Help plan my family's Western States tour for 2016

2 hours sight seeing and 8-10 hours sitting in a moving car = very unhappy kids...JMHO..:)...Dennis

I would recommend you skip Oregon and Washington for this trip. You can always do them from California in a shorter trip of 2-3 weeks.

For this one, head to Phoenix for your must-do visit. Depending what part of the Phoenix area you want to visit, I'd suggest staying at any of the wonderful Maricopa County Parks. They have gorgeous sites, immaculate showers areas, electric, dump stations and at that time of year very few campers. You won't need reservations. Another great spot is Lost Dutchman State Park at the far eastern side of the Phoenix/Mesa/Apache Junction area. It's a beauty and no reservations needed in June. Then up to the Grand Canyon and stay at the Rim in the park at Trailer Village which has full hookups. It will be HOT in June and the rest of the summer.

Then go to Zion and Bryce National Parks and possibly Arches and definitely sign up in advance for the 'Fiery Furnace' hike for a morning. The kids will love it and you'll have some shade from the rocks. Arches and Zion will be hot but Bryce would be perfect. Arches does not have electric in their campground so plan to stay at a RV park in Moab. Zion has electric and also dry camping. Bryce doesn't have electric but it's cool enough that you won't need air conditioning. If you want hookups, Ruby's is just outside the park entrance to Bryce.

Then head up to Grand Teton Nat'l Park. With your size RV you could fit in any of the park's campgrounds. We like Gros Ventre but it is dry camping with a dump station and water fill. It, and Colter Bay campground each have 300 non-reservable sites and they rarely fill. Next to the Colter Bay campground is Colter Bay RV if you want hookups. A reservation is a must for the RV park.

From the Tetons you can head north through the park to Yellowstone. Fishing Bridge RV in the park is the only one with hookups. Madison is a very nice dry camping spot. It has a dump station and water fill.

I think by now your one-month will be up and time to head home.

First off, let me welcome you to the forums, "Welcome to the Forums". There are far too many posts regarding this subject to pick one or two for you to read, but I would suggest that you read the Mods instructions on doing searches first and then do some and read posts that seem compatible with your trip.

Next I think you are really a grandparent and not a parent. I didn't learn about kids not wanting to camp with Mom and Dad after the inevitable march of puberty and becoming social animals, my wife knew and I just follow her lead. I do remember the first summer the tent stayed packed away in the garage and we rented a place at the beach for our daughters and a friend each. So good luck with the inevitable. Oh yeah, this is the first year the 15 and 13 year old DGKs are not going with us on a summer trip.

Next, Dennis is right, you are trying to see the West in one tenth the time you need. Try splitting up your trips into small areas, I know you want to have the DKs see as much as possible but I think you packing ten trips into one. We split trips up by features, we did a trip(far too long a trip) from Los Angeles to the Ingles homestead in Nebraska and back and then down the Oregon Coast. Should have skipped the coast. Our first really relaxing and truly remarkable trip is the one we called "The Canyons Tour". Grand Canyon, Powell, Brice, Zion and some extra time to explore the Grand Staircase. Three weeks and the kids wanted more time.

A really nice trip is just California. Two different redwood forests, Ferndale, Eureka, Tahoe, wild horse at Mono Lake, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Whitney, Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree, Sequoia/Kings Canyon/ Yosemite and a couple of days where the kids can skate, swim, socialize with other kids.

Washington/Oregon Coast, start with our newest NP in Cali, Pinnacles, Crater Lake, Columbia George, Reiner and the over to the Coast. Too many places to list here.

I hope you get the idea, to many fun, yet educational places to show them and trying to do everything in the west in four weeks is possible but stressful for you and the DW. If you want more ideas, or just help doing what you first posted, PM me and we'll talk. I have used some shorthand that you will see often on here, google some of them or maybe someone else has a link to what they are. I could tell you but you need to learn how to search. Also, don't develop a thin skin. Almost 100% of the members here are really helpful, it's just that sometimes we get cranky and seem rude, we're not really.

Dave

Anywhere you take them will be GRAND. However, try NOT to miss the Oregon coast......it's so different from the California coast and they'd love it! Especially at low tide and being able to see starfish, etc.

We did a similar trip way back in the dark ages when our kids were small. South to LV, across Arizona, seeing the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, etc., and on to New Mexico through Albuquerque, then north. We hit Denver and then headed to Yellowstone and back to Lake Tahoe and home.

