Florida to Grand Canyon and sites along the way

agesilaus wrote:
The route we would follow is I-10W to I-49N in Louisiana. Then take that to I-20W and follow that to Dallas. Get on US-287 to Amarillo. Just south of Amarillo is Palo Duro State Park which is a good place to spend a day or two. They have a good dinner play theater that is worth going to. Then back up to I-40W. If you like urban areas then check out Albuquerque, past that there is Chaco Canyon to the north, you don't say what RV you have but that road into that park is rough dirt.

There are quite a few state parks on both sides of I-40 and El Malpais NM if you want to see a lot of lava. When you get into AZ then you'll hit Petrified Forest and further along Barringer meteor crater.

You'll pass Walnut Canyon (Indian Ruins) on the way to US-64 to Grand Canyon South Rim. Follow 64 out of GCNP to US-89 follow that up into Utah passing some other small National Parks/Monuments along the way. Once in Utah, check out Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP and then Zion->Bryce Canyon-> Arches/Canyonlands -> Capital Reef. You can divert east into CO for Mesa Verde the best of the Indian Ruins type parks. Hovenweep NM, Goosenecks SP, Natural Bridges NM, Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley are all in the same area and Cortez CO is a good central point to camp while seeing all of them. Monticello UT is a good spot to camp for the Needles District of Canyonlands.

We've done this any number of times starting from north Florida. 300 Miles/day is a good target. Some of these parks (Bryce in particular) are at high altitude and snow is possible in November.

Thank you for good information! We just got a 2008 Jayco Jay Feather (25') so we are super excited to begin exploring the country. We did all around the state of FL last year in a small 10' trailer and LOVED it... wanted to get A/C and heat to be able to go further and be self sufficient. We love the State Parks and had a great time learning more about our state last year. We are a little concerned about the weather but due to our jobs our only options for travel will always be November thru Feb/March. Just like FL (when you are in the south) Texas takes forever to get through!

The route we would follow is I-10W to I-49N in Louisiana. Then take that to I-20W and follow that to Dallas. Get on US-287 to Amarillo. Just south of Amarillo is Palo Duro State Park which is a good place to spend a day or two.

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I will say it again: unless you are going to stop in Dallas as a destination, there is a much better route to join US-287. Take US 69 from near Tyler to go up to Sherman and join US 82 and then on to US 287 near Wichita Falls. This way avoids all the complications of DFW traffic.

Now to some of your other questions. I have learned that 300 miles is a good limit for me, but you may need to make more than that to reach your destination in the time that you have. I will give you an example of the kind of plans you may need to make.

Assuming that you make your first stop somewhere in the vacinity of Tallahassee (around 400 miles) you could reach a couple of nice state parks off I-12 in Louisiana: Fontainbleau or just up the road Fairview/Riverside. I've stayed at both, lately I prefer Fairview/Riverside. That would be 390+ miles.

Next day could bring you into East Texas (where I live). Many good choices. Miss Ellie's is a commercial park in Waskom, TX just across the state line, but there are many choices. If you need a break there is Caddo Lake State Park or Tyler State Park. Should be nice at that time of year. In my opinion it would be worth a "rest day" to stay at one of them. Tyler state park is very convenient to I-20. Travel to Tyler State Park from Fairview/Riverside would be around 400 miles.

From Tyler State Park a good overnight stop would be Ole Town Cotton Gin in Goodlett, TX. It is just that, an overnight, but a good one. Full hook-up and level sites. We never unhook from our fifth-wheel. Nothing to do but watch TV and sleep.

Another day and 400+ miles would bring you to Santa Fe, NM. OK, I'm prejudiced. I would make that little jaunt up to Santa Fe in preference to Alburquerque. But you could easily split an extra day between the two of them and wind up back on I-40.

That would leave another 400 mile day to the Grand Canyon.

These would be long days for me, but this is one example of the kind of planning that might go into such a trip. I have made almost every mile of it (not on one trip!) Just made the trip back from Santa Fe to East Texas two weeks ago. Will be glad ot answer any questions based on my experience

There a lot to see along I-40 between Amarillo and the Grand Canyon. As mentioned there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Big Texan on Old Route 66.

In New Mexico, Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions like the foundry and dinosaur museum at the college. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground.

In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion.

In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano.

Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

On the way to Flagstaff along I-40 are Petrified Forest National Park, Meteor Crater and Homolovi Ruins State Park. You can stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona.

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument.

Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area. There is a nice campground at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood.

All this before you even get to the Grand Canyon.

The route we would follow is I-10W to I-49N in Louisiana. Then take that to I-20W and follow that to Dallas. Get on US-287 to Amarillo. Just south of Amarillo is Palo Duro State Park which is a good place to spend a day or two. They have a good dinner play theater that is worth going to. Then back up to I-40W. If you like urban areas then check out Albuquerque, past that there is Chaco Canyon to the north, you don't say what RV you have but that road into that park is rough dirt.

There are quite a few state parks on both sides of I-40 and El Malpais NM if you want to see a lot of lava. When you get into AZ then you'll hit Petrified Forest and further along Barringer meteor crater.

You'll pass Walnut Canyon (Indian Ruins) on the way to US-64 to Grand Canyon South Rim. Follow 64 out of GCNP to US-89 follow that up into Utah passing some other small National Parks/Monuments along the way. Once in Utah, check out Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP and then Zion->Bryce Canyon-> Arches/Canyonlands -> Capital Reef. You can divert east into CO for Mesa Verde the best of the Indian Ruins type parks. Hovenweep NM, Goosenecks SP, Natural Bridges NM, Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley are all in the same area and Cortez CO is a good central point to camp while seeing all of them. Monticello UT is a good spot to camp for the Needles District of Canyonlands.

We've done this any number of times starting from north Florida. 300 Miles/day is a good target. Some of these parks (Bryce in particular) are at high altitude and snow is possible in November.

Great idea but too late in the year and not enough time. For sights (as opposed to sites) do a Google search for `_______ tourism' and put the state or area in the blank and read what is recommended for that location.

doxiemom11 wrote:
We try to keep our daily travel around 200 miles or a little more. Sometimes there is a great place only 90 miles away so we'll do just 90 for that day.

Would love to do this but we do have to get back at some point. :) We want to be able to see and do but not sure we can swing a month to do it.....

We try to keep our daily travel around 200 miles or a little more. Sometimes there is a great place only 90 miles away so we'll do just 90 for that day.

accsys wrote:
You may want to peruse our 2011 Southwestern Trip Blog to see where we went and where we stopped on the 64 stop trip over eight months. We have also found the RV Parky site to be very good for reviews (though not as extensive as RV Park Reviews), but it also has a very good trip planner that allows you to find campgrounds around specific areas and gives you the distances between stops, etc.

I wish we could go for 8 months! We also enjoy staying in state parks when possible vs RV parks but checking out your info!

250 mi is a good day. I can't do that for too many days in a row.

You may want to peruse our 2011 Southwestern Trip Blog to see where we went and where we stopped on the 64 stop trip over eight months. We have also found the RV Parky site to be very good for reviews (though not as extensive as RV Park Reviews), but it also has a very good trip planner that allows you to find campgrounds around specific areas and gives you the distances between stops, etc.