The thing I will always remember about Hidden Creek is the sweet smell of honeysuckle, growing wild along the road to my campsite. I do not have children, but if I did, this would be the perfect place to take them for an outdoor adventure. They have a nice balance of nature related activities and playground activities to make any child think they are in heaven. Plus, a new feature was being built when I was there – a super duper water slide.
The Spacious Skies owners take the skies seriously by naming all the streets after cosmic features found in our galaxy. It was fun, and just another family friendly educational aspect to get children involved in nature, even nature above our heads.
But my favorite activity no matter where I am is one I do very early in the morning, when the sun and people are still sleeping – go on a hike, listen for birds, and engulf myself in nature. Hidden Creek’s nature trail is along a true hidden creek and was perfect for Tipper’s and my morning ritual. Tipper beat me to the Friendship Bridge, so I guess we are bound together forever. I really appreciate the nature trails at the Spacious Skies campgrounds that are close to campsites that I don’t have to drive to a trailhead, or even worse to a state or federal park for my hit of nature every morning.
A thunderstorm the night before had washed some of the trail away and there were a few mud puddles, but the trail was still manageable if not in a rush. Tipper and I are never in a rush in the morning on our little hikes to wake up with the world. I understand the staff are working on restoring the trail soon. At the trail’s end is an open field with lots of sunshine producing colorful wildflowers that leads to a large section of campsites designed for very large RVs. These campsites in the back section of the campground have more shade and are very popular with seasonal visitors that stay much longer than I was.
There is a family of ducks that roam at will all over the campground. Tipper loved to watch them from the safety of the camper when I opened the door and fasten the wire gate which is actually a garden trellis for pumpkin plants that I rigged for the camper.
Take time to reserve time to visit the nearby town of Marion. Luckily, I was there over the weekend and Saturday was the day for the Tailgate Farmers Market. It was early spring, and the lettuce, eggs, and honey was flowing on many vendor tables. A man with a brightly colored tie-died shirt was making balloon animals for the children, and everyone was laughing and talking all at once. The historic town of Marion is one of those vibrant towns that loves their history and historic features. The market is one block from the center of town with a large free parking lot nearby. A warning, this is a true mountain town, and all side streets are either up or down from the main throughfare.
A must-stop is the Flavors Fly Shop – yep, a strange name but true to its interior. The store was first a gourmet food shop, selling many different kinds of coffee, oil, vinegars and spices. They soon realized many of their customers were people who fish in the nearby rivers and lakes and buying their products for camping and cooking their catch of the day. So, they partnered with a fly-fishing company and well, the rest is history. A wonder fun store with everything a camper would need to catch dinner and cook it outdoors.
No trip to Spacious Skies Hidden Creek will be complete without taking a day to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. A good place to start that is near Hidden Creek is the Museum of North Carolina Minerals operated by the National Park Service. The exhibits are first-class and designed to teach people of all ages about the past and present importance of the minerals found in the North Carolina mountains that affect our everyday lives still today.
Tip: Take a lot of detours off the Blue Ridge Parkway and wander through the small mountain towns, driving slowly along amazing switchback mountain roads between them. It is much more fun and scenic. Although a caution – Tipper got car sick along Black Mountain pass and my backseat will never be the same. My favorite town was Little Switzerland with lovely flowers, a quaint restaurant, and a Swiss-styled chocolate shop.
Ann Bush
FB group: green gypsy travel
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