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Photo courtesy of Hans-Christian Fleng via cruiseamerica.com
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Photo by Jessica Ronky Haddad
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Photo courtesy of Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Photo courtesy of Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
"No service." The appearance of those two little words on our smartphone screens signaled our vacation had truly begun. Free from the threat of digital distractions, we circled our chairs around the campfire and toasted to an action-packed adventure in the woods. But lest you think we eschewed all modern-day conveniences on our recent four-day camping tour of Virginia's parks, think again: My family and that of a friend enjoyed the great outdoors from the comfort of recreational vehicles.
The Rig
We rented our 30-foot RV, the "large" model, from Cruise America (cruiseamerica.com), picking it up from the local dealer at 7901 W. Broad St. Prices fluctuate based on season, location and availability. For our spring break trip in April, we paid $396 for four nights, and an additional $136 for 400 miles. We also paid for gas. Since the RV gets just over 8 miles per gallon, we spent about $150.
Our RV included a small bathroom and shower and a kitchenette with a microwave/convection oven, a three-burner stove and a good-sized refrigerator. Our two boys (shown at left in the RV) slept above the cab, while my husband and I occupied the back bedroom, which was not much larger than a queen-sized bed, but provided a decent amount of built-in storage. The RV can accommodate up to seven people, but it would be a tight squeeze. My husband drove, and while we avoided any major disasters, there were a few tense moments in our circular driveway and a small incident with a campsite marker. While we received instructions in basic RV procedures, such as hooking up the electrical and water systems at the campsite and dumping the waste water (tip: bring rubber gloves), when it came to driving, we were pretty much on our own.
The Journey
We drove from Richmond west over Afton Mountain and spent two nights at Sherando Lake in the George Washington National Forest (sherandolake.com), where a campsite spot with an electrical hook-up was $30 per night. Sherando, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, is a beautiful, clean park with two lakes, one featuring a pleasant, sandy swimming beach. The kids had a blast fishing in the stocked upper lake, and the whole family enjoyed bike riding and hiking the park's trails.
Next stop was Douthat State Park (dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/douthat) in Millboro, about a 90-minute drive west from Sherando. Located in the Allegheny Mountains, Douthat is one of the original six state parks in Virginia. It offers a 50-acre lake with boat rentals and swimming, streams for trout fishing, and 45 miles of trails for hiking and some fantastic mountain biking. We stayed in the Whispering Pines campground ($30 per night), which appeared to be brand-new. We only spent one night here, but wished we could have stayed longer to explore more.
For our final night, we hooked up at Bear Creek Lake State Park (dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/bear-creek-lake) in Cumberland County, less than an hour from Richmond. This $30-per-night park has a 4-acre lake for swimming and fishing and many miles of hiking trails. It's a great destination for a day trip, and provided a quick escape back home when we awoke to torrential rain. Campsites here were smaller than the other parks, and the bathhouse was a bit of a hike, but we did have a nice view of the lake.
The Experience
While the trip itself was relaxing, and though it was wonderful to enjoy nature while also having access to all of the creature comforts of home, it was a lot of work to prepare for the trip. We compiled extensive packing lists encompassing towels, linens and toiletries along with food, cooking implements and camp gear, plus bicycles, sports equipment and clothing suitable for the unpredictable spring weather.
Driving the RV was more of a white-knuckle experience than we had anticipated, especially when traveling narrow mountain roads. My husband says he now knows to keep a wide berth around anyone driving a rental RV.
Sleeping in a bed under my own sheets is, in my opinion, immeasurably better than tent camping, but still, the RV felt cramped after a few days. Thankfully, we enjoyed beautiful weather during our adventure and spent most of our time outside.
Our trip was an experience our family will cherish and talk about for a long time to come. We can now cross it off the list and move on to other adventures.
