RE: CGs off I95 in NC, SC &/or GA? Tips for quick stopovers?

[whippetwrun]

 
We are taking the popup to Disney this summer.  Ugh - I know - hot!, but thanks to DH s schedule we can be at WDW for 2 weeks!  He has a work seminar the one week then is taking vacation time the next week.
 
 Any way, we are thinking of stopping at a cg for a quick over night on the way down and on the way back.  Which means staying right off of I-95.
 
 Any suggestions for a good cg would be appreciated, along with suggestions to make a quick stopover as unstressful as possible. (beds will be made ahead of time!)
 
 Do we have to unhitch?  Is the whole set up routine needed?  or can we skip, say, supports for the one bunk we won t be using?

[wahoonc]

 whippetwrun
There are a couple that come to mind[8D] There is a KOA in Florence SC, somewhere close to exit 164 then way down at exit 98 there is Santee Cooper State park. There are few others near Florence to the north. Maybe someone from GA will chime in for their state.  We have to unhitch ours for the front bed to pull all the way out. I wouldn t try to save time by not putting the bed supports up, you would lose a lot more if someone forgot and climbed on the bed.[]
 
 Aaron[]

[cavman]

 whippetwrun
WR --
 
 No comments on the CGs.  Haven t been that route yet.
 
 On the setup/takedown,  If you can completely setup the PU without unhitching, fine but you must level and completely set up.  That means supports for pullouts but not the electric and water (lights from battery).  Just a quick up and down requires the minimum of have-to-dos.  Level, Crank up, Setup beds, install door, get in bed, sleep, take down in morning.  Think of it as climbing in the sleeping bag.  Hey, that s a thought.  Break out a clean tarp, put down the bags and nite nite.  Less to do that way. LOL[]
 
 Hope you have a safe and happy trip.  See you in June.
 
 Cavman

[Gamecock Camper]

 whippetwrun
Even though I live and camp often in SC, I can t think of any in SC that are right off I-95 (right off to me means within a 20 minute detour off the highway.  A good website for SC State park campgrounds is www.discoversouthcarolina.com ... some of the best statepark campgrounds are right here in SC and I hope you get to see them sometime.  Let us know if you are swinging through the state again and we might try to meet some PUT people if it fits in our schedule......  Good luck in finding a place.  If anything comes to mind, I ll post another response.

[Tim5055]

 whippetwrun
How about a South Carolina State park about 5 minutes from I-95?
 
 [link=http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/stateparks/parkdetail.asp?PID=535]Santee State Park[/link]
 
 Here is the review from [link=http://www.title-3.com]my web site[/link]:
 
 

This is a beautiful South Carolina park along the banks of Lake Marion.  As it is just 6 miles off of I-95 we thought this would be a nice stop on the way to Disney World. We were right!
   
 The park has two camping areas, one directly on the shores of the lake and another a short distance away.  While some sites can be reserved, most can not.  Being late in the season the park rangers assured us there would be no problem in getting a site.  All sites have water and electric with a dump station in each campground.
   
 Upon arrival we selected a site at the end of a road which was wooded on two sides affording the most privacy.  I was surprised to find that the site only had 20a electric service.  Checking around the campground I found that some had 20a while others had 30a service.   I was lucky that I had an adaptor and we did not need the A/C.
   
 The site boundaries are not well defined and a site can expand or contract as needed.  The roads and parking areas of the sites are gravel.
   
 While the focus of the park is fishing, bike and hiking trails are available.  A short drive away is the Santee outlet mall along side I-95.
   
 With I-95 crossing Lake Marion  close by, vehicle noise can be heard in the distance at times.  I did notice it but did not feel it was annoying.
 

[lhuff]

 whippetwrun
As far as Georgia, we enjoy Jekyll Island.  The camping area is well shaded by century old trees and the area is surrounded by history.  A shot walk across the road from the campground, and a short walk down a shady road, is a fishing pier where you can watch a beautiful sunset, watch the ships come in and out, or fish.  There is a historic distric where the rich and famous " summered"  during the golden era.  These people all had their own " cottages"  (yeah right) but dined at the Jekyll Club.  They say that when all of the members were seated for dinner there a sixth of the country s (or world s - I can t remember for sure) wealth was in one room.
 
 For the kids there is a beautiful white sand beach, a water park and a putt putt course.  There are several adequate resturants on the island, but none we ve tried are spectacular.  
 
 Just across the river is St. Simon s Island.  One of the oldest fort in the US was there and it s kind of nice.  There is a light house museum which has an old light house you can visit.  
 
 All in all, it s a great place to visit.  There is a great deal of information including links to maps and directions at
 
 [link=http://www.jekyllisland.com/index2.phtml]Jekyll Island[/link].
 
 Here is an interesting link to the lighthouse
 
 [link=http://www.bansemer.com/georgia_lighthouses/st_simons_lighthouse.htm]St. Simons lighthouse[/link].
 
 Where you stay, be safe and have fun at WDW.
 
 Larry
 

[jaycocamprs]

 whippetwrun
Blythe Island Regional Park. This park is operated by Glynn County GA. Located just off I-95 in Brunswick GA. All sites have water and electricity with cable, sewer is available. While the sites are not large, they are level and we were able to setup our AAR. Although the sites are close, there is some underbrush between the sites. The roads through the campground, and the sites are not paved. There is a lake with swimming beach. The beach is at the other end of the lake from the campground. But sites 1-12 have a nice view of the lake across the road. There is a nice shelter in the campground that campers can reserve at no cost. From the park it is just a short drive to either St. Simons Island, Sea Island or JekyllIsland
 
 http://www.glynncounty.org/glynncounty.org/departments/recandparks/Blythe%20Island%20Regional%20Park%20Home.htm
 
 

[Gone-Camping]

 whippetwrun
Sounds like a long trip! I don t know about any of the campgrounds personally, but the following link will list not only campgrounds, but also many attractions along the way...
 
 [link=http://www.usastar.com/i95/camping.htm]The I-95 Exit Information Guide On-Line[/link]
 
 Well, I do know of one... Pocohontas State Park just south of Richmond Va, PUT s very own " StateParkGrl"  works there in the office!!! It s only minutes from I-95, has water & electric sites, and a very nice campground!!!

[whippetwrun]

 whippetwrun
Thanks for all the helpful responses!  I ll be checking out the different sites posted. Many sound like a wonderful trip on their own!
 
 cavman - I wish I could DH to sleep on the ground.  But then even if I could, DD would be up and wandering all over the place while I continued to snore away![8D]

[Gamecock Camper]

 whippetwrun
FYI, I haven t been to Santee State Park but have heard it is nice.  You might want to check it out as some of the SC State Parks take reservations (phone only) and some have only first come / first served sites available.  One of our favorite parks is Hunting Island State park just outside of Beaufort, SC (where Forest Gump was filmed).....  They do have reservation sites and first come sites.   Someone else mentioned St. Simons Island.  I agree that it is another beautiful island. Like the Hunting Island lighthouse, the St. Simons lighthouse is open to the public.  You can climb to the top for only 50 cents or so.  
 
 St. Simons has a nice pier right near the lighthouse as well as some nice little restaurants and interesting shops.  If you are a golfer, there are several very nice golf courses on the island.  If you go to the end of the island you will find Sea Island resort.  It is a five star resort that is spectacular.  There are many large old oak trees with spanish moss hanging from them.  The hotel is incredible as is the food there.  President Bush (Sr.) spent his honeymoon there,  John Kennedy was married on the island right accross from Sea Island, etc..... The grounds and architecture is really something else.....  I know because part our honeymoon was spent on St. Simon s Island.  We stayed at the King and Prince resort (about 1 or 2 miles from the lighthouse) when there was still a beach in-front of the King and Prince..... now the ocean comes right up to the K&P pool area.....  A very nice area, but I didn t know there was a campground nearby.  I ll have to check that one out myself.