New to the forum - been RV'ing the East Coast (Vermont - Florida) for the past five years. Finally time to go West with our four kids ages 5-12!! We'll be on the road for at least 5 weeks.Have my route nearly planned out - pulling a 28' TT with a Suburban LT. The 4.10 rear pulls well, but this will be our first pull through REAL mountains, ha ha!Major stops (4 or 5 night stays): Garden of the Gods, Grand Canyon, Redwood National Park, Grand Tetons.Minor stops (1 or 2 night stays): NY - Kansas, Glendale UT, Carson City NV, Burns OR, Craters of the Moon ID, Badland/Crazy Horse.My first dilemma was Rt 160 between Garden of the Gods and the Grand Canyon, but a post here eased my mind a bit. Definitely sounds like a road that deserves some attention and patience.The part of the trip that I feel like I need help with at the moment is the route from Carson City, NV to Eureka, CA for our stay in the Redwoods. Rt 299 from Redding to Eureka is the most direct route, but it also looks like a tough drive. The other possibility is to head a little WSW and take 80 through the Tahoe Nat'l Forest and then through Yuba City, then connect to Rt. 20 and then up 101 to Eureka.Any thoughts and ideas appreciated!

Do you plan to tow to all locations or park the trailer and do day/overnight trips using hotels some?No Yellowstone plans while you are on location?That is a big loop but can be done with easy in 45 days. We did Kings Canyon to see the Red Woods vs the drive up to Redwood NP since we only wanted to see the big suckers and did not care where they were growing. :)

We will be towing to all locations with no plans of overnights in hotels. Lots of day trips, though.I have been re-thinking Yellowstone. But I think we may enjoy the Grand Tetons on this trip and then come back for Yellowstone when we can really explore.It's funny you mentioned Kings Canyon - I know that General Sherman is in the area, but there were two reasons for me to head up north. I wanted to get along the coast and see the Pacific (we will literally drive from the Atlantic to the Pacific) and it just seems like the Redwoods are such a vast place. Also, I wanted to see Lake Tahoe and the route just got off track if I head to Kings. Next trip. ;)

I would like to get over that way myself this summer. Was looking at hwy 20 on the map just this evening, now I read your post! Great minds think alike. ;)To me, Craters of the Moon is only worth about 2 hours. It's a vast, desolate wasteland of rough lava. But YMMV, of course.

I absolutely love the Tetons - but I'm not between the ages of 5 and 12. The Tetons are known for their beauty. Yellowstone is known for its moving parts. Lots more things for your kids to see, like geysers, bubbling mud pots, the Yellowstone river and the upper and lower falls. And a lot more wildlife. Save the Tetons for the second trip when your kids can enjoy it. You can't even do Yellowstone in 5 days, but it will whet your appetite for a return trip.In the Black Hills area, the Badlands is a drive thru, but you can spend some time in Custer State Park driving the wildlife loop, driving the needles highway, and feeding carrots to the herds of wild burros, and check out Mt. Rushmore as well as Crazy Horse.You'll all want to go back in a few years. So much to see and do.

Albiecrazy we went to the Pacific but first at San Francisco because we wanted to cross the bridge and that night did sleep near the beach on the far side of the bridge (old army base). Your plan sounds fine to me.We left from KY then hit IL, MO, KS, NE, SD (Badlands which took 32 hours from KY counting one night at WM in NE), Rushmore and near by NP's) then WY (Yellowstone (takes two days by bus tour to cover the major features) and did a sunset drive-by of Grand Tetons) and continued down 89 and slept at mountain top rest area over looking Bear Lake. That took the kids breath then they went horse back riding at a place we learned about at the rest stop near by. That evening we swam in the Great Salt Lake and learned I had cousins 200 miles west on I-80 in Elco NV and that leg took us out on the Salt Flats. From Elco we crossed the bay bridge AFTER seeing Lake Tahoe. After kids swam early the next morning in the 'cool' Pacific we went to Yosemite then on to Kings/Sequoia Canyons to the General Sherman then we drove to Carlsbad CA for LegoLand and kids learned to surf for 14th birthday.Then we did a Las Vegas drive-by at 11 PM at about 15 MPH for miles (finally road construction delays that was a blessing giving me time to point out the high points and we slept in a parking lot between LV and Hoover Dam which we drove across the next day before we did the Sky Walk over the GC then spent the evening in Williams AZ. After the train to GC and back and next day got to Monument Valley the then drove on to Four Corners, Ship Rock and stayed in Farmington NM. After Los Alamos we went to Roswell then Carlsbad Caverns NM before doing TX and heading home. Finished up in Dallas at 7 PM after 140 foot free fall and pulled in driveway at home at 7 AM. The kids and mom were happy to see each other on day 31 of our 8000 trip.That was one wild trip and I returned in MUCH better physical/mental health. No I am not saying anyone should do what we did. It just worked great for us and anyone interested can plot it on a map if they want to see what roads to take. As a REAL warning do not drive south out of Kings Canyon by way of Sequoia NP if you are over 22 foot. It CAN be done in a longer MH/TT but you WILL be on the other side of the road in the hellish switch backs.We got our cross country MH trip in but ONLY by just taking off late on a Friday afternoon three days late with not one plan as to when and where we were going to sleep or or be on any day. With no toad to keep up with we routed on the fly because 100% of our stuff was in the MH at all times. It is amazing what you can see on short cuts. :B

