Fall Creek Falls - Part 1

Our 3rd trip was to Fall Creek Falls State Park on Easter weekend. (I must admit I have really been been putting off writing this post - I think because there is so much to do at FCF, I wasn't even sure where to start.)

I guess I will start with our "accommodations". The campgrounds are extensive at FCF with 238 campsites. The sites are roomy and generally well-maintained. We shared a site with friends who were RVing, so we set up our tent toward the back of the site.
"Camping with kids" tip - Bring along a carpet remnant. We always put one in front of the tent. It helps to keep dirt and debris out of the tent. The kids also like sit on it to play with games and toys.


We had lots of wildlife around our campsite. There were several deer that we would see every afternoon in the field right behind the tent. The kids were so excited to see them. We also had a raccoon come tear into our garbage while we slept. Gotta' make sure to keep the garbage up!

The best things about FCF are the activities. There is so much to do. To keep things from getting too hectic, we try to do something new each visit.
This trip we hiked the trail to Fall Creek Falls with the kids for the first time...

The beautiful Fall Creek Falls (FYI-highest waterfall in the Eastern US @ 256ft) - Spring is a great time to see it. The area had gotten plenty of rain, so all of the falls and cascades had lots of water going over them. I have been there before when they were barely a trickle...
At the trailhead overlook. Cheeeese...

The trail is relatively short (.4 miles each way) but steep. Whew! did we feel it on the way back up!

Falls Creek below the falls. Josh went on ahead and took the older kids to the base. I stayed behind because 1.) I was scared of slippery rocks and 2.) The baby was fussy. You have to be flexible when camping with the kids!

Camping Lights

Recently, Josh and I started buying a few things that we really needed for our camping trips. Though not a necessity, I had something I had to add to our shopping list - camping lights! I still remember the owl lights my family used when I camped as a child and I guess I wanted something the kids would always remember. There were owl lights on eBay...
but I really wanted something unique to our family.
I bought these great bug lights. The auction description called them bumblebees, but I am pretty sure they are lightning bugs (or fireflies for you northerners).

They are so cute and different. They are also vintage, so that gives them lots of character. I can't wait to take them camping because I know the kids are going to love them. While they aren't technically a camping necessity, they are, in my opinion, a "camping with kids" necessity. They make a campsite warm and inviting for little ones and make lots of memories.

Port Royal

Whew! I am behind, but with any luck I will get caught up before our next trip!

Our second visit was to nearby Port Royal State Park. It is a State Historical Park so there are no campgrounds, but I was blown away by the significance of the area. The Masonic Lodge building built in 1899.
The ruins of an old structure.

The Sulphur Fork Creek bridge built in 1890.

Josh spotted a rock that appeared to have chert in it - great material for making arrowheads!



The Red River. It is very prone to flooding in this area. The water was high and swift while we were there.

The remains of the covered bridge.

The covered bridge once looked like this:
(The bridge was severely damaged by in 1998 by a tornado and subsequent flooding. I believe the May flood of 2010 swept away what was left.)

A Rock on the bank where the covered bridge was once anchored. We thought it looked like a face. :)
Of the greatest significance... I had a very difficult time explaining to my 7 year old daughter what the Trail was and even more difficult why it was.

The Trail (looking toward OK)
The Trail (looking toward Charleston, TN)
There were also several other short trails, probably less important, but no less pretty. The area was beautiful.

Montgomery Bell

We chose Montgomery Bell for our first camping trip of the season and our first state park visit. This was a strategic choice because, frankly, taking a 1 year old camping is a little scary and Montgomery Bell is the closest park to our home. It was a test run and we knew we could bale out if we needed to. Thankfully, the weekend went well and we had a great time.

The campground is relatively small. The upside to that was the ability to watch the children as the rode their bikes around the loop and played. The downside was that most of the campsites were close together. This was not good because many sites were hilly and didn't give you a lot of location choices for setting up your tent. We ended up pitching tent back into the woods to give ourselves a little added privacy.

As far as activities, MB has all the standard equipment (playgrounds, volleyball net, baseball field, fishing, nature center) but I would say it's "thing" are trails - hiking and mountain biking. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the mountain bike trails. That is an activity we have not been able to find a way to do with small children. Taking a bike trailer on a mountain bike trail just sounded like a REALLY bad idea. ;) We did do some hiking with the kids and it was great. They had a wide variety of trail lengths and the trails were well-maintained and beautiful. My 3 year-old son is hooked on hiking after this camping trip!

Montgomery Bell is an older park and honestly it does show it's age. I prefer to think of it as a "no-frills" park. It is a great park to stay at when you are wanting to have a great family camping trip and just relax around the campfire.

Here are a few more pictures from our visit: