A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 246 miles from Beaver, West Virginia to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Travel from Beaver, West Virginia to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
We drove our coach 246 miles, about four hours of driving, from Beaver, West Virginia to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:
An interactive map, showing potential stops:
We had no sewer hookup at our campsite; when we were ready to leave our gray and black tanks were both at 83%:
So we stopped by the dump station on the way out:
A very narrow road out of the park:
Of course, as we head out of West Virginia, we had to play John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads:
Country roads:
Fun with zoom:
South on I-77:
5% downgrade; nice to have actual hills for a change:
East River Mountain tunnel:
“Welcome to Virginia”:
Rest stop:
Big Walker Mountain tunnel:
A colorful water tower, painted to look like a hot air balloon:
Fuel stop:
Sbarro for lunch:
Back to our coach:
An accident ahead:
“Tennessee Welcomes You”:
Rest area:
Heading in to Pigeon Forge:
Titanic:
Hollywood Wax Museum:
MagiQuest:
Swimwear and alligators:
Camp Margaritaville:
Check in:
Arriving at our site:
Custom couch side tables
While in Red Bay we also got Cody Poores of Cody’s Custom Cabinets to create custom side tables for our theater seating couch.
We already had nice side tables that we bought from Dave & LJ’s RV Interior Design in Woodland, Washington, along with our couch. Here’s the one on Jenn’s side of the couch, next to the kitchen pull-out counter and drawers:
And my side, using the top drawer as a surface for my iPad:
They were nice, but we wanted ones that were sized better for the space, matched the look of built-in cabinets, and had a better pull-out surface on top. Cody was able to produce custom units to match our requirements.
Here he’s removing the old units:
Jenn’s new unit, without the top; you can see the pull-out surface:
My unit installed:
The pull-out surface is very useful for resting my iPad and MacBook Pro:
Jenn’s unit:
Hers also has the pull-out surface and two drawers:
Much better!
New River Gorge National Park: Thurmond and waterfalls
We visited the Thurmond area of New River Gorge National Park, plus a scenic drive to a couple more waterfalls.
The NPS map of the whole park; click or tap to interact on their site:
An interactive map of our route for visiting Thurmond and the waterfalls:
Waterfall on the way to Thurmond:
One-way car and rail bridge to Thurmond:
Thurmond:
Train engine:
Passport stamps:
Visitor center:
Train engine:
Historic Thurmond:
Back over the one-way bridge:
Glen Ferris falls:
New River Gorge National Park: Canyon Rim and Bridge
We visited the Canyon Rim area of New River Gorge National Park, the newest full National Park in the US. The Canyon Rim section has a visitor center that overlooks the iconic New River Gorge bridge, plus has a winding scenic drive down into the canyon, that passes under the bridge three times.
The NPS map of the whole park; click or tap to interact on their site:
An interactive map of our route for visiting Canyon Rim etc:
Going over the New River Gorge Bridge:
Visitor center:
Gorge viewpoint:
Bridge viewpoint:
We did the scenic Fayette Station Road driving tour, that goes down into the gorge:
One way bridge:
A view of the New River Gorge Bridge from the one-way bridge:
New River Gorge National Park: Sandstone Falls
We visited the Sandstone Falls area of New River Gorge National Park, the newest full National Park in the US. The Sandstone Falls section features a 1500 feet wide waterfall on the New River.
The NPS map of the whole park; click or tap to interact on their site:
An interactive map of our route for visiting Sandstone Falls:
“Masks are optional”; haven’t seen any mention of COVID-19 for a while:
Visitor center exhibits:
Viewpoint overlooking Sandstone Falls:
Sandstone Falls boardwalk:
New River Gorge National Park: Grandview
We visited the Grandview area of New River Gorge National Park, the newest full National Park in the US. The Grandview section overlooks a bend in the New River.
The NPS map of the whole park; click or tap to interact on their site:
An interactive map of our route for visiting Grandview:
A small visitor center:
Grand Canyon of the East:
Path to the main viewpoint:
Road to the Turkey Spur Overlook:
View:
Path with 150 steps to upper viewpoints:
Train:
Little Beaver State Park
We stayed at Little Beaver State Park in Beaver, West Virginia. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice state park near New River Gorge National Park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-06-23
- Check out: 2024-06-30
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Partly cloudy, some rain
- High temps 77-88°F, lows 55-64°F
- Little wind wind, gusts to 21 MPH, sheltered by trees
Noise:
- No road noise
- No train horn noise
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #19, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind and in front of coach
- Somewhat unlevel site, high in front and driver side; used hydraulic leveling
- Gravel driveway about 100 feet long by 10 feet wide
- 20 feet to neighbor on front/passenger side; 30 feet to road on driver side
- Picnic table
- Fire pit
- Tall trees
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, very conveniently located
- 80 PSI water, conveniently located
- No sewer
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 6 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- AT&T: 1 Mbps down, 0.1 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
- Verizon: 15 Mbps down, 4-6 Mbps up, 38 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Dump station
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Good base for New River Gorge
This is a nice state park conveniently located near New River Gorge National Park and not far from the freeway. A word of caution, however: the road to get to the park and the roads in the park are not for the faint of heart, whether you have a small or big rig. The way in from the north is slightly less heart-stopping but still not ideal. Site 19 was a pull-through with a steep driveway and a relatively flat area about halfway, which was just perfect for our 40′ motorhome and tons of room to park our tow vehicle either in front or behind. We camped at Little Beaver State Park in a Motorhome.
Park campground and trail map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Completed another row of National Park stickers:
A lightning storm during our stay:
This site didn’t have any sewer connection. After a week, our gray tank was at 71%, and black tank at 63%:
Squirrel:
White-Marked Tussock Moth caterpillar:
Other sites:
Office:
Registered campers only:
Playground:
Cabin:
Bathrooms:
We’d be happy to stay here again.
Video: College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 314 miles from College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia.
Travel from College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia
We drove our coach 314 miles, about five hours of driving, from College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia. The beginning of our westward migration, heading towards our home base in Washington state.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:
An interactive map:
Toading up:
I-495:
Welcome to Virginia:
Paladin in his high place:
I-64:
I-66:
Fuel stop:
Tiffin Phaeton motorhome:
Apples on water tower:
We were going to park and have lunch at the fuel stop, but there wasn’t any parking that would work for us, so we continued on. There wasn’t any room at the next rest area either:
So I made lunch on the road:
A later rest area:
I-64:
Welcome to West Virginia:
Of course, we had to play John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” while entering the state:
Rest area:
I-64 hill:
7% grade:
Sandstone Mountain elevation 2,765 feet:
Little Beaver State Park:
Narrow sloping curve:
Narrow entrance:
Lake:
Very narrow road to campground:
Campground office:
Guided to our site:
