Cross Country Trip

I hope this will not be a winter trip...when are you planning this? I would recommend that you puchase, online, the "Trucker's Mountain Directory - West" and you can read all about questionable highways. (It comes in the Eastern edition, too, for out your way.) We consult this book all the time and we love mountains! It's always good to know what's ahead and this book will do it for you. Have a good trip - and hopefully, it's in good weather.

With the F250 diesel you should be in good shape coming across country--we have a similar set up--have towed it to Florida and to northern B.C. from So. Calif. What part of L.A. will you be staying in? Wouldn't tow anywhere near L.A. unless it is a must do--we have a place in Orange County(south of L.A.) and if going N. always use the I 210 to go around L.A. Make a point of driving up the coast at least to Santa Barbara--beautiful coastal drive. Also, south of L.A. along the Pacific Coast Highway to Huntington Beach or Newport Beach or further S. to Dana Point. Lars

Sorry, forgot to mention that trip is planned for next July - hoping to spend 3 months going the Northern route and coming back the Southern route w/other stops along the way. Mainly concerned about the trip out West. We do tow our 5th wheel to FL each Winter, but imagine some mountains will be worse than what we encounter on I75 or I77.

Sounds like the northern loop will be during the summer, so everything is open. With three months, you can actually do justice to a lot of places. (Often, I'll see a post where someone wants to do this in two weeks!)

After Yellowstone and GTNP, I'd head north to Glacier NP. Then work your way to the Seattle area, passing through North Cascades NP. (If you have time and desire, another way to go is north into Canada, visiting Banff, Jasper, etc. before heading west on the Trans-Canada Highway, re-entering the US somewhere north of Seattle. This is an unbelievably gorgeous trip.)

From there, spend a few days exploring the San Juan Islands. Then hit Olympic NP before heading south to Portland, visiting Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens along the way. The Columbia River Gorge above Portland is worth a day or two of exploration before you head to the coast and take US 101 south all the way along the OR coast. Oregon SP's are the best. Do head inland to explore Crater Lake. In CA, I'd continue on down the coast maybe down to Bodega Bay before heading inland to explore Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, etc. Then it's off to LA. I'd store the RV someplace rather than try to navigate SOCal traffic.

Don't worry about the mountains. You'll be in the company of thousands of RV's travelling these same routes. Going downhill, use your tranny rather than your brakes.

Would add Deadwood, Devils Tower and Little Bighorn. A hidden gem is The mammoth site