Camping information from our east coast, 2025 trip - costs, fun facts, mileage, etc
Well, our second ‘big’ RV trip has come to a close – all the photos have been loaded on the computer, blog posts have been written and it’s been fun. I did a ‘wrap up’ blog post last time, so decided perhaps that is a good idea and decided to do this again – maybe I’ll do this every time – that will be determined sometime into the future.
We stayed at a total of 7 different RV Parks during this trip (direct links to blog post are at the bottom).
- Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, Georgia - Campsite #54, 2 nights
- Little Pee Dee State Park, Dillon, South – Campsite #9, 2 nights
- First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, Virginia - Campsite #14 and #19, 5 nights
- Hyco Lake Campground (private), Semora, North Carolina – Campsite #58, 3 nights
- Falls Lake Recreation Area, Wake Forest, North Carolina – Campsite #75, 2 nights
- Poinsett State Park, South Carolina - Campsite #15, 2 nights
- Laura S Walker State Park, Waycross, Georgia - Campsite #16, 1 night
As I did on our last longer trip, I learned that a campsite comes in many different forms. Some have a concrete slab, some have small gravel, some have dirt - but they all seem to have electric and water. Some have sewer connections, some don't. One new thing I learned is that some sites are fairly level and others not! We purchased an additional set of levelers on this trip because we were having to get creative at some of the campgrounds to get our camper level. I never realized how important that was until you tried to walk inside a very unlevel camper!
Tybee Island - the Crab shack
Virginia Beach - entrance to the beach from campground at First Landing State Park
Jim sitting in the meditation garden at the Edgar Cayce building in Virginia Beach
Out to lunch in Virginia Beach - dog friendly restaurant on the water
Virginia Beach....
Boating with our friends, Janet and Landon - Landon was our boat captain
Waiting on dinner at Hyco Lake Campground (Jim is cooking tonight)
Abby on the shore - looks so small in this photo!
Miles.....
This trip, we travelled no more than 333 miles per day and that was a long day for us. A more comfortable number of miles for us is probably 250-300 for future planning of our trips. This wasn’t as important from a daylight perspective as it’s daylight till 8pm or so at least in all the places we stayed – but in some cases it would be considered a late check-in which brings other things into play.
On our trip, we travelled over 2,000 miles total through several states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia).
Cost....
The cost for all reservations (made in advance) was $716.88 (18 nights) with an average of $39.83 per night. The most expensive campground was First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The cheapest place we camped was Falls Lake Recreation Area, NC followed closely by Poinsett State Park, SC.
Groceries/supplies (NOT GAS) cost $302.53 (this includes another set of levelers for the camper and a 50 feet water hose for the camper)
Other facts:
Georgia state parks give a senior discount of 20% (Senior starts at 62)and military discount of 25%
South Carolina state parks require a 2 night stay (at least in the cases we booked for)
Georgia state park – online reservation system – does NOT require you to pay the entire amount when you make a reservation
Virginia state parks will give you at least a partial refund for cancelling if you're staying multiple nights. We decided to cancel James River State Park since it was going to be rainy & cloudy weather the day we were suppose to arrive and we were refunded 2 of the 3 nights we had paid.
Thus far, Florida, Georgia and Virginia state parks have laundry facilities - South Carolina does not (plan ahead!).
Tips/Things we learned along the way:
1) Still TRUE The dogs were all pretty good in the back seat of the truck without dog beds. They wanted water at almost every stop (every 2-3 hours) - and food was good too.
2) Still TRUE we have adopted this process now…..If you are planning to leave your RV for any period of time while camping, turn off the water to your RV before leaving. This will prevent any chance of your RV flooding while you are away.
3) The weight distribution system for our trailer definitely made a difference in a positive way and probably saved us when Jim had to swerve one time. When this happens, the contents of our little fridge will spill out and you’ll have to clean it up. Good thing everything was in closed tupperware containers or some other type of container.
4) You might need a longer water hose or electrical hose – be prepared – our unit came with 30-foot length of electrical and we had bought the same for the water hose. We now have 50 feet.
5) The dogs figured out what rain and thunderstorms were like in the camper. They were fine as long are we were and enjoyed napping as long as it wasn’t too loud.
6) The new additions Jim built into the camper – an additional cabinet, drawers under the bed, small medicine cabinet and a silverware drawer were all great. Maybe I'll do a blog post on those in the future.
7) A lot of people camping stay to themselves – but not all do. Some love to talk, some love to share about their rig or accessories and others don’t.
8) Still TRUE We met several really nice people at many of these campsites. The people you meet are what makes RVing the most fun - seeing new sights, doing things each day and talking with people from everywhere.
9) Quiet times are ok - enjoy the sunrises, sunsets, campfires and rain breaks.
Dog Friendly-our dogs, etc...
- Our dogs still love travelling – they love the new adventures, smells, etc.
- Our dogs didn’t mind spending a little more time in the camper this time around and were less inclined to stay outside.
- Our dogs cannot handle the smoke alarm (don’t set that off cooking and for some reason it went off in the middle of the night and clearly that was a fluke – I will change the battery!)
- Our dogs are getting better about staying inside when we cook but refer back to #3!
- One campground required copies of our dog’s rabies info from our vet – it’s good to have that on hand (I knew about this beforehand, so no issues there)
- Our dogs get post ‘vacation blues’ when we get home because they don’t go everywhere with us and don’t have someone with them all the time.
- Our dogs are well travelled. They have been to 8 states now (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas). We also drove through part of Tennessee but since we didn't stop there I didn't count it.
Perhaps I should be adding in that "Florida brown dogs" blend in with "Georgia red clay"?
Ah, the best way to cool off is to walk in and lay down!
I can tell Abby feels so much better since she had a chance to cool off.
Would I go to any of these places again?
Sure – but remember there are so many places to visit.....
Sunsets and Sunrises are always different at each place....
After glow from a Virginia Beach sunset along Chesapeake Bay (photo by Jim)
Sunset over Hyco Lake at Hyco Lake Campground (photo by Jim)
Sunrise over Hyco Lake at Hyco Lake Campground (photo by Jim)
Dragonflies....
Jim loves the small world and photographed several dragon flies at various stops....(photo by Jim)
Dragonfly in Virginia Beach on the trails (photo by Jim)
Cousin It? (kinda reminds me of that - photo by Jim)
What Next?
No clue! But I’m sure we will continue our adventures, so we will have to decide what we will be doing for future trips.
Hurricane season has started and we all pray it will not be like 2024!
Links to all the blog posts from this trip are here.
- Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, Georgia - Campsite #54, 2 nights
- Little Pee Dee State Park, Dillon, South Carolina – Campsite #9, 2 nights
- First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, Virginia - Campsite #14 and #19, 5 nights
- Hyco Lake Campground (private), Semora, North Carolina – Campsite #58, 3 nights
- Falls Lake Recreation Area, Wake Forest, North Carolina – Campsite #75, 2 nights
- Poinsett State Park, South Carolina - Campsite #15, 2 nights
- Laura S Walker State Park, Waycross, Georgia - Campsite #16, 1 night
And we are home...
On Friday, May 23rd we concluded our trip and were safely back at home. The cats greeted us, we unloaded the car and got things situated. The next few days were spent cleaning up the truck, cleaning up the camper, laundry and whatever until it's done.
Rue has one final thought about this stop (home).
I will probably take a few more blog posts to share a few other things (in case you're interested) with photos - but as far as all the major stops we made - it's a wrap!
Until the next adventure!