Trip Report: NY to the Grand Canyon, UT, Redwoods, Badlands

JimFromJersey
Explorer
Aug 28, 2013
Albiecrazy wrote:
I kind of disappeared with all the planning, but wanted to sincerely thank all of you for advice, routing, etc.! The trip was amazing, to say the least.

But what a trip! As we traveled, I thought of all the advice and help that you all gave so freely and felt bad that I just kind of fell off the face of the earth here. Thank you all! I hope to be a regular here so I can give back when I can. If anyone is interested, there's more detail in my blog - I was able to keep up with it on a pretty regular basis despite the broadband issues we came across everywhere!

gigantibeast.blogspot.com

Travel safe & light!
Sound like a great time. Reminded me of my family's trip around the horn in 1964, when I was eleven - six of us in a VW Bus with three tents and a Coleman stove... :)

Will check the blog for pics.
Albiecrazy
Explorer
Aug 28, 2013
Thanks, 2gypsies. Updated post heading and thanks for the link. And you're right - trips are so unique to each family. We met a couple much like you, I think, in Prineville, OR. They had a motor home and a tow vehicle - were pretty much living on the road year round and were loving life! I like their "230" rule - 230 miles or 2:30 pm whichever comes first. Our days were most times longer than that - plenty of 400 mile days and two that were over 550.

Have to figure out how to do a trip like this every summer!
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Aug 27, 2013
WOW! What a fantastic trip you had with terrific memories. It seems you picked all the right things to do for your family. You sure did a little bit of everything. Goes to show you that folks can suggest lots of things to do or not to do but sometimes you just have to experience it yourself. Thanks for coming back with the trip report!

You might want to edit your subject heading to reflect a "Trip Report" or "Update" or else you're going to have folks give you yet more suggestions on where to go. :)

Here's a 'Clicky' to your blog which is great reading!

Gigantibeast Blogspot for a Trip Report
Albiecrazy
Explorer
Aug 27, 2013
I kind of disappeared with all the planning, but wanted to sincerely thank all of you for advice, routing, etc.! The trip was amazing, to say the least. I keep calling this the "Best Summer EVER". rolling_rhoda - De Smet was a HUGE hit with the kids - it's such a hands on place and they had 4 kittens that followed us everywhere. My son wanted to stay another night...

Things I remember most:

First day - fuel pump sputtered (but recovered) and a blowout on the trailer on PA turnpike. Both fixed over the next 2 days and stayed on schedule.

Colorado Springs was a great stop - Garden of the Gods, Air Force Academy, Cog Railway up Pikes Peak and excellent mountain biking (Palmer Park) made for a packed stop.

Another tire went down 10 miles east of Wolf Creek Pass - not a blow out, but happened to be a tire shop right there. Tread had separated... Good thing I had to stop for gas and saw that it was low - a blowout through Wolf Creek would have been bad.

Mesa Verde - only one night. Should have stayed here at least 3...

Grand Canyon - stayed five nights and should have stayed 2. Did hike into the Canyon with my son (Bright Angel) which was a highlight of the trip.

Utah - Bryce & Zion were fantastic! Biked the Red Canyon (Thunder Mountain Trail). Best ride of my life!

