Clear Springs Campground

This small 22 site national forest campground is located miles from any large cities but surprisingly has paved roads, electric hookups, restrooms, showers, and a dump station. There are two campsite loops plus a group camping area and a designated dispersed camping area. First come, first served. We arrived on a Friday afternoon and the campgrounds were almost empty. Summertime might be busier with people swimming, boating, and fishing in the 12-acre lake. 

The road to the campground splits with at about the 4 mile mark. The right road goes to sites 13-20 and the left road goes to sites 1-12. We took the right road and camped in site 21. This loop is hilly and some of the sites have steps to access the picnic tables and fire rings. Site 21 is fairly level even though the asphalt is in poor condition but there isn't room to deploy a lift. We were only staying for the night so it didn't matter but I recommend going to the left and camping in that area because the sites are level and roomy.  

The website indicates that there are accessible sites and, although we did not see any designated as accessible, the sites on left road loop are usable.  Campground  31.4289, -90.98589

Hattiesburg Cultural Center

Hours are limited so check the website before going. Calling first is also recommended. I did - no answer but we decided to take our chances and were given a guided tour by a woman who has roots going back to the founding of Hattiesburg and had stories about every object in the museum such as who donated it and the history of it. She made what is essentially a bunch of unrelated and underwhelming items interesting. 

The accessible entrance is in the rear. The doors open outward and the sidewalk has a slope so entering is awkward. The interior is accessible. 

The parking lot is large enough for vans and short RVs. Longer RVs can be parked on Main Street about a block east of the museum. The sidewalk and curb cuts are in fair condition. Museum 31.32855, -89.29296

 

Hattiesburg Pocket Museum

I didn't know what a pocket museum was and looking at the website wasn't very helpful but I did figure out that it was a very small museum located in an alley. That was intriguing enough for us to seek it out.

What we found was a magical little alley way filled with paintings and tiny figures perched on pipes, electrical boxes, and narrow crevices. They're hard to spot a first but once you find one you'll start seeing them everywhere. The art changes and, this close to the holidays, it was Christmas themed. 

The alley is accessible. A few pieces of the art are too high to be seen. There's also a too-high window to peek in and watch a short film but almost everything else is easily viewed.

 Parking is on Main Street. Museum  31.32663, -89.28999  

Lenoir Landing Park

We  stayed at this small, free Corp Of Engineer campground in 2012 and it looks like it's deteriorated a bit over the years. It's still a good place to camp with water views and some river traffic for entertainment but you may have to do some site maintenance before setting up camp. We camped in the only pull through site but we had to back in because of the huge water filled potholes.

I think we camped in the site behind the pull through last time. The paved pad is in the foreground of this photo.

The parking pads at the other sites are buried under leaves and fallen branches.

There's also a picnic area, a boat ramp, a nasty pit toilet, fire rings, picnic tables, and trash cans.

The campground can be accessed with any vehicle but large RVs may need to be parked in the boat ramp parking area. The road is paved the entire way with one very bumpy but short section. Campground  31.85454, -88.15971

 

White Oak Campground

 Corp of Engineer campgrounds are our first choice when we want to do routine maintenance on our RV because of the low cost, electric hookups, and roomy sites. This one was good except the sites are a little narrow. We solved that by breaking a rule and parking with rear driver's side tires on wood at the edge of the parking pad. This gave me enough room to deploy the lift and circle the RV without having to go on the grassy slope. It would be a simple task to make some of the 129 sites accessible but none of them are. 

 

Amenities include electric and water hookups, flush toilets, showers, laundry facilities, playgrounds, boat ramps. and three dump stations. Campground   31.77388, -85.14379

 

Providence Canyon State Park

The canyon tells a tale of greed and carelessness. In the early 1800s three cotton plantations were located in the vicinity of the park. The  loose, sandy soil, over 100 feet deep, was deposited by millions of years of constantly changing rivers, streams, and seas. It was easy to plow up and down the rolling hills rather than along the contours which allowed rainwater to run down the plow lines. By the 1850s the low ground had became ditches three to five feet deep which eroded more with every rainfall. Farming became impossible. Deep canyons had formed by the 1890s. To stop some of the erosion the Civilian Conservation Corp planted trees in the 1930s. The county purchased a portion of land to make a park which became a popular picnicking spot, then, when Jimmy Carter was governor, the canyon was bought by the state to form the park. 

Even with that sad environmental history, it's impossible not to marvel at the beauty of the canyons. It looks like a mini version of the red rock canyons of Utah. A 2.5 mile loop trail circles the canyons with spur trails going down into each of the nine canyons. There also a seven mile backcountry trail with camping spots for backpackers. A small gift shop/visitor center has a few exhibits. 

The visitor center is accessible but very little of the park is. A path at the picnic area is surfaced with large gravel and leads to an overlook. The gravel makes a rough trail but the overlook is one of the best. We attempted to follow the trail along the fairly level edge of the canyon but ran into very rough ground and roots. The canyon is worth the trip if you're in the area but most wheelchair users will need assistance to see the canyon views. Park  

The visitor center parking lot has long RV spaces. Parking at the picnic area is along the road. Park  32.06719, -84.90388

Rock Creek Greenway

The Greenway is two miles long and goes from Longwood Park to Rock Creek Veterans Park. We parked in  Longwood Park and walked/rolled south along the trail. This section, which is very short, is in bad condition and should be skipped. 

There isn't an accessible path to the rest of the trail so we parked in The Rock parking lot to continue the trail. The Rock is a large boulder across the street from Gainesville High School, that the cheerleaders began painting in 1967. Shortly after that the city council voted to give the high school students ownership of The Rock and the cheerleaders paint a new message before each game.  

A crosswalk with flashing lights makes it safe to cross the road and access the rest of the trail. This section is accessible and in great condition with smooth concrete. 

 

The parking lots at Longwood Park and The Rock are both large enough for RVs if backed backed over the grass or pulled lengthwise through the spaces. Trail  34.30509, -83.84588