We had made reservations to take Elias camping when he was 11 months but we had to cancel unfortunately for a myriad of reasons. We finally got to take him for his first camping trip this weekend to Florence Marina State Park!
This state park is located in west GA, only about 5 minutes from Alabama. We stayed here because we went hiking in one of Georgia’s 7 Natural Wonders, Providence Canyon, aka, The Little Grand Canyon. This is also a state park in GA and is only about 8 minutes from Florence Marina State Park. We camped here because Providence Canyon only has backcountry camping. This would be fine if we didn’t have the kids in tow, but with two littles, we need the luxuries of electricity and water. 😅 Florence Marina was a beautiful, quiet, and really precious place to stay!
Elias and Ellie so enjoyed camping! Ellie is a pro. She has been camping since she was 2 and she got to show her bro babe the ropes! Elias loved roasting marshmallows, playing in the dirt, and staying out under the stars past bedtime by a campfire. He did SO well. He exceeded my expectations for his first trip. He slept in his pack-n-play in our 12 person tent in his own “room” divided by a partition wall. He slept all through the night as usual and woke up so happy, smiling, and ready to start his day of exploring Providence Canyon.
Providence Canyon is a beautiful canyon land created from poor farming practices and rain water run off erosion of an old homestead that once was there. The land there had been cleared for farming and no care was taken to avoid erosion of the land. The deep erosion began as gulleys and trenches in 1850. There even used to be a schoolhouse on the now eroded ground. You can see the different colors of the rocks in the sandstone and clay. There are beautiful hues of red, purple, white, gray, blue, and green. The canyon floor is wet sandy clay. Even without much rain and a burn ban from drought, the canyon floor was still fairly wet. I wore boots, Ellie wore tennis shoes and managed to keep them dry so it was not deep. We hiked the full upper perimeter of the canyon to look over them, all throughout the canyon floor and within the canyons, and the backcountry camping loop which is rated strenuous. We didn’t find it strenuous but if you aren’t a hiker you would. Ellie did it so…It does have portions that are very steep uphill but they are quick and don’t last long. Most of it in fact is quite flat and sandy.
The white trail was cool as well. There, you get views of the canyon from up high but also primarily here you get to see a portion of the old homestead territory where several vehicles were abandoned and have become a habitat to the ecosystem at play here. Elias is obsessed with trucks, cars, and tractors. He was most enthusiastic to see them but with his bare little feet and some remnants of broken glass and the fact he wanted to climb in the broken rusted carcasses - we had to hold him (I do actually have barefoot boundaries 😜💁🏼♀️). He did not appreciate us not letting him climb on the vehicles and add that to no nap, he had a meltdown to which we just kept truckin’ with him in the pack. It’s not always rainbows and sunshine with littles on the trail but it is so dang worth it, I promise you this! I would like to know what these vehicle models are so if anyone can identify them in their crippled state, drop your knowledge in a comment.
When we finished the 8 miles, the kids and Eric played on the playground while I went to the visitor center for a t-shirt and explored the headstones at the 1800’s Providence Methodist Church on the grounds. At the visitor center, I chatted it up with a Ranger and learned that if I show my GA state park pass to Omaha Brewing (a local brewery and winery down the road) we get 50% off our first brew. Anddddd there would be food trucks. Well hot dog! I gathered up the fam and told E to take me for a beer and some grub. Loved Omaha Brewing. Super family friendly. The kids played corn hole, Sorry, and connect 4, while Eric and I enjoyed watching them, playing with them and snacking on bbq pork loaded cheese fries and pretzel bites. Love finding little treasures like this.
Back to camp for exploring the nature trail and riverside beach (beware of alligators) and burgers and hot dogs. The kids played and when Elias was ready for bed, we put him down easy as pie, hallelujah, then played, “Guess Who” with Ellie and popped popcorn over the fire with my vintage popper/roaster.
Our first camping trip as a family of four could not have been better. It blew my mind it went that well. We’ve always had fun camping with Ellie and now we get to add Elias in on that family fun!