Nevada - survived the Extraterrestrial Hwy. Got 240 miles out of a tank of gas with MAJOR hypermiling. Would never take that route again... Had to replace both tires on the OTHER side of the camper in Carson City - tread separation again. Decided that all four Carlisle's were defective. No tire issues after this.

Crescent City - Redwoods: a huge hit with the kids. Hiking is kinda what we do so to be amongst these magnificent trees was a great experience. Mountain biked with the kids at Prairie Creek and came up on an elk herd. Another highlight for me - to see the kids come up over a rise and see a magnificent male standing in front of them - priceless.

Oregon - John Day Scenic By-Way was beautiful. Also the route up 101.

Idaho - Craters of the Moon. Kids explored caves FOREVER! Pretty stark environment and to find ice in a cave (lava tube, really) in July was a hoot for the kids. Stayed in Arco - learned about the nuclear history there with the Navy.

Yellowstone - most beautiful park I'll probably ever stay in. But I have to say - the human behavior in this park was atrocious. I've never seen so many rude foreigners with a complete disregard for nature. Approaching wild life, walking in areas that were clearly marked to stay out of, wading in a stream that says no swimming and just complete lack of manners on boardwalks. We took a back country hike and when we go back, it will be the back country only. But we did see fantastic wildlife and geothermal features. Steamboat had erupted the night before we went to that section of the park so we were able to witness the steam phase. Steamboat's last eruption was 8 years ago! Bison were in the rut - saw some males really going at it!

Thermopolis - best trout fishing of my life! Caught rainbows, cutthroat and browns on the fly. Caught and released a brown that was no less than 7 lbs. I came here to fish the Bighorn - other than that, the hot springs were OK and they liked the dyno museum (kids went while I fished).

Devils Tower - it was Sturgis week while were here. Love being around bikes and bikers and they owned Devils Tower the day we were there. There was also a climber that broke his leg in two places - the rescue involved 9 professional climbers and they pretty much shut down the trail while we were on it. Phenomenal stop. Watched Close Encounters with thunder and lightning rumbling all around us, but it never rained. Cool experience.

Custer State Park - biggest surprise of the trip! Stockade was the best campground we stayed in the entire trip. Just about as beautiful as Yellowstone with regular folk doing regular things. Must not be on the rude foreigner's list of "places to go"... Got caught in a tornado warning and the subsequent hail storm. Nothing like large marble sized hail pinging off my bike and my helmet. Awning sustained damage - about 2 dozen holes. :(

Badlands - drive through only on our way to De Smet (Little House on the Prairie) but it's the perfect park to drive through anyway.

Ingalls Homestead - a definite for kids. We could have stayed there another 2 days.

La Crosse Wisconsin - came here only for the mountain biking and a convenient jump stop to start back home. And ended up trading in our camper for 2013 Kodiak Express! So much has changed in the 7 years since we bought our K-Z. It was a major upgrade in size and features and the price and trade in would never have been matched back East. Nothing like parking the old camper and the new camper door to door and transferring ALL your stuff in an hour and a half! It was sad to drive away from our Frontier - my son actually broke down crying our first night in the Kodiak...

But what a trip! As we traveled, I thought of all the advice and help that you all gave so freely and felt bad that I just kind of fell off the face of the earth here. Thank you all! I hope to be a regular here so I can give back when I can. If anyone is interested, there's more detail in my blog - I was able to keep up with it on a pretty regular basis despite the broadband issues we came across everywhere!

gigantibeast.blogspot.com

Travel safe & light!
dkreuzen
Explorer
May 23, 2013
Albiecrazy wrote:
...My first dilemma was Rt 160 between Garden of the Gods and the Grand Canyon...

If you take US160 west from I-25 in CO to US89 in AZ there are a few stops along the way you should consider...

In Durango, CO; the Train ride to Silverton.

East of Cortez, CO; Mesa Verde NP.

Kayenta, AZ; 24 miles north is Monument Valley.

Normally I would add a side trip to Lake Powell but with the section of US89 closed just below Page, AZ it would add an extra 130 miles.

Also when traveling through the Navajo and other Indian reservations be in your best defensive driving mode...
odiehm
Explorer
May 22, 2013
We are doing the same trip in 3 wks. I will be pulling for the first time a 27' TT. What route from