After our short stint in Florida, we decided to hop back into Georgia. Our current philosophy is to try and stay in a single state for at least 4 weeks so we can get a better feel of the area. As we’re finding out, even that is too short! We’re planning on staying in Georgia for most of February so we’re trying to squeeze everything we can in!

East Bank Campground

We stayed a week at East Bank Campground, which is an Army Core of Engineers campground on Lake Seminole and is right next to the Florida – Georgia state line.

I could do my state line tango without fear of being run over since this is the road directly to the Jim Woodruf Dam.

While the lake looked like it would be good for fishing, we decided not to take our kayaks out. The smaller boat launch in the campground seemed to be a bit too far away from areas that would be more conducive for kayaking. Seminole State Park would have been a better choice looking at Google Maps.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay here to relax for several days and try some other medications for Gary’s shingles challenge. We’re slowly figuring out that the pain lasts quite a bit longer and will continue to disrupt sleeping. We don’t know how long. So if you’re 50 or older, seriously think of getting the shingles shot. As soon as I turn 50, I’ll certainly be getting mine (that’s when it’s covered by insurance).

But on to happier thoughts… one of the BEST things at this campground were the SPECTACULAR sunsets. We thoroughly enjoyed them every evening we were there!

River Bend Road

Next, we chose to stay a bit off the beaten path and tried out a county campground just south of Columbus, GA called River Bend Park. If you look at Google maps, it will take you to a location just south of the actual park, so make sure to search for River Bend Park Road.

This park had 10 camping sites which had picnic tables and fire rings. There were no water or dumping facilities here. The sites were located on a small bluff the looked out onto the Chatahoochie River, which was just perfect. There’s a box at the boat ramp where you would pay your $5/night fee.

For the week we stayed (in late January), we saw maybe 4-5 campers the entire time and mostly on the weekends. Just be aware that you are close to Fort Benning, so you may hear gunfire or tank fire a little (though it’s not overwhelming). Early in the evenings, we did have several C-130 airplanes go over the camp but then again, it was not past 10pm when we were staying.

We did spend some time picking up garbage at the sites we stayed it (we stayed at 3 sites since we took our rig when we were visiting other places). It’s too bad that some folks think that there’s always going to be someone to pick up their trash. At least we left it in better shape.

Columbus, GA Boardwalk

We certainly wish we had more time to check out Columbus. It looks like a very interesting town with quite a bit of character! During our short stay, we thoroughly enjoyed riding our bikes down the boardwalk downtown. I’m sure this would be a hopping spot in the summer watching kayakers go down the rapids!

Providence Canyon

We just happened to see this park on a website and I’m so glad we didn’t miss it! Providence Canyon was an absolutely beautiful place to walk around and see some amazing canyons that were made due to poor farming practices in the 1800s. The variation in color of the different sand, rock and clay were mesmerizing!

We took the longer “backcountry” trail where you can backpack in for camping. The trails are well-marked but I would give this hike a “medium difficulty +” mainly since there are several steep inclines/declines that have a lot of material washed out. I certainly would not want to try this trail shortly after rain.

And you DEFINITELY want to wear waterproof shoes – we have some great boots we purchased at REI that we have been using for the past year and wouldn’t go on hikes without them!

The best way to view the canyon is to go into it. With all the tress at the top of the canyon you can’t really get any decent pictures. And you don’t really feel immersed until you drop down into the canyon anyway. You don’t have to go on the backcountry trail, but you do have to go down (and back up) a fairly steep trail to see the views below. But wow, we were BLOWN AWAY – some of these views seems like they should be out west, not in Georgia.

Georgia keeps on delivering the awesomeness…. wow.

Camping

We’re keeping a running list of the places we’ve stayed – you can access it via Google Maps!