Every zoo that was possible to see was on our itinerary. Our kids loved zoos, and even as adults they go to the zoo in new cities. The one that stands out in my mind over 40 years later is Denver, where we saw a deer giving birth to triplets. ABQ and Colorado Springs were also memorable ones.

I've done two trips in the past 3 years that involved about the same number of miles as your proposed trip. I took 6 weeks for one trip and 8 weeks for the other. Without actually calculating the length of your trip, I estimate it is in the neighborhood of 3000 miles - maybe more. At 300 to 400 miles per day, you are going to spend 8 to 10 days just getting from one point to another. That will really cut into the time you have for seeing the sites. I think you should consider shortening the length of the trip, reducing the number of sites to see, and spend more time at the remaining sites.

Cut the planned places to stop in half. It's better to stay two days in one place than to go to two different places in two days.
Get Mountain Directory West to help plan the route traveled.
Adventure Caravans takes the entire month of September to do the Grand Circle of the Western Parks.

What a great trip for your whole family:) I have made the same general overall trip and given your itinerary I would suggest the following plan to "deviate from" allowing for adjustments as you make the trip.
1. Freemont to the Indio area.
2. Lv. Indio in the early morning to Phoenix to avoid the heat.
3. In Phoenix the Heard Museum is great and will be of interest to the kids. Lv. Phoenix in the early morning going north on I-17 to I-40, then on to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
4. cont. on hwy 64 to hwy 89 to Kanab then visit the north Rim of the G.C.
5. cont. to Zion and Bryce national parks.
6. then take I-15 north to Yellow Stone National Park
7 From Yellow Stone take I-15 to Spokane
8. Take Hwy. 2 to I-15 then north to Whidbey Island. Riding the ferries is one of my favorite activities.
9. You can take take I-5 south to Seattle to see the Seattle Dome and Fisherman Market etc.
10. Or you can load your trailer on a ferry to Port Townsend. the kids will love the ferry.
11, continue south on 101 to Long Beach. There is a 3 blk. long amusement center the kids will go crazy with.
12. cont. south Seaside to an RV park called "Circle Creek". Park the trailer. Now you drive around and sight see in Astoria, Stevens National Park, Cannyon Beach or a short 2 hr. drive in you want to sight see in Portland.
13. Cont. south to the famous Tillamook cheese factory,
14. Cont. south to Winchester Bay. 3 RV parks. Kids will like the sand dunes and you can rent sand vehicles to ride in the dunes.
15. South to Coos Bay. Stay at the Mills Creek RV park at the Casino. Go to Charleston and see the Botanical Garden.
16. Rv Parks in Brookings right on the ocean
17. South to see the Giant Red Woods.
18. south to Mendocino.
There are many sights and little towns to visit all along the Washinton and Oregon coast to visit. Strongly recommend you make reservations NOW for your whole trip as you will be hitting the high season for RVers. Reservations can always be changed or cancelled. Make sure you have an active Emergency Road Side Service plan to avoid issues if your rig breaks down or you have tire problems:):) Email me privately if you have other questions about the above trip.

When we did Yellowstone, it took most of two weeks to see everything. It will take you a few days to get there, a few to get back...visiting friends in Red Bluff and Phoenix and your month is shot.

We are leaving Sacramento on the 14th of May and going up the coast to Copalis Beach in upper Washington. We plan on arriving there for the 4th of July. Yes, there's that much to see and do along the coast of Ca, Or and Wa....I'd plan one trip along the coast, another to Yellowstone then yet another to visit friends and see the Grand Canyon.

On another note, don't underestimate the kids. We've taken our oldest GKs with us every year for their summer vacation. They've visited 41 States and Canada. We thought last year was going to be their last, (they just turned 15 and 16) Nope! they're excited to join us again this year, and we're happy to have them. We are glad they're joining us before we get to Tillamook for ice cream and cheese..:)....Dennis

My best advice is to purchase Delorme Street Atlas 2015 ($40) software and plot out multiple routes. You will be able to plan much more effienctly, get the family involved with the routing, you have plenty of time before the trip.

The good people on this site will offer many destinations not to miss or must see so pick the best route for the family.

One thing more, skip Vegas on this trip, head to Phoenix first for a quick visit then onto the Grand Canyon and beyond.

The adventure awaits,

Travelon