Washington to Miami Road Trip Guide

Visiting the wonderful museums in Washington D.C. is always a popular choice for visitors to the city of all ages, but if you are by yourself and looking for some sports fun you should head to Capital One Arena to a Washington Wizards game. The team was originally known as the Chicago Packers and after numerous relocations and name changes, they settled on the Washington Wizards in 1997.

The Capital One Arena is super easy to get to since it's very close to the Judiciary Square metro stop and surrounding it there are many highly rated restaurants, including Pi Pizzeria, Zaytinya, and Jaleo. Although there are no RV campgrounds in the close vicinity to Washington D.C. you can head around 22 miles southwest to the Fairfax County-operated Burke Lake Campground so that you can beat the traffic getting out of the city. All of the sites in the campground are without hookups, but there are a dump station and bathroom facilities available for your convenience.

Just over 100 miles from Washington D.C. in the city of Richmond is a serene garden that is a must for solo travel lovers wanting to experience some peace and quiet. TheLewis Ginter Botanical Garden is one of the top tourist attractions in Richmond and it is easy to see why. There are 50 acres of perfectly manicured gardens that always have flowers in bloom, so no matter what time of the year that you visit you will be able to see and smell the gorgeous plant life.

Another great feature about the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is the massive conservatory where you can view the more exotic orchids and tropical plants that call the garden home. There are also plenty of learning activities and events that occur throughout the year at the garden, so be sure to check their website before your visit to see what is coming up.

There are plenty of campgrounds in and around Richmond, including the great Richmond North / Kings Dominion KOA. Here you can enjoy full hookup sites and some luxurious amenities, so it is the perfect place to park your rig for the night.

The best opportunity for some lakeside recreation during the early days of your solo RV road trip will be at Jordan Lake - specifically the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. Located only 15 miles from Chapel Hill and 24 miles from Raleigh, Jordan Lake State Recreation Area is the gateway to the 14,000 acre Jordan Lake.

Out on the water, there are many things you can do to have some fun, including boating, fishing, and swimming. The swimming options, in particular, are fantastic with seven different beaches that you are welcome to use. Off the lake, you can go exploring on one of the many hiking trails or take it easy at one of the many picnic sites that have water views. Another major benefit of staying around Jordan Lake is that there are over 1,000 campsites to choose from, so this will be the place with the most sites that you will encounter on your road trip.

Just over the border in South Carolina is a gem of a park that often goes under the radar. Little Pee Dee State Park consists of 835 acres and gives you the chance to experience a quieter time in nature than you would have had at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.

The park is widely renowned as being a fantastic fishing destination thanks to Lake Norton being within the park boundaries. Another great thing to do when in the area is to check out the Little Pee Dee Heritage Preserve that is located next door. The preserve features the very interesting Carolina Bay, which is a series of shallow depressions in the group that are lake-like. Nobody knows why these have been formed over time, so they are quite mysterious.

Little Pee Dee State Park has plenty of RV-friendly campsites available for you to call home for the night, all of which are primitive with no hookups available.

Visiting historical places that you would never get the chance to usually check out is one of the great joys about taking an extended RV road trip. Located in Charleston, South Carolina around 128 miles south of Little Pee Dee State Park, theFort Sumter National Monument is one of these places.

This sea fort is most famous for being the site where the first bullet was fired during the Civil War on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces rained down bullets on the Union. The fort was attacked by the Confederate forces and on April 13th it was evacuated by the Union.

Today Fort Sumter is a National Monument that can only be accessed via boat. At the fort, there are plenty of historical exhibits and items from the time it was an active fort, so if you love history you will have to check out it. You will need to catch a boat over to the island, so the best bet for van lovers is to park near the Liberty Square Visitor Education Center and take the ferry over.

Continuing on down the coast is a great way to see the changing environment as you inch closer to Florida. Before you reach the Sunshine State, consider pulling in to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, which is 72 miles north of Jacksonville.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is the only rehabilitation facility in the state of Georgia for injured sea turtles. The center takes in these majestic animals when they are below their optimum health and nurses them back before they are released. The center is open to the public and features plenty of great programs for you to learn more about these super cool creatures. These include guided group tours, sunrise beach ecology walks, and evening turtle walks.

Once you have finished enjoying what the Georgia Sea Turtle Center has to offer, you can head a few miles north to the Jekyll Island Campground where there are RV friendly sites for you to make the most of.

So far your solo RV adventure has been full of lakes and coastal areas, so if you are feeling like you want to spend some time in a unique forest you will have to make Tiger Bay State Forest your first stop in Florida.

Located only seven miles from Daytona Beach, Tiger Bay State Forest features over 27,000 acres of pines, along with large areas of swampland and pine islands. The land for the forest was originally purchased in 1977 with two more parcels bought in 1994 and 1998. If you love to go hiking, biking, fishing, boating, or wildlife viewing you will enjoy your time visiting Tiger Bay State Forest.

Once you are finished exploring you can head to the campground within the forest to catch some zzz's. There are five sites suitable for RVs, so if you plan on staying the night it is recommended that you make a reservation prior to your arrival.

Here is something a little different for RV lovers with a sweet tooth. Located in West Palm Beach, the Bulk Candy Store Museum is full of exciting artifacts and will be a journey through time candy style.

The crown jewel of the collection at the Bulk Candy Store Museum is a golden ticket from the original Willy Wonka movie that is signed by all of the cast members. Along with this amazing piece of pop culture history, the museum is also home to an original everlasting gobstopper from the film, dozens of vintage candy wrappers, and huge Pez dispensers. In total there are six rooms that you will visit on a guided tour as well as plenty of candy samples and other candies that you can purchase in the shop front.

Around 13 miles to the west of the Bulk Candy Store Museum you will find the West Palm Beach / Lion Country Safari KOA, which is a superb campground with a ton of amenities, such as powered sites, WiFi, and a playground.