If you want to go camping...

If you want to get away and enjoy this beautiful fall weather with your family, try camping at Oconee State Park. It might be the best $20 bucks you have ever spent.  My family has stayed there many times, and we have always left renewed, refreshed and relaxed.  You just might put down your cell phone for a few days.... and you will have to because the cell service is terrible except for at the park store. 

From the ponds and walking trails, to the playgrounds and putt-putt course you don't even have to leave the property to enjoy the outdoors. 

Go check out the old water wheel and play a game of checkers with bottle caps for playing pieces. 

Even the park store is inviting with coffee and snacks, souvenirs and rocking chairs.

There are several trails located right on the property.  Children will also enjoy just a walk around the lake, where you can rent a paddle boat or go fishing.  

You can book a tent site for about $20 a night.  For those of you who have never been camping, let me enlighten you on State Park camping.  They have bathrooms and showers!  Now, I would recommend wearing your flip flops but really they aren't so bad.  Your tent site is literally 30 feet from your neighbor so it's not like you are out in the woods all alone, which is what I imagined years ago when David first took me camping.  I mean, I was a Girl Scout!  I went to church camp!  But still, I had never experienced camping like this before.

If camping is not for you, they have cabins!  They are RUSTIC, but there is a kitchen, bathroom, and HEAT!  Plus, outside you still have a picnic table and fire pit so you can at least pretend like you are roughing it.  Cabins start at $85 a night.  Take note, if Clemson has a home game they will be booked early. 

If you are lucky, you might just catch a real, live square dance and clogging showcase like we did on our recent trip!  The girls loved watching the performance, and it was a quintessential way to end the day.  We walked back to our site to start the camp fire for our hobo dinners.  What's a hobo dinner, you ask?  You just put hamburger meat, carrots, potatoes and onions in heavy duty tin foil and throw them into the fire.  What you wind up with is pure campfire deliciousness.  And no camping meal is ever complete without s'mores for dessert. 

The next morning it was drizzling, but we ventured out, just a few miles down the road to visit Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls.  Construction of this railway tunnel was halted during the Civil War and, despite efforts, never picked up again.  Your kids will think it is really cool, and maybe a little scary, to walk into this huge, dark tunnel.  Bring a flashlight if you like. 

Just around the corner is the entrance to Issaqueena Falls.  My children are fascinated with the legend of the Indian maiden who tricked her pursuers into thinking she jumped to her death over the waterfall, while she was hiding under a ledge.  You can easily walk over to see the view from the top of the falls.  More avid hikers may choose to work their way down to the bottom of the falls, and back up again.  We did not attempt it with two children in tow.

Then, it started to pour.  We followed the signs to a picnic area and were lucky to enjoy our lunch under a gazebo on a beautiful pond.

Another family-friendly waterfall in the area is Upper Whitewater Falls, located below Cashiers near the NC/SC line on NC Hwy 281.  It has a large parking lot with picnic tables and bathrooms.  A short walk on a paved sidewalk will take you to the viewing area.  From there you can take the steps down to a lower level for an even more incredible view of this powerful 411 foot-drop fall. 

We have also camped and rented cabins at Devil's Fork State Park, where you can relax on beautiful Lake Jocassee.  Once we rented a cabin in the summer and brought our pontoon.  The water is so clear you won't believe you are still in South Carolina.  David and his brother actually went SCUBA diving there.  The few houses on this lake are rustically charming and there are trickling waterfalls around every cove.

Now, to be perfectly honest, this year's camping trip was a total wash out!  So, if you have the flexibility, check the weather first!  Otherwise, we survived it and you can too.  Although it is an annual fall activity for our family, Oconee State Park is equally as busy in the summer months, when the ponds are bustling with activity.  Your kids will think they are on a great adventure and will LOVE every minute of it!