The beauty of living in the middle of South Carolina is that we’re never more than a few hours from the mountains or the beach. For Labor Day weekend we decided to head north for a few days of relaxation in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I booked our trip to Mountain Stream RV Park almost a year ago, so we were excited to finally get a chance to visit the campground in person. On Friday morning we packed what seemed like all of our worldly possessions into the Jeep, hooked-up the camper, and headed up I-26. From the Columbia area it was only about a 3-hour drive to the campground. The drive was pretty easy, except for the last 5 miles on Highway 80, which were very windy and had areas were rock faces were very close to the road.

When we arrived we found a very well maintained park. The sites weren’t huge, but they were well designed, so you didn’t feel like you were right on top of your neighbors. There are only 33 spots, which gave the campground a very intimate feel. All but the last two or three sites backed-up to Buck Creek, providing beautiful views and relaxing sounds of moving water. Some sites even had decks overlooking the creek. We were on site 6, which was toward the front of the park near the store.

The park offered full hook-up, cable, and free wifi. The wifi came in handy since there was no cell signal (on AT&T or Verizon) at the campground. We did find that the wifi was spotty in the evenings, but it worked pretty well about 80% of the time. They did also offer an upgraded wifi option for $4.95 a day or $9.95 for three days.

Given the mountain roads, we were a bit surprised to see that most of the other campers had large fifth wheels or even large class A motorhomes. So, even though the roads were tight, it’s clearly possible to get larger rigs into the park. Just be sure to turn left when leaving the campground because we discovered that the top section of Hwy 80 included a set of switchback turns that are nicknamed the Devil’s Whip.

Before we headed to North Carolina, I posted to the North Carolina RV Camping Group on Facebook asking for recommendations of activities to do while we were visiting. On Saturday, we decided to try a few out.

First, we took a short drive to the trailhead for Tom’s Creek Falls. The trail was pretty easy, our 4-year-old even walked the whole loop without asking to be carried. The fall was beautiful! The boys were able to wade in the water at the base of the fall, and we were even able to climb some rocks to a pool a short way up the fall. We spent over an hour playing in the cool mountain water, searching for “dinosaur bones,” and catching crawfish. There was a steady flow of people coming to the fall, but it never felt overcrowded.

Next we went into town to grab some lunch. We ended up at Smokey Q’s in Marion. The food was great, but I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have macaroni and cheese as a side option. After filling up on BBQ, we went to do some more exploring. We decided on a scenic drive through Pisgah National Forest on Curtis Creek Rd., another recommendation from Facebook. It was a great drive for those who enjoy getting off the pavement.

On Sunday, we decided we’d try the fall favorite of apple picking. After some quick research we chose The Orchard at Altapass. The orchard itself is tucked along the Blue Ridge Parkway and was gorgeous. When we arrived we found out they’d had such a large crowd on Saturday, and they were completely out of ripe apples. So, we picked up some apple butter and blackberry syrup in the store and headed back out. I did discover later that they had posted on Facebook about being closed for u-pick. Lesson learned.

Some fellow campers had recommended Crabtree Falls, so we thought that would be another option, but we arrived to an overflowing parking lot. So, we decided to save that for another trip too. With the orchard and waterfall a bit of a bust, we ended up exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway and forest service roads. We spent a while exploring the area around an empty campsite near the parkway. The boys loved looking at all the cool rocks. We capped the day off with snocones at Pelican’s SnoBalls, then headed back to relax at the campground.

The signs heading into Mountain Stream say “the prettiest little park this side of heaven,” and I think they might just be right. We had a great weekend enjoying nature and cooler temperatures before the hectic push to the holidays. It was the perfect change of altitude to change our attitudes, and I’m already kicking myself for not booking another trip before we left!