13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

[jaimito]

Has anyone planned a trip around the 13 original colonies? We are starting in Florida :cool: and have 3 weeks to camp. Any suggestions as to camp grounds, activities, etc? We pull a 33ft travel trailer and have 3 young kids (5, 3, 1 years old :rolleyes.

Thanks,

JR

[nearlywild]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

Are you looking for historic sites, especially ones that had to do with the formation of our great country?

[jaimito]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

Absolutely. It's less then 2 months away so now it's getting serious. So far we have planed going to Pohic bay in Virginia then Patapsco in Maryland then Fishermans memorial in Rhode island then Salisbury beach Massachusetts and that's it. Probably headed back to Philadelphia heading back home. We will end our trip in Georgia's stone Mt.

[matee5]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

I live here in Newport News Va (The Historic Triangle). It is a little bit out of the way if you are coming across Rte 58 and heading to the Eastern Shore Va / Md / Del but I still say it is worth it. You can do DC in a day if you want but it is long (about 3-4hr each way depending on traffic).

There is a pretty good KOA campground (http://www.williamsburgkoa.com/) just east of Williamsburg. Its location allows you to do Jamestown (original settlement), Yorktown and its battlefields, and Williamsburg and all its history. There is also a really good county campground to the west on the Chickahominy River. This would be my pick. https://www.jccegov.com/recreation/p...miny-park.html Closer to Jamestown but a bit further from Yorktown.

I have camped at both (KOA 2yr ago; Chick 3mth ago) both are pretty good.

Jamestown is great for the kids. There are two parts; the actual site which is a NP and a re-creation area which is just up the road and costs a bit more. The kids will love it especially if they have seen Pocahontas. Mine are 7,5 and 3 so we have done all these with little kids. Willyburg has a really good town centre which is a re-creation as well. Free to walk around but you will need a pass to enter most of the buildings, can be a bit expensive. The walk is good though.

As an Australian that now lives here I say you cant see the original 13 without coming to where it all started.

Feel free to PM me, more than happy to talk about other things or drop in on your way through.

[Ultralite]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

Check out Edisto Island in SC. It's between Savannah and Charleston. There's a nice state park that is very close to the beach. The only thing separating the sites from the beach are a couple of dunes. There's a state park on the island with a great learning center about the area history and geography.

[GlitterHiker]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

Maryland state park campgrounds close at the end of October. And once school starts in September, many have camping only on week-ends. Plan accordingly. For Patapsco, the Hollofield area accommodates RVs. Maybe you could try to get there during the week, and you'll have quiet.

If you're coming up the I-95 corridor, coming up through Maryland and then going back down into Delaware on the Eastern Shore side will take some time. The campgrounds in northern Delaware are in small parks, often surrounded by residential areas or farmland. I like them only as a place to spend the night, and then leave the park during the day to go exploring elsewhere. On the other hand - if you have time though, head south into Delaware to Cape Henlopen state park - a gem! Cape Henlopen (in Delaware) is open only through Thanksgiving. I believe the northern Delaware parks (the ones that aren't as scenic) are open year-round.

Heading back north again, in Maryland, also 1/2 hour off of I-95 is Elk Neck State Park - a lovely park in the autumn. They have a loop specific to RVs, you should be fine there. I think the main RV loop could be open year-round; all other loops close end of October.

Oops, just checked your OP. Pulling a 33ft trailer ... I think you may have limited availability. Maybe also check private, commercial campgrounds; I'm not familiar with those.

Go to reserveamerica dot com and book your campsites soon.

[jaimito]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

Thank you for the reponse and ideas, we actually did the historic triangle (staying in a resort) last spring and loved every bit of the history, now with the kids a bit older and with our trailer this time we have more freedom to explore more of the east coast. We are doing a day in D.C. so any family resturants or ideas in case of a rainy day would be helpful. we are staying at Pohick Bay and from there going to D.C. either taking the train or driving into Arlington depending on weather.

Thank you again!

[GlitterHiker]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

If it's rainy for your day in D.C., just bring an umbrella! You'll be indoors a lot touring the historical attractions. That time of year will be fine outdoors for sightseeing the monuments. Most of the museums have relatively inexpensive cafeteria options.

I've camped at Pohick Bay. It's a quiet park considering how close it is to D.C.

[caheaton]

Re: 13 Original Colonies - Planning a trip

I'm probably late to the party (just noticed the original poster's posting date), but here's some info for those who are following this thread. Deleware has an attractive park called Cape Henlopen. I've never camped there, but used to make day visits there on the weekend when I lived in MD. I remembering it being a nice island of wilderness in an otherwise congested region of the seaboard (in fact, the entire state of DE seemed like a break from the urbanization of the coastal areas of NJ, MD, NY, etc).
Craig