Last weekend we did our annual October camping trip to kick-off Halloween season and enjoy some hiking. Over the past few years we have stayed at a variety of campgrounds just before Halloween and most of the time they have activities for the kids; crafts, pumpkins, hay rides, trick or treating, costumes, and decorating campsites. It’s a great way to get in the spirit and kick-off the season, plus the kids love getting an extra chance to go trick or treating. We also love camping in places that highlight the leaves changing colors this time of year (the one time we tried OBX camping in October they also didn’t have Halloween events…fail).
This year we left on Thursday evening and drove to the Harrisonburg/Shenandoah KOA. The campground is pretty close to the main highway, but still secluded and quiet. It was easy to get in/out and campsites were a decent size. They had a variety of pull-thru or back-in sites available, and I’m glad we went with the pull-thru since we weren’t sure if we would get there after dark or not. My only complaint with the campground was the high prices for everything (firewood bundles, snacks, and the pizza on premise were all very high in my opinion). We’ve also stayed in some great KOA’s with hot tubs or heated all season pools, Harrisonburg had a small pool that was only open in the summer months.
When we were arriving on Thursday night we called in a pizza delivery from The Italian Job in New Market and it was affordable and delicious. Ordering delivery on the way in gave us a chance to get hooked up and settled in and then food was there right on time without having to cook, it worked out great. As we were pulling off the highway the brakes on the truck sounded bad, so I had to take a detour to the local garage on Friday morning but it was a quick fix and minimal impact on our trip. I can’t say enough good things about Midas in Harrisonburg, they were easy to work with and very accommodating! I was also working while on this trip so I had a bunch of meetings to dial into on Friday and other work to get done. Luckily the kids had fun hanging out around the campground and we were able to enjoy the playground and fire pit as soon as I was finished with work. Hope was super excited because Kristen taught her how to start the campfire from scratch, no firestarters allowed here! Autumn got to start her own fire on Saturday night and she was equally excited!
On Saturday we drove about an hour and half to get onto Skyline Drive and down to Blackrock Summit trailhead. On the way there we stopped at Moxie33 Coffee, I recommend the caramel macchiato! We also stopped several times along Skyline Drive to checkout the overlooks and get some good pictures of the leaves changing colors. The trailhead for Blackrock was very busy and we had to park out on the road. However the trail wasn’t too busy and overall a great hike. It was pretty short at only about a mile and had some steep sections in the beginning but was well worth it when the kids got to play on the rock outcropping. We climbed around on the rocks for a good while and got some great pictures. After continuing on the hike we decided to do the long version (Hike #2) but would not recommend. It was essentially another 3/4 mile to walk down a hill on one trail and then back up on another, no great sights and nothing to keep the kids engaged.
We were back at the campground in time for a late lunch and then getting ready for Halloween festivities! Autumn had fun with pumpkin painting and then playing on the playground. They even got a chance to make new friends that happened to be staying right near us! They played together and then went trick or treating and on the hay ride together…funny how quick and easy kids can become good friends with one another. The hay ride was not scary and they made it very kid friendly, a little dull for the older kids but very fun for the little ones. After filling up on candy and enjoying the fire a bit, the kids settled down to watch a movie in the camper and enjoy their last night. Sunday morning we took our time getting breakfast and packing up but were on the road by 11 and home around 3pm. Aside from the hiccup with the brakes on the way there, it was an easy drive and another successful camping trip in the books
