Persimmon Creek Campground Trout Pond and Gem Mine

Family Activities:

Stars – Bring along a star map for our area and for the proper season. Since we are outside of any city ,you will be able to see the stars very clearly.

Maps – Let your children be the navigators when you are hiking. Bring along a compass and let them learn how to use that as well.

Plant Identification - Teach your children to identify plants in nature. What is poisonous? What is edible? Teach them to leave wildflowers in place.

Scavenger Hunts – Children love scavenger hunts. It helps them to practice their reading skills as well as their deductive reasoning. Write your clues so that it will help them to practice many of the other skills they’ve learned while camping as well. Have them find natural objects such as a feather, fallen pine cone. Make sure the objects are items that they can bring back or photograph without destroying anything in nature.

Animal Tracks – Finding animal trackscan be so much fun. Identifying them is even more gratifying.

Bird Watching – You can identify birds by sight – or sit quietly and try to identify them

by sound. Bring an Audubon Guide to Eastern Birds with you. Watching the Hawks and Kingfishers is amazing!

Fishing – What little child wouldn’t want to learn to fish? Our pond is catch and release-with no waiting! Your children will learn a lot from this experience And let them hunt for their own bait as well by turning over rocks. Redworms are everywhere!

Hiking
Some of the most fun to have while on family vacation camping trips is hiking. You do not have to trek for hours and hours on long trails to have a good time hiking..... some of the most fun hiking trips are 1/2 hour to 1 hour walks that are close to the campground. Well, you can make your hiking trips as strenuous or as mild as you like.... the idea is getting the family together . Check out the trails near the Ocoee Visitor’s Center.

Biking
When camping, have your children bring their bicycles along. We are very kid friendly and love to see the children riding bikes. Children can bike for hours and hours at a time..... and you have to admit that getting the kids out and on bicycles is great!!!!

Whitewater Rafting/tubing

Our campground is so close to some of the most wonderful whitewater in the country. We are near the the Toccoa, Ocoee, Hiwassee and Nantahala Rivers. Depending on the age of your children, and the adventurous spirit of your family, you will want to try spending quality time as a family on a river.

Horseback riding

Whether you have experience or not, there is a horse out there for you. The stables nearby will guide you and your family through some of the most amazing scenery Western North Carolina has to offer.

Campfire Activities
You can have some of the most wonderful family time around a campfire. Enjoy spending time roasting marshmallows, talking, and just catching up on your lives around the campfire. And, of course, telling ghost stories!

Here are some great treats that you and your family can make while around the campfire....

S'Mores - Graham Crackers, Hershey Chocolate Bars, and a roasted marshmallow - put it all together in sandwich fashion, wait for the chocolate to melt a little, and enjoy.

Fruit Pies - Use two regular slices of bread spread with butter on both sides, placed in a square sandwich maker. Before closing the sandwich maker, spread canned pie filling on the bread (choose cherry, apple, blueberry, etc.). Close the sandwich maker and grill over the campfire. After finished, remove the pie, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Using the same square sandwich maker as in the fruit pie recipe, slap a couple of pieces of bread in the sandwich maker, along with some cheese, and grill the sandwich over the campfire... It will be the best grilled cheese sandwich that you have ever had. The kids will have a blast making their own lunch!

Any and all of these activities will bring you and your children closer together as a family. One day, they will be grown, and they will look back on these days as highlights of their childhood. Hopefully, they will pass on the love of the outdoors to their own children, your grandchildren