At the end of June, I took a 2,000+ mile East Coast National Park road trip, solo with my three girls. We departed from New York and drove through Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia. We visited three East Coast National Parks: Shenandoah National Park, Congaree National Park, and New River Gorge National Park.

The best part about this road trip is that all 6 nights we spent in hotels were from just one credit card welcome offer! For anyone who may feel overwhelmed by the idea of redeeming their points and miles, I hope this post reassures you that there are simple ways to use those points and still have fabulous, memory-building family trips. 

 

How I Earned the Points for this Road Trip

Earlier this year, I was approved for a card_name. With this welcome offer, I earned the 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months. In addition to the welcome offer, I also earned 1 point per $1 spent, earning me at least 81k points from this one card (75k+at least 6k for my spend). Not to mention my Player 2 also earned 40k referral points for referring me to the card. 

 

East Coast National Park Road Trip Itinerary

• Day 1: Drive from Rochester, New York, to Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Day 2: Visit Shenandoah National Park, then drive to Charlotte, North Carolina
• AM Day 3: Visit Congaree National Park, then drive to Isle of Palms, South Carolina
• PM Day 3-Day 6: Stay at Boardwalk Inn at Wild Dunes Resort
• Day 6: Drive from Isle of Palms, South Carolina, to Blacksburg, Virginia
• Day 7: Drive from Virginia to home in New York

 

Harrisonburg, Virginia Hotel

Our first day was a long day in the car. We left our home in Rochester, NY, at 7 a.m., arriving just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to visit with my college roommate and her new baby around lunchtime. After a 2.5-hour break to visit and have pizza for lunch, we completed our day’s drive to Harrisonburg, VA. I chose this as our stop to visit Shenandoah National Park as it was about 15 minutes from the hotel to the Shenandoah National Park Swift Run entrance. 

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Harrisonburg. This is a Category 2 Hyatt hotel, and we used 8k points for the night. We had a two-queen room with a pull-out sofa couch. Plenty of room for a big family. 

As with most Hyatt Place hotels in the U.S., we had complimentary breakfast included. This hotel is new, clean, and in a well-populated area. This area also had several chain restaurant options and other hotel chains nearby.  

 

 

Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park was our top site to visit in this area. After breakfast, we checked out and headed straight to the park. We entered through the Swift Run entrance, which was only about 18 minutes from Hyatt Place. We drove along Skyline Drive, stopping at many of the pull-offs on the side of the road.

My 9-year-old commented on the “purple mountains majesty,” just like in the song America the Beautiful. Each of the viewing spots had unique and beautiful views. Many also had trails that you could access from the parking area and take small hikes. 

 

 

We spent a little over an hour at the Harry S. Byrd Visitor Center. This visitor center was small but had a very nice exhibit that told the history of Shenandoah National Park and how the lands were acquired. The Park Rangers were incredibly friendly and had Junior Ranger books and pencils for the girls. 

 

 

 

Charlotte, North Carolina Hotel

From Shenandoah National Park, we continued south to Charlotte, North Carolina. One of our top reasons for this East Coast National Park road trip was to visit the state. North Carolina was the only East Coast state my girls had yet to visit, and our time in Charlotte made it U.S. state #34 for them!

In Charlotte, we stayed at the Hyatt Centric Charlotte Southpark. This is a Category 3 Hyatt hotel. We used 12k points for our night here. As with most Hyatt Centric hotels, this one had a more boutique feel. Valet parking for $15 and cheaper self-parking was available across the street.

This hotel was also conveniently located right next to the Charlotte South Park Mall, where there just happens to be an American Girl Place store. Before heading to the hotel, we stopped at the mall to visit American Girl and get dinner. The hotel was a 3-minute drive from the mall and in what seemed like a nice, safe area of the city with tons of food options nearby. 

 

 

 

Congaree National Park

From North Carolina, we headed to South Carolina and straight to Congaree National Park, which is less than two hours from Charlotte. We arrived around 10 a.m. and went straight to the Harry Hampton Visitor Center.

Congaree National Park is a swamp land. However, in the summer, the swap was pretty dry. The visitor center is fairly new and has a small display about the park. 

 

 

Behind the visitor center is the Boardwalk Loop trail. Exiting the visitor center, you will see sheets of paper with a self-guided tour. The Boardwalk Loop is about a 2-mile walk that is stroller—and wheelchair-friendly. We followed the self-guided tour and saw some cool bugs, as well as the biggest dragonflies I’ve ever seen. 

 

 

Boardwalk Inn, Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, SC

From Congaree National Park, we drove two hours to Isle of Palms, South Carolina. I booked us three nights at the Wild Dunes Resort Boardwalk Inn. This is a Category 5 Hyatt hotel. Our first two nights were off-peak at 17k points, and night three was 20k points per night. 

 

 

You can read a more detailed review of this hotel here. Overall, it was a nice hotel right on the beach. I’m not much of a beach person and probably wouldn’t return. However, if you can get your nights for the off-peak rate, it offers good value for your points. 

 

 

Blacksburg, Virginia Hotel

After three nights at the beach, we started our drive back North. We made a one-night stopover in Blacksburg, VA, at the Hyatt Place Blacksburg/University for only  6,500 points per night. This is a Category 2 Hyatt hotel. It is a very typical Hyatt Place. There is nothing very special about it, but it is clean and comfortable for a quick night. 

 

New River Gorge National Park

Our last national park of this trip was New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. This is the newest U.S. National Park, recently being re-designated as a national park in 2020.

 

 

They have a beautiful new visitor center that tells you about the area’s coal mining, natural, and recreation history. A short walk from the visitor center is a nice viewing platform. The viewing platform has tons of stairs, but if you make it to the bottom, you can see the most beautiful view of the gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge. This would be an amazing stop in the fall as the trees change colors. 

 

 

 

Bottom Line

One of my family’s favorite ways to travel is by road trip. We enjoy the comfort of our vehicle and having all our snacks within arm’s reach. The best part is that when using points and miles, all you have to pay for is food and gas. Using points and miles to cover our hotels made this East Coast National Parks road trip an extremely affordable family trip. And even better, it only took one welcome offer to earn enough points to book and then take the trip! 

 

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