I have a tendency to get restless in the winter. While I love being cozy at home, after a while that tends to turn into cabin fever. Also, I get cold. And I only enjoy the cold for short amounts of time. So, when I’m able to, I love a winter trip to somewhere warm (touring the University of Arizona campus in January was, after all, how I decided to go there). In February 2023, we took a little road trip down south for a taste of the spring that hadn’t quite reached West Virginia.
What I love about road trips is being able to stop at several places along the way and expand the vacation with these extras. Our main destination with this trip was a concert in Atlanta, GA with a secondary goal of visiting family, but we ended up stretching it into a really fun road trip with lots of neat stops! While this is by no means a comprehensive guide to the area, you may be able to get some ideas for a road trip of your own!
Our Itinerary
- Day 1: Destination South Carolina
- Leave WV bright and early
- Short hike at Natural Tunnel State Park in Virginia
- Lunch at the Hob-Nob Drive In
- Brief stop at the Mars Hill Overlook
- Explore Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, South Carolina
- Day 2: Destination Atlanta
- Relaxed morning and a stop at Coyote Coffee Cafe
- Drive to Atlanta and check into Airbnb
- Dinner in Midtown
- Concert
- Day 3: Back to SC
- Lunch in Toccoa, GA at Shirley’s Sole Food Cafe
- Visited the waterfall on Toccoa Falls College Campus
- More scenic driving and back to South Carolina
- Day 4: Destination West Virginia
- More Coyote Coffee
- Visit to the Peachoid
- Lunch at The Mason Jar
- Visit to Tamarack
Day 1: Heading South
We started our trip on a dark and rainy morning leaving West Virginia, and the first few hours of the drive were a good reminder of why I was excited for this trip. It was dreary at best, and in parts of Kentucky there was so much water on the road that I was concerned about hydroplaning. I had originally planned for a brief stop in Pikeville, but the rain was coming down so hard that we just wanted to push through. Fortunately, as we got into Virginia, it cleared up, and I began to enjoy the trip a little more.
Natural Tunnel State Park (Duffield, VA)
Our first stop on the road trip was one that I was excited for – a fun little state park in Virginia that I’d never heard of before researching this trip! Called by William Jennings Bryan the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” this park’s main attraction is a limestone tunnel that’s over 850 feet long and was carved by nature itself! For those visiting in the summer, there’s lodging, events, and even a chairlift to see the area from above. However, we had plenty of fun stopping by on a random Thursday in February! We were the only visitors in the park and could take our time exploring. From the Visitor Center, we took the Tunnel Trail. While only about 0.3 miles each way, it is steep in places and involves some stairs, but it’s the easiest way to see the park’s titular tunnel.
We had so much fun wandering around and marveling at the tunnel – though I was too hesitant to actually walk inside. There are train tracks through the tunnel, and we read that trains sometimes do pass through here. Although we waited around a bit hoping to see one, we were there at the wrong time. Before leaving the park, we considered hiking the Lover’s Leap trail as well to see a view over the tunnel, but decided to go on to lunch instead. If you’re passing through the area and want a quick stop to stretch your legs, this is a great place, and we will probably be back again on another trip!
The Hob Nob Drive In
We love finding little diners and local restaurants while driving around, and the Hob Nob Drive-In was a fun, delicious, and cheap stop on our drive! It’s a small building that would be easy to drive past, but it was packed with locals while we were there. We enjoyed some burgers and fries and contemplated a milkshake that we ultimately did not order before getting back on the road.
After a rainy morning and a decently steep hike back to the car, it was great to have some comfort food like this and feel like our mini-vacation was finally underway!
Through the Carolinas
After about an hour driving through a corner of Tennessee, we reached North Carolina and again paused to walk around at the Mars Hill Overlook – a scenic viewpoint located on the side of the interstate. I love North Carolina, and we were getting far enough south that it was no longer cold outside. Passing into the Carolinas was also exciting because it felt like we were almost to our destination, even with a few hours to go.
However, my excitement about North Carolina started to fade as we approached Asheville. I’ve never actually been to Asheville, but it’s a city high up on my list of places to visit. I was actually hoping to make another brief stop in this area for a second short hike, but instead we spent over an hour in road work related traffic. It no longer seemed worthwhile to try getting off the interstate and back on, and we reached a point here of just wanting to get to South Carolina as soon as we could. That is another thing about road trips – there are some parts where it feels exciting and other parts where you’re stuck on a very un-scenic bit of interstate and kind of hating everything. Fortunately, things did start looking up when we finally reached South Carolina.
Exploring Greenville, SC
Once we left the big interstate, everything got better. We found gas for under $3, grabbed a few snacks, and finally reached Greenville, South Carolina. Prior to this trip, South Carolina was not a state I was very familiar with, and the Upstate region was completely new. Since we had a bit of extra time after not hiking in Asheville, we were about to explore downtown Greenville, and although we didn’t see much, I am obsessed with the beautiful landscaping of Falls Park on the Reedy. Cities that have rivers, waterfalls, and/or parks in downtown are always beautiful to me.
