Gulf Coast and Hot Springs trip
#1
12-10-2013, 12:12 PM
Gulf Coast and Hot Springs trip
This trip report is a little late (only 6 months) but here goes anyway. We returned from our two week camping trip on Saturday, May 25th, having put almost 3,500 miles on the Road King. As a side note the King has almost 55,000 miles on it now and it has been a great machine (knock on wood).
We had to work late into Friday, 5/10, in order to get ready to be gone for such a stretch and as a result we were not on the road until after lunch on Saturday. From our house just outside of Charlotte we made it to the Augusta area before looking for a camp ground. We found a jewel on the shores of J, Strom Thurmond Lake called Hawe Creek. It is an Army Corp of Engineers campground. All sites appeared to be waterfront and they all had electric and water. The bath house was nice.
We broke camp Sunday morning and made way for the only campground where we had made advanced reservations for any part of our trip. That was St. George Island State Park in Florida. We navigated the back roads through Georgia going through many small towns. Staying on route 319 took us straight through the heart of Tallahassee and eventually brought us to route 98 along the ‘old Florida’ coast. 98 was a beautiful drive and we stayed on her until we reached the bridge at Eastpoint where we crossed the sound and made our way to the campground. Our ride that day took us longer than expected and we pulled up to the check in station with minutes to spare. I must be living right because if we had hit one more stop light that day I swear we would not have been able to check in that night. Since we were staying there until Wednesday we set up camp using the LL’s canopy and netting. We finished set up in the dark, got our showers and hit the sack. It was a good day of riding.
We really liked St. George Island SP. We were fortunate that the temperature never climbed above 85 and as we were there before the Memorial Day weekend we pretty much had the beaches to ourselves. We spent Monday and Tuesday hiking the trails and walking the beach. You can actually walk the water’s edge from the north side of the island, where the campground is located, around the east end and down the south side until you come to the public beach access areas of the park. Then it is maybe a half mile walk back to the campground.
We decided to keep to our original plan and head towards New Orleans.
This is the bridge back to the mainland.
We did not rush to get on the road early that Wednesday and we thought that we would only go so far as the Florida/Alabama line. So we called and made reservations at the Big Lagoon St. Rec. area. Most of the reservations we make are done this way. We wait until we are on the road and get a decent handle on where we may want to end up that day. Once that decision is made we will use the Garmin to start looking for campgrounds in that area. We stopped and had a leisurely lunch along the coast as we slowly made our way west. It was another beautiful day for riding and we were in no hurry. Well, that was a slight mistake as I forgot about the time zone change and only realized until it was way too late that we were not going to make it to the Big Lagoon until well after nightfall. Again someone was watching out for us. As we finally pulled up to the ‘Big Lagoons’ gate, it was closed. While setting on the still running motorcycle trying to decide if I could squeeze through the slight opening between the ends of the two drop down gates, a car came down the road from the campground and was making its’ exit. As soon as it cleared the gates I motored through them and prayed they did not come down and knock us to the ground. Fortunately we made it in and found our site. We quickly set up camp. As they already had our money we would officially check in the next morning.
Road going in to St. Bernard State Park, just outside New Orleans.
Today is Thursday, 5/16, and we got an early start. We thought about taking route 180 to the Dauphin Island/Ft. Morgan Ferry but in order to make some decent time we got back on 98. We rode 98 into Mobile and picked up Interstate 10W which we stayed on until coming to New Orleans. While stopped that day we made a call and got reservations for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at St. Bernard State Park which is about 15 miles southeast of the city center. The campground was clean and the campsite was nice. Again, we are here during a slow time for them so I can’t comment on the park when it is stressed by usage from a lot of people. It did have only one bath house and I imagine that could get problematic during peak usage. The park also had a public pool. It was in a different area of the grounds (although no too far away) and I imagine that when it is open during the summer months this could also cause some crowding issues. However, for this time of the year it was perfect for our purposes. We were able to ride into the city each day and it was a one way trip of about 20 minutes.
We had a great time in New Orleans. I’m not sure I would ever go back but it was worth the visit and I am glad we stayed a few days. During our stay here, we had been trying to decide where we would go next. It came down to riding the Trace through Mississippi or going on up to Hot Springs. As we hit the road on Sunday we still were not sure. We did know that we wanted to ride the river road heading north and take a tour of one of the plantations that day. With that accomplished we crossed the river at Baton Rouge and picked up route 61N. This was a great road with beautiful scenery that allowed us to make some good time.
