GA to IL / Ferne Clyffe State Park

Driving from Vidalia, GA to Ottawa, IL | Camping in Land Between the Lakes, KY | Hiking in Ferne Clyffe State Park, IL | February 2024

When our time in Georgia was coming to a close, we were so excited and ready to move on and return to a place we knew we loved. The only things I would miss about being in Georgia were the warmer weather, and all the signs that spring was arriving, like the flowering trees. We were so fortunate to have been able to spend almost 3 months of this winter in the South, between both the Southwest and Southeast, but now our snowbirding days were over and it was time to return to the Midwest. Thankfully the weather was perfect for a mid-February road trip, and our first week back was predicted to have above average temperatures.

We only had 2 days to make the almost 14 hour drive to Illinois, so we needed to stick to the most direct route. We checked out of Vidalia and hit the road. Since we hadn’t driven across Georgia on interstates, most of this drive was through new-to-us counties. That gave us something to look forward to, which was needed since we weren’t looking forward to the first day of driving, which included driving through Atlanta and Nashville.

After making it through Atlanta, we started to get restless and looked for a place to stop. Most of the cool looking historic sites along the way either had a fee or weren’t dog friendly, so instead we found a park in Ringgold, GA. There was a nice paved trail around the park and along the Chickamauga Creek, perfect for stretching our legs and giving Charlotte some exercise. After that, we grabbed some snacks from the van fridge and ate lunch as we continued the drive into Tennessee.

Traffic became more congested in Nashville, but once we were passed the city it was smooth sailing for the rest of the afternoon. That evening, we decided to camp in the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area in Kentucky, which wasn’t too far off our route and was much preferred over the closer options, such as Walmart parking lots. We found a remote spot and once we were settled, Charlotte immediately led us on a long walk up and down the empty dirt road. I made dinner, and we enjoyed a peaceful night here — a little sad that this would be our only night in the van for the next month or so. It’s so nice to get a break from van life with hotels here and there, but we really do miss living full time in the van during work season!

The next morning, we tried to visit a drive through elk and bison preserve, but it wouldn’t accept our park pass and we didn’t feel like paying, so we continued on our drive. We made it into Illinois, and from here it was almost a straight shot North to Peru, with a few new counties along the way. Since today’s drive would be a little shorter than the day before, we planned to make a longer stop in the morning for a hike.

Knowing how much we’ve always enjoyed hiking in Southern Illinois, we got off I-24 and drove to Ferne Clyffe State Park. We navigated through the park to the trailhead at the end of the road for Ferne Clyffe Falls. This trail followed along the bottom of a gulch at the base of sandstone cliffs that we’ve seen so much of in Illinois. There wasn’t a lot of water, nor was it cold enough for the falls to be completely frozen, but we found the hike to the back of the gulch pleasant and the small falls to have been worth the effort. Our hike was a little less than a mile and a half round trip and you can see our AllTrails recording here.

From here it was smooth driving to the rental car store in Peru and by early evening, we were settled back in to our favorite work site (or at least hotel and surrounding area) from last year: Ottawa, IL.