I love where we live, but there’s something about small towns that makes me want to pack up everything, sell the house, and move somewhere I can walk to work and the store. That feeling was stronger than it has ever been in the towns of Elkin and Jonesville.
Where We Stayed
Riverwalk RV Park
Jonesville, NC
May 5 – 7, 2023
Site 49
Cute campground! There’s a playground and a fairly large dog park. They have a small pond with a sand beach for swimming. One side of the pond is dog-friendly, while the beach side is for humans only. There’s an area with a few games (like horseshoes, corn hole, etc.) and even an outdoor bar with seating where they played bingo one night. Every site has full hookups, including 50-amp electric.
One thing to note is that you must drive down a fairly significant hill to get to the campground. Maybe the first third is paved, but the rest is gravel. If your truck isn’t big enough for your trailer, you might have a problem getting back up the hill on your way home.
Our site, as well as several others, backed up to the Jonesville Greenway, a wide trail along the Yadkin River. In addition to being a great place to hike all by itself, it was really convenient for taking the dogs out between hikes away-from-campground hikes/activities. There’s maybe 15 feet between the site and the greenway and a small hill, so the dogs weren’t bothered by people walking and biking on the trail.
What We Did
Now That’s A Park!
After setting up camp on Friday, we went in search of a waterfall. We parked at Elkin Municipal Park, a 6-minute drive from the campground. The park has tennis courts, a walking trail, baseball diamonds, a soccer field, and more! There’s a small playground, plus plenty of open space playing without an organized game of baseball or soccer. There’s even a pool!
At the end of the park, we crossed the street and walked along the river toward the library. Tucked behind the library is a beautiful waterfall.
In front of the waterfall was a spectacular tree! I needed Corona in the picture for scale to show how big it was.
A Quirky Hike
Saturday was a hiking adventure. We parked at the Grassy Creek Winery and started on the Grassy Creek Trail. That led us past (through?) Byrd’s Branch Campground before we picked up the Carter Falls Trail.
As the name implies, there were a few different waterfalls at the end of the Carter Falls Trail. The dogs loved the water access, but if you’re walking with small kids, be aware that getting down to them is…interesting. We almost missed the turnoff from the trail we were on to the path down to the falls. There’s a piece of rope along the path. I’m not sure if it’s there to point out the path’s existence, or if it’s for hikers to hold on to as they make their way up/down the steep path filled with rocks.
In my opinion, the best part of the hike was the little surprises along the way.
This frog was so well camouflaged that I almost missed him!
Near Byrd’s Branch Campground, we passed through a short section of the trail where each tree had a birdhouse on it.
This signpost had useful directions for Carter Falls, the town of Elkin, and more. It also had less useful (but more amusing) markers for This Way, That Way, and The Other Way.
In total, we did about 4-5 miles. That’s a lot for a big dog who’s almost 13 years old. Max was worn out and took a long nap when we got back to the campsite.
Photos
Happy travels!
