Super Cool Van Trips best-of list 2023
Like any year, 2023 had some ups, some downs and plenty of traveling around.
While we’re ready to leave the downs (getting laid off by an email in March; 2.5 months of unemployment; putting our cat to rest in October) behind, we’re giddy AF to celebrate the ups. All of which, of course, come from our camper van travels across the U.S.
Here’s the best of the best that wowed us during our van trips in 2023. Let us know if you check some (or all) of them out!
Best audiobook
Carl and Princess Donut kept us endlessly entertained during several of our camper van trips in 2023.
Dungeon Crawler Carl
By Matt Dinniman
(Amazon link)
A great audiobook can make the miles fly by. We typically mix up what we listen to — authors from different parts of the world and different backgrounds, varied settings and genres, etc. Because we love being exposed to different places, people and stories.
In 2023, we stumbled upon a genre we hadn’t even heard of: LitRPG or GameLit.
Lit being literary or literature. RPG being role-playing game. And, game as in video games, typically.
The characters are often in a world where they fight monsters, gain experience, level up, go on quests, etc. Just like in RPGs, such as Dungeon and Dragons, Diablo or Baldur’s Gate.
We’re now on book three in the six-book series. Which means we’ll spend plenty of time with Carl and his dungeon partner Princess Donut, certainly the best feline character in any book, in 2024.
Best breakfast
J-Wo fuels up with a breakfast sandwich at Tacker’s Shake Shack outside Memphis.
Milk & Honey
135 N Market St
Chattanooga, TN 37405
Tacker’s Shake Shack
409 E Military Rd
Marion, AR 72364
Going out for breakfast is serious business in the Super Cool Van Trips family. So naturally, we couldn’t narrow ‘best breakfast’ down to just one.
Milk & Honey is a little more on the hipster side. Fancy coffee and tea. A menu that makes it impossible to order just one thing. Speaking of, don’t miss the rosé waffles, along with the fig and prosciutto toast. And, warning, they’re not kidding about the hot chicken being hot.
Tacker’s Shake Shack, just north of Memphis off I-55, has an old-school diner vibe. Elvis and Marilyn on the walls. Gals who call you “hun.” And, a menu of breakfast classics that leaves you hoping to drive through Memphis more often. Way more often.
Best brewery
Wicked Weed Brewing
91 Biltmore Ave
Asheville, NC 28801
Odd Colony Brewing
260 N Palafox St
Pensacola, FL 32502
Belly up to the bar and order a flight or a pint at Odd Colony in Pensacola, FL.
Another category that’s impossible to narrow down to just one, so here are two. One in the North Carolina mountains, and one in the Florida panhandle.
We’re typically thirsty for hazy IPAs when we walk into a brewery, and both of these places deliver the juice bombs. Plus, they have many other styles of beers. Need a nosh? Wicked Weed has delicious food. Odd Colony often has food trucks.
They also both have great designs, so you’ll want a t-shirt. Or, at least a sticker for your cooler or van.
Best campground
Edgar Evins State Park
1630 Edgar Evins State Park Rd
Silver Point, TN 38582
Camper Van Beethoven looking mighty fine on one of the wooden RV platforms at Edgar Evins State Park in Tennessee.
Tennessee is clearly generous with its state parks funding because this place is nice. Must be all that country music money.
The park is on a stunning hillside that drops down, down, down to Center Hill Lake. Many campsites are lakefront, and many have a rather unique feature: a raised wooden platform where you park your RV.
These platforms turn the steep hillside into RV-friendly campsites. Talk about some structural engineering.
If that’s not enough to convince you to visit, well, the lake is right there. Walk down from your campsite and jump in.
Best destination
Highlands
North Carolina
The Bear Shadow Music Festival takes place on a farm outside of Highlands, North Carolina.
Don’t you love unexpectedly falling in love? Well, we fell hard for Highlands.
