The only thing we found lacking at the campground was a place to wash dishes, which is important to us since we don't have water in our camper. Well, the washing isn't really important, the getting rid of the gray water is, though.
Within the park, there is a nice swimming pool with a snack bar attached to it.

There is a "campstore", but be aware that it is almost empty, except for some t-shirts. It could be that they are waiting on more supplies, but it was almost empty.

On the other side of the campstore,there is a red-tailed hawk and barred owl in captivity.

                                                            

If you're looking for some hiking to do, there are plenty of trails available, as well as a swinging bridge. I have heard that the restaurant is very good, although we didn't have a chance to check it out. The restaurant is on Byrd Lake, which is also the site of a dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The dam, completed in 1938, is the largest masonry structure built by the CCC and is also considered the largest non-reinforced dam in the world. There is a nearby quarry that supplied the sandstone to make the concrete. The plants that were on the floor of the lake were dug up and transplanted for use in landscaping the park. 

If you don't want to camp, there are 3 different cabins available: Standard, Timber Lodge, and Luxurious.

Overall, we were very impressed with the park. We're putting this one on the list of places to return!

Mile High Campground

This was kind of a "spur of the moment" camping weekend.  With it being Memorial Day Weekend, we were lucky to find a site at any campground. The reservation was made on the Monday before Memorial Day.  This was a 2 hour drive through the mountains for us, but the view made it all worth it.

Mile High is located on the Cherokee Reservation near Cherokee, NC.  It is a "primitive" campground, meaning there is no electricity or water at the sites.  There are flushable toilets located in the middle of each loop (there are 3 different loops), as well as a rustic bathhouse complete with warm showers.  At each of the toilet areas, there is also a large sink to wash dishes.

The sites are well-spaced out, and most of them have quite a view.  This view is from one of the campsites at the end of a loop:

The sites are gravel, and some are on a slight slope.  Firepits are provided; you are not allowed to bring in your own firewood but can purchase it at the office to be delivered to your site.  

Dogs are allowed, but be mindful that there are elk that wander through the campground from time to time.

There are also cabins available.  These cabins are extremely rustic; they only have board beds in them.  

This campground was extremely quiet and peaceful.  Since the campground is truly a mile high, it was much cooler there.  Be prepared for the wind and the cool weather.

This was our first trip to a primitive campground for more than 1 night in our Cargolite.  Since we anticipated needing to use the propane heater, Robert made sure the battery was fully charged.  The refrigerator (which is very small) also runs on propane.  Both of those used very little power, so we could have stayed for several days without the danger of running out of power.  

The only problem we had was taking the wrong road up to the campground when we arrived.  The website (http://campmilehigh.com/) clearly warns people to follow their directions.  The "rough road" was rough...much rougher than the road we should have taken, but we made it okay.

This is a campground that we would visit again, especially if the 2 campgrounds we passed on the way are full.