Later that day we started to search for a place to camp. The Garmin showed a private CG nearby called ‘Peaceful Pines. It was a few miles off 61, and the name had changed, but they had a site for us when we arrived. While setting up, the owner of the 5th wheel rig at the next camp site paid us a visit. He had a few motorcycles setting around and the conversation came easy. He invited us over for dinner and drinks with a few other people from different sites. It was an enjoyable evening and the company was good. As we told him of our dilemma (the Trace or Hot Springs) he said his vote would be to go to Hot Springs saying although the Trace was a nice ride that we would enjoy the scenery more so in Arkansas. Well that tipped our decision.
It is now Monday morning, 5/20, and we are back on 61 where we cross back in to Louisiana at Natchez. Making our way north I am surprised by the amount of agriculture in northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas. I guess it makes sense when I think about the fertile soil that the River had deposited there over the ages. It was still a surprise.
That day we call to make Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night reservations at Lake Catherine State Park just outside of Hot Springs. After another beautiful day of riding we arrive at Lake Catherine. The office has closed but our reservation is posted on the outside bulletin board. There are no closed gates at this park and we are able to make camp without a problem. Tuesday was a complete rain out for us. We did get in a morning walk but then it started raining and did not let up until late that night. Wednesday was a great day and we spent most of it in Hot Springs with a short ride up route 7. The entire area was beautiful and we will be back to this area of the country someday to do some more riding further in to the hills.
With the Memorial Day weekend fast approaching we called ahead and made reservations for both Thursday night in Tennessee and Friday night in North Carolina.
Thursday we broke camp early and turned back east towards home.
We drove around Little Rock and used route 70 to travel to Memphis. From there we picked up route 57 to take us to Pickwick Landing State Park. The next morning we dropped back in to Mississippi and Alabama by way of route 72 to make our way to Chattanooga. Routes 64 and 74 then took us most of the way to Fontana Dam Lodge and Campground where we spent Friday night.
Although we are fortunate to live only a few hours from this area, we have not had a chance to ride here for a while. It’s always a great place to go. We did not do ‘the dragon’ this time around but the ride was fun none the less.
We arrived home at 2:00 Saturday afternoon almost 14 day to the hour from our departure. It was a great vacation. I hope I didn't bore you with my story. Ride safe everyone.
We had to work late into Friday, 5/10, in order to get ready to be gone for such a stretch and as a result we were not on the road until after lunch on Saturday. From our house just outside of Charlotte we made it to the Augusta area before looking for a camp ground. We found a jewel on the shores of J, Strom Thurmond Lake called Hawe Creek. It is an Army Corp of Engineers campground. All sites appeared to be waterfront and they all had electric and water. The bath house was nice.
We broke camp Sunday morning and made way for the only campground where we had made advanced reservations for any part of our trip. That was St. George Island State Park in Florida. We navigated the back roads through Georgia going through many small towns. Staying on route 319 took us straight through the heart of Tallahassee and eventually brought us to route 98 along the ‘old Florida’ coast. 98 was a beautiful drive and we stayed on her until we reached the bridge at Eastpoint where we crossed the sound and made our way to the campground. Our ride that day took us longer than expected and we pulled up to the check in station with minutes to spare. I must be living right because if we had hit one more stop light that day I swear we would not have been able to check in that night. Since we were staying there until Wednesday we set up camp using the LL’s canopy and netting. We finished set up in the dark, got our showers and hit the sack. It was a good day of riding.
We really liked St. George Island SP. We were fortunate that the temperature never climbed above 85 and as we were there before the Memorial Day weekend we pretty much had the beaches to ourselves. We spent Monday and Tuesday hiking the trails and walking the beach. You can actually walk the water’s edge from the north side of the island, where the campground is located, around the east end and down the south side until you come to the public beach access areas of the park. Then it is maybe a half mile walk back to the campground.
We decided to keep to our original plan and head towards New Orleans.
This is the bridge back to the mainland.
We did not rush to get on the road early that Wednesday and we thought that we would only go so far as the Florida/Alabama line. So we called and made reservations at the Big Lagoon St. Rec. area. Most of the reservations we make are done this way. We wait until we are on the road and get a decent handle on where we may want to end up that day. Once that decision is made we will use the Garmin to start looking for campgrounds in that area. We stopped and had a leisurely lunch along the coast as we slowly made our way west. It was another beautiful day for riding and we were in no hurry. Well, that was a slight mistake as I forgot about the time zone change and only realized until it was way too late that we were not going to make it to the Big Lagoon until well after nightfall. Again someone was watching out for us. As we finally pulled up to the ‘Big Lagoons’ gate, it was closed. While setting on the still running motorcycle trying to decide if I could squeeze through the slight opening between the ends of the two drop down gates, a car came down the road from the campground and was making its’ exit. As soon as it cleared the gates I motored through them and prayed they did not come down and knock us to the ground. Fortunately we made it in and found our site. We quickly set up camp. As they already had our money we would officially check in the next morning.
