A Trip to Paris (Mountain)

Well, it was six days into the new year. We had waited long enough to go on another camping trip, so we booked an impromptu weekend at Paris Mountain State Park in South Carolina. Not only would it fix our insatiable itch to go camping after such a long hiatus (a week), but it was also a park we haven't been to yet! We packed the trailer and headed to the mountains.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to see the Eiffel Tower, but there were plenty of other goodies to check out in Paris.

The campground was set waaaay back in the mountains—just how we like it. We rolled into camp on a Thursday afternoon, thinking it'd be nice and quiet to set up and finish out the work day. However, while driving over the narrow, winding mountain roads, we passed truck after truck, many of which didn't seem to care that we were a big ol' rig with a trailer. It was tight! But we made it.

We were curious why there were so many people coming in and out of a campground on a weekend, so once we set up camp, we headed out for a quick jaunt down the mountain. 

As it turns out, Paris Mountain State Park is a hiker's paradise. There were miles and miles of trails winding around the mountain this way and that. We walked to the nearest parking lot—which was still quite a hike—and found a map with several more parking lots farther down the mountain. It was the place to be!

Paris Mountain was also pretty close to Greenville, SC, so we planned a day trip into town to check it out. In typical Camera Couple fashion, we planned to hit a few breweries and finish off the day with a pizza place.

Greenville was gorgeous! How many cities have a waterfall flowing right through the middle of town!? There were plenty of shops and restaurants to keep us amused, and we loved every minute of the adventure. This definitely won't be our last time to Greenville.

For the rest of the weekend, we just hung around the campground. We did a few little hikes, but never hit the official trails. We were planning to, but then we saw how many people were on them. They stayed super busy all weekend!

Despite not hiking the official trails, we still had a great time exploring the rest of the park. There were a few old bridges, a dam with a waterfall on the back, and a nice little lake. It was a great spot to spend a weekend.

As we were sitting in the trailer one day, I noticed a guy zip past our campsite on a One Wheel—which is basically an electric skateboard with one wheel in the middle. I've had my eye on them for a while, so I was excited when I saw one in real life.

On one of our walks around the campground, I noticed that the guy riding the One Wheel had a beautiful shiny retro Airstream trailer. Obviously, they were the people to know! We got to talking to them, and it turns out they're full-timers from Asheville who live in their Airstream!

They were so friendly that they even offered to let me try out their One Wheel! Of course, I took them up on the offer and zipped around the campground a few times. It was awesome! But they're so expensive, I think I'll stick with my skateboard for a little while longer...

All in all, Paris Mountain State Park was a great spot for a quick trip away, and Greenville hasn't seen the last of us! It was the perfect weekender before our big trip to Florida, which was coming up at the end of the month! But more on that later...