If you want to get away from it all, this little mountain town delivers big. It feels remote yet it’s full of restaurants, markets and shops. It can feel a little yuppy-fied at times, but not nearly as obnoxious as a place like Vail. Maybe because it’s smaller.
The scenery is stunning, the people are friendly and there’s loads of outdoor recreation. We went for the Bear Shadow Music Festival, and we’re excited to go back.
Best drive
U.S. Hwy 64
Between Franklin and Highlands
North Carolina
A bonus waterfall flows in the spring of 2023 along U.S. Hwy 64 as the road winds up the hillside.
This drive is absolutely not for vehicles pulling campers, Class A RVs or other biggies of the road. Or, those scared of heights.
But, if you can stomach the blind curves and the sheer drop-offs along the shoulder-less road, you’re in for a treat. If you’re a passenger that is. Drivers best keep their eyes on the road.
This stretch takes you through the Cullasaja Gorge, past the Cullasaja River and multiple waterfalls.
Jaw-droppingly beautiful. And, yeah, a touch scary. That rusty guardrail doesn’t look too reliable.
Best hike
Sunset Rock / Sunrise Rock
930 Horse Cove Rd
Highlands, NC 28741
Bonnie and Clyde enjoy a breather at Sunset Rock in Highlands, North Carolina.
A fairly easy hike up a service road delivers you to two stunning viewpoints. Sunset Rock faces west, and Sunrise Rock faces east.
You’ll enjoy it even more if you bring a picnic along. The sprawling granite floor at Sunset Rock is perfect for lingering and relaxing.
Stop at Mountain Fresh Grocery for provisions before heading to the trailhead.
The trail is about 1.4 miles total, out and back.
Best paddle
Center Hill Lake
Tennessee
Table Rock Lake
Missouri
Bonnie enjoys a paddle on Center Hill Lake in Tennessee.
What do you know, another twofer! These two lakes are equally scenic and equally relaxing. And, big enough to explore for days, especially on a paddle board.
Center Hill Lake covers more than 18,000 acres with more than 400 miles of shoreline. Table Rock Lake is even bigger: more than 43,000 acres with more than 800 miles of shoreline.
Each lake is surrounded by tree-covered, rolling hillsides and lined, in places, with rocky bluffs. Many areas feel wild, remote and untouched, which is exactly the type of environment I want to paddle in. Though they each have marinas and housing developments as well.
Best stargazing
Stargazing from our campsite at Fort Pickens. I had no idea my iPhone 15 could take pictures like this.
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Florida panhandle
There are certainly darker night sky locations in the U.S. for stargazing, though we didn’t visit any in 2023. But here, you get the bonus of listening to waves crash on the beach while admiring the twinkling sky.
Come when the moon is smaller to maximize your stargazing, and download a phone app that identifies constellations.
Unless you just happen to be able to identify them by sight. We can only do this with a handful of constellations, so we don’t mind getting a little help appreciating what we’re looking at.
Even at our Fort Pickens campsite, we were able to see several constellations, as the park isn’t overly lit.
Best sunset
The sun sets on Dec 31, 2023, at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida.
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Florida panhandle
From the white sand beach, you can watch the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico. Splashing peaches, pinks and oranges across the sky.
This is where we watched the final sunset of 2023, savoring every last second. All the feels. All the photos and videos. All the peace and calm.
Best new camper van travel blog
LOL. Did you really expect anything else?
But, seriously, I was so pumped to start a camper van blog in spring 2023 after thinking about it for almost 2 whole years.
Funny thing is, I may have kept putting it off had it not been for an email with the subject line, “Notice of Employment Change - Final Pay and Benefits.” That’s HR’s fancy way of saying, “We’re canning your ass, effective NOW.”
A layoff is never great. During tough economic times when your industry is being gutted, even more so.
Yet, it pushed me to start this blog. So, I’m grateful — mostly.
Share your best-ofs
What did you discover in 2023? Anyplace you’ll return to? Head over to Instagram and leave a comment on our post to let us know. Give us a follow too, please.