road trip

[gregugadawg]

The national park thread sparked my interest in this. I am looking to take a week long vacation in the next few months here or so. I will be going with my girlfriend and would like to see some sites that are nice but maybe not necessarily that well known. We are both hikers so it can include some camping and hiking of course but it could be completely unrelated. We would be starting out in Atlanta so nothing in the extreme west would work out. We are looking to be somewhat frugal but not super tight on cash. So lets see what ideas you guys have.

[Lellers]

It's quite a long way from Atlanta, but if you find yourselves traveling northward, I recommend Assateague Island. I really love going out there before the summer crowds show up (and the bugs). It's very easy to walk down the beach there in the winter, spring or fall and feel like you are all alone at the edge of the ocean. And the ponies are really cool, too.

[snowhoe]

I hiked at a place in Tennessee called burgess falls. I think it might be closed not for sure. It is really cool. Its outside of Nashville.

[tuswm]

It's quite a long way from Atlanta, but if you find yourselves traveling northward, I recommend Assateague Island. I really love going out there before the summer crowds show up (and the bugs). It's very easy to walk down the beach there in the winter, spring or fall and feel like you are all alone at the edge of the ocean. And the ponies are really cool, too.

That is where I live. I work Ocean City Beach Patrol every summer. I do love that place. My roommate last summer had his car totaled when he hit a horse. There are miles of camp sites. you want to get the furthest campsite south. They are the most secluded and right by the state park/ national park line. just hope over the dunes and across "the line" and the rules change you can have camp fires and drink right on the beach. you can actually hunt and fish on the island too. Then just down the road you have alot of tourist stuff like all of ocean city. If you want to know more about it I could give you a months worth of stuff to do there, just PM me.

Recently I took a road trip to Canyon lands NP, I was surprised just how amazing that place was. Indian artifacts everywhere. The cliff dwellings where really cool to see. But it was a solid 2 day drive from MD.

Also one thing you could do is BIG BEND NP. about a full day drive from you and hit up Mardi gras on the way home. That is Feb 24.

[tuswm]

Also If you do make it up to the coast up here in MD another day trip less than an hour out of the way in MD is this

http://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/upload/greatfallstrailmap.pdf

The billy goat trail is cool, even in the winter you will see white water rafting and lots of cool views. But it is a day hike.

[Worldwide]

If you lilac bushes there is no replacement for http://www.lilacfestival.com/. This will get you brownie points with the wife. Also the Eastman theater is located there. It is of Eastman Kodak fame they restore old movies and have celebrities MC the newly remastered films. They have nice shopping district there too. Just a nice getaway with a girlfriend / wife

[Cookerhiker]

The national park thread sparked my interest in this. I am looking to take a week long vacation in the next few months here or so. I will be going with my girlfriend and would like to see some sites that are nice but maybe not necessarily that well known. We are both hikers so it can include some camping and hiking of course but it could be completely unrelated. We would be starting out in Atlanta so nothing in the extreme west would work out. We are looking to be somewhat frugal but not super tight on cash. So lets see what ideas you guys have.

Since you like hiking and camping, consider the Allegheny mountains of West Virginia, in particular Monongahela National Forest (http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/). Enjoy the cool high-elevation hardwood and at higher points, evergreen forests without the crowds of more celebrated locales like the Smokies or Shenandoah or New England.

In addition to hiking, you can paddle either whitewater or flat water. On the latter, options include the New River (http://www.nps.gov/neri/), the Cheat River, and the Youghiogheny which flows from MD into PA. Hiking option range from the Cranberry Glades in the southern "Mon" to Dolly Sods and Otter Creek in the north. In between is Spruce Knob (http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/sksrnra.html), the highest point in WV. Also in the northern part of the Mon, there's a wonderful waterfall at Blackwater Falls State Park (http://www.blackwaterfalls.com/). If you enjoy cave exploration, there are also several options.

Do you like to cycle? Options include the Greenbrier Trail (http://www.greenbrierrivertrail.com/), the Allegheny Highlands Trail (http://www.highlandstrail.org/trailmap.html), and the Great Allegheny Passage (http://www.atatrail.org) which runs 135 miles from Cumberland in Western MD to Pittsburgh. About 50 miles up, the community of Ohiopyle, PA is a trifecta of outdoor recreation: hiking (on the Laurel Highlands Trail (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks/parks/laurelridge.aspx)), cycling, and both flat and whitewater paddling await you on the Yough. And for non-outdor-realted sights, nearby is Fallingwater, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses.

If you go in summer in particular, there are music and craft festivals throughout the region which you can investigate via Google.

Planning is half the fun. Enjoy!:)

[Kanati]

Snowhoe suggested one of my favorite places. Burgess Falls Natural Area which is in the Cumberland Mountains of middle Tennessee, in many ways more beautiful than the Smokies, (just an opinion). Near by is Fall Creek Falls SP which has the tallest (I think) water fall in the eastern US. This area contains many waterfalls and nice trails. It is located at exit 273 on I-40 between Nashville and Knoxville. From Atlanta, take I-75 to Chattanooga. From there, take U.S. 127 scenic hwy north. From there, just be your own guide. If you continue north of I-40 near Jamestown and Pall Mall you will enter the valley of the 3 forks of the Wolf. This is beautiful country and home of WWI medal of honor recepient Sgt. Alvin York. Also Daniel Boone country. Middle TN contains lots of beautiful state parks and wilderness hiking.
Happy hiking. :sun

[Cookerhiker]

Snowhoe suggested one of my favorite places. Burgess Falls Natural Area which is in the Cumberland Mountains of middle Tennessee, in many ways more beautiful than the Smokies, (just an opinion). Near by is Fall Creek Falls SP which has the tallest (I think) water fall in the eastern US. This area contains many waterfalls and nice trails. It is located at exit 273 on I-40 between Nashville and Knoxville. From Atlanta, take I-75 to Chattanooga. From there, take U.S. 127 scenic hwy north. From there, just be your own guide. If you continue north of I-40 near Jamestown and Pall Mall you will enter the valley of the 3 forks of the Wolf. This is beautiful country and home of WWI medal of honor recepient Sgt. Alvin York. Also Daniel Boone country. Middle TN contains lots of beautiful state parks and wilderness hiking.
Happy hiking. :sun

And if you go in this direction, check out Big South Fork (http://www.nps.gov/biso/) and in particular, its massive arches - much more impressive than Virginia's overpriced natural bridge. Plus paddling on the Cumberland River and hiking including the Sheltowee. Also horseback riding if you're interested.

[berninbush]

Also one thing you could do is BIG BEND NP. about a full day drive from you and hit up Mardi gras on the way home. That is Feb 24.


If you're talking about Big Bend in Texas (the only one I know about), that would be an awfully long day from Atlanta. I'm probably 14 hours from Atlanta and another 8 from Big Bend.

Townsend, Tennessee, is my favorite vacation spot.

[DuctTape]

I had never heard of the Southern Highroads Trail, but I stumbled upon this site recently - http://www.southernhighroads.org/

It looks to me like some sort of tourism initiative for the southeastern states, but there's some interesting info and locations nonetheless. Has anybody ever heard of this?

If it were me I would look into this, or head for the Blue Ridge Parkway and chill in the southern Appalachian towns, or head for Florida, or Mardi Gras...

[johnnybgood]

Add Rail Trails along the Greenbrier River , WV

[johnnybgood]

www.trails.com (http://www.trails.com) & www.railstotrails.us (http://www.railstotrails.us)