Road going in to St. Bernard State Park, just outside New Orleans.
Today is Thursday, 5/16, and we got an early start. We thought about taking route 180 to the Dauphin Island/Ft. Morgan Ferry but in order to make some decent time we got back on 98. We rode 98 into Mobile and picked up Interstate 10W which we stayed on until coming to New Orleans. While stopped that day we made a call and got reservations for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at St. Bernard State Park which is about 15 miles southeast of the city center. The campground was clean and the campsite was nice. Again, we are here during a slow time for them so I can’t comment on the park when it is stressed by usage from a lot of people. It did have only one bath house and I imagine that could get problematic during peak usage. The park also had a public pool. It was in a different area of the grounds (although no too far away) and I imagine that when it is open during the summer months this could also cause some crowding issues. However, for this time of the year it was perfect for our purposes. We were able to ride into the city each day and it was a one way trip of about 20 minutes.
We had a great time in New Orleans. I’m not sure I would ever go back but it was worth the visit and I am glad we stayed a few days. During our stay here, we had been trying to decide where we would go next. It came down to riding the Trace through Mississippi or going on up to Hot Springs. As we hit the road on Sunday we still were not sure. We did know that we wanted to ride the river road heading north and take a tour of one of the plantations that day. With that accomplished we crossed the river at Baton Rouge and picked up route 61N. This was a great road with beautiful scenery that allowed us to make some good time.
Later that day we started to search for a place to camp. The Garmin showed a private CG nearby called ‘Peaceful Pines. It was a few miles off 61, and the name had changed, but they had a site for us when we arrived. While setting up, the owner of the 5th wheel rig at the next camp site paid us a visit. He had a few motorcycles setting around and the conversation came easy. He invited us over for dinner and drinks with a few other people from different sites. It was an enjoyable evening and the company was good. As we told him of our dilemma (the Trace or Hot Springs) he said his vote would be to go to Hot Springs saying although the Trace was a nice ride that we would enjoy the scenery more so in Arkansas. Well that tipped our decision.
It is now Monday morning, 5/20, and we are back on 61 where we cross back in to Louisiana at Natchez. Making our way north I am surprised by the amount of agriculture in northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas. I guess it makes sense when I think about the fertile soil that the River had deposited there over the ages. It was still a surprise.
That day we call to make Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night reservations at Lake Catherine State Park just outside of Hot Springs. After another beautiful day of riding we arrive at Lake Catherine. The office has closed but our reservation is posted on the outside bulletin board. There are no closed gates at this park and we are able to make camp without a problem. Tuesday was a complete rain out for us. We did get in a morning walk but then it started raining and did not let up until late that night. Wednesday was a great day and we spent most of it in Hot Springs with a short ride up route 7. The entire area was beautiful and we will be back to this area of the country someday to do some more riding further in to the hills.
With the Memorial Day weekend fast approaching we called ahead and made reservations for both Thursday night in Tennessee and Friday night in North Carolina.
Thursday we broke camp early and turned back east towards home.
We drove around Little Rock and used route 70 to travel to Memphis. From there we picked up route 57 to take us to Pickwick Landing State Park. The next morning we dropped back in to Mississippi and Alabama by way of route 72 to make our way to Chattanooga. Routes 64 and 74 then took us most of the way to Fontana Dam Lodge and Campground where we spent Friday night.
Although we are fortunate to live only a few hours from this area, we have not had a chance to ride here for a while. It’s always a great place to go. We did not do ‘the dragon’ this time around but the ride was fun none the less.
We arrived home at 2:00 Saturday afternoon almost 14 day to the hour from our departure. It was a great vacation. I hope I didn't bore you with my story. Ride safe everyone.
#4
12-22-2013, 04:40 PM
Cool trip report, I've ridden a lot of your trip route on various rides so it was familiar to me.
While in Hot Springs you were within a stones throw of some of the most scenic riding in the country, especially Hwy 7 north out of Hot Springs all the way to Harrison, Arkansas, and some of backroads to the east and west of Hot Springs.
While in Hot Springs you were within a stones throw of some of the most scenic riding in the country, especially Hwy 7 north out of Hot Springs all the way to Harrison, Arkansas, and some of backroads to the east and west of Hot Springs.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Faulkner
Road Trips
11
03-06-2020 08:08 AM