Hartwell Before Home

Sadly, it was time for the final campground stop of the trip (insert crying face). It was such a fabulous journey thus far, and we were excited for our final stop at Lake Hartwell Sate Park.

Lake Hartwell is about an hour north of Calhoun Falls and about 2.5 hours from our house. It sits right on the Lake Hartwell (just incase that wasn't obvious) and separates South Carolina and Georgia. Before we left Calhoun Falls, we checked the weather, and unfortunately, it didn't look like there would be much sunshine. I guess it'd be selfish of us to demand 13 beautiful days of sun in a row!

We arrived mid afternoon only to find the office was closed, so we went and got settled in our site. It was a smaller site, but it had a nice waterfront view. The sites were a little close to each other, and we had neighbors on both sides. ​

Knowing the weather wasn't going to be ideal the next day, and the campground store wasn't open for another few hours, we decided to hit the water! It looked quiet and calm, so we lugged the canoe down to shore and launched off. This site didn't have stairs down to the shore. It was a little treacherous but we made it!

Out on the water, it was a pretty paddle with lots of little inlets to explore and islands to go around. We roamed for about an hour enjoying the water before deciding we should head back to check in at the store. 

The campground store at Lake Hartwell was interesting. Normally we have fun poking around and checking out all the merchandise, and 90% of the time we buy something. This one was unique because the building was very large and nice, but inside there were hardly any items, and half of the building was dedicated to animal displays with pictures and replicas of nature that is found around the park. At least Cameron had fun reading and seeing all the owl displays. We poked around the store and purchased some firewood and a sticker for Cameron's collection.

After our shopping adventure, we went back to the trailer, and Cameron worked while I walked around the campground. There were two different campgrounds, but one was closed for the season. Our loop was actually pretty small, but it did have some good hills that gave me a good leg workout. Cameron usually tries to convince me to take the bikes out, but that wasn't going to happen on these mountains! After everyone finished their respective activities, we hung by the fire enjoying some food and the views over the lake. 

The next day, Cameron got up early and worked while I got a workout in. After that, I was feeling like some iced coffee rather than our usual hot, so we decided to venture out of the campground.

There was a Dunkin' nearby, so we made the trek out into the real world. As you know, COVID makes everything more challenging, so it took a little while to get our food and drinks, but finally they did and we sat in the car and ate on our little breakfast date! With satisfied bellies, we figured it was time to work it off and maybe head for a hike back in the park. 

We took LunaBear for a nice stroll around the campground and slipped behind the locked gates to explore the second campground. SHHHHSSS... The second campground was beautiful, and in my opinion, the sites were a lot better than our side with better views of the water. It was a decent sized adventure and bear seemed tired, so we dropped her off at the trailer before heading back out to hike the nature trail. 

The nature trail was one of the more fun trails we have done at a park. It had different terrain and some views of the lake that made it a really pretty walk. We stopped and took pictures at a cute little bench sitting area.

With tired legs, we spent the rest of the evening packing up before the rain came in and enjoying the fire. Cameron was determined to make our fire bigger and better than the neighbors, unfortunately I think he was unsuccessful.

One of the saddest feelings in life is returning back to reality after a long period of time camping. It is such a relaxing and enjoyable time for us, it is always tough to go home. But... it was probably time to do some laundry and get fresh clothes!

Thanks for following along our 2020 Christmas Journey! While COVID wasn't exactly in the plans this year, we still made the best of it and are looking forward to our new 2021 adventures. Little did we know it would be the last time we'd stay in our little Coleman... but that'll be a story for another blog. Stay tuned!