We spent about an hour walking around the park, and I was so excited to find daffodils in bloom. These are one of my favorite flowers, and seeing them here was a tangible reminder that spring was coming soon. It was also warm enough to finally take off my sweatshirt, and we had a lovely time listening to people play music and watching the waterfalls. We didn’t have a lot of time in Greenville on this trip, but I’m hoping to come back again and spend a lot more time in this city. Eventually, we headed into the suburbs to meet up with family, and ended day one in a much sunnier, warmer place than we started it.
Day 2: Concert in Atlanta
Our primary destination on this trip was Atlanta, where we saw a concert by the Russian rock band Mashina Vremini. Even without speaking Russian, this was a fun, high-energy concert that was absolutely worth the trip! From where we stayed in South Carolina, it was about a two-hour drive to downtown Atlanta.
We started out with a stop by Coyote Coffee, which is a new favorite! They had a lot of fun flavor combinations, and I loved the colors and energy of the store. This is a place we would absolutely return to and recommend. We had a nice time sipping our coffees and driving south, especially since we started the drive on side roads instead of the interstate. Driving through the small towns was beautiful and gave us a lot of ideas for return trips through the area. It was also a necessary break before getting on the interstate and dealing with the terrible traffic into Atlanta.
Once we were downtown and checked into our Airbnb, we spent a bit of time exploring Midtown and had dinner at a spot called The Food Shoppe. While we picked this one because it had a super convenient location between our Airbnb and the metro stop, Midtown Atlanta has some truly incredible food options of all kinds to choose from. We didn’t really have the time to explore Atlanta on this trip, but we still had a great time in the city seeing the concert!
Day 3: Toccoa, Georgia
We had originally thought about spending more time in Atlanta the morning after the concert, but after thinking about it, we decided that we would rather get out early to avoid the traffic and spend more time exploring one of the towns we had passed through the day before: Toccoa, GA.
Toccoa Falls
While passing through the town of Toccoa, Georgia, we saw a sign for Toccoa Falls and were intrigued enough to Google it. As it turns out, Toccoa Falls is 186 feet high and one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls in the Eastern United States. The falls are also located on a college campus, and we definitely felt a little weird driving around the campus on a Saturday morning. To visit the falls, you do have to purchase entry at the Visitor’s Center for $2 per person. The falls/Visitor Center are also only open from 10-4 Monday-Friday and 12-4 on weekends.
We arrived mid-morning and ended up having some time to kill, so after exploring the campus a bit, we headed back into town for lunch (more on that below) then returned once the falls were actually open. For $2, I think this stop was pretty worthwhile! While not the biggest waterfall I’ve ever seen, it was still beautiful, especially with rainbows shimmering in the mist. We loved this little stop and, had they not been setting up for a wedding, might have stayed a bit longer to take it in.
Shirley’s Sole Food Café
Although the falls were great, Shirley’s Cafe was our favorite part of Toccoa! You can’t visit this part of the country and not have soul food, and Shirley’s is an amazing choice if you’re nearby! It’s a simple set-up: You select your meat and sides, and the employee working (Shirley herself, if you’re lucky) puts each onto a plate for you. Although it was packed with a long line when we arrived, everything moved really fast. The entire staff were also so friendly and welcoming, and we learned that when Shirley’s closes for the day, the homeless are invited to come in and enjoy whatever’s left. The food here is amazing, and the people and their mission are even better. If you ever find yourself in Toccoa, Georgia, you have to stop here!
The rest of our day was pretty uneventful. We drove by some more beautiful places that we’d like to come back to (specifically Lake Keowee) and spent another nice evening with family.
Day 4: Back to the Winter
With only a few days for this trip, it was time to head back home where it was still winter. Although less involved than our drive down, we still made a few fun, final stops on the drive. Starting off, we of course had to have coffee and stopped again at Coyote Coffee. From there, I wanted to hit a roadside attraction: The Peachoid.
This is a pretty random destination that I picked just because it might be interesting. The Peachoid is a water tower painted to look like a ripe peach, and that’s basically it. I also did not get a good picture of it, but we were there! On the way back, we spent more time on the interstate, which was shorter but more boring. Our next real stop was at The Mason Jar in Hillsville, Virginia. We filled up on some food (and eavesdropped on a couple who seemed to be on a terrible first date) and kept heading north. The Foggy Mountain Variety Shoppe is also nearby in Fancy Gap, and while we did not stop there on this trip, it can be a fun place to explore!
We ended our roadtrip at Tamarack, a classic West Virginia destination in Beckley where we enjoyed looking at art and various handmade items. I also had to put my sweatshirt back on at this stop and was a little sad to be back in the cold weather even as I was happy to be almost home.
Final Thoughts
This was a short little trip without a lot going on – just small stops in different areas. Although it might not be ideal for seeing everything in an area and having an exciting vacation, little road trips like this are often my favorites because I get to explore the little places that I would probably miss on a bigger trip. And although we didn’t spend a lot of time in the warm weather, it was nice to head a bit south and remember that spring was slowly making its way to us. This trip also felt like a little teaser for all the amazing places we didn’t quite visit and would love to return to. Here’s hoping I get to write a few more posts about these southeastern states!
Wonderlust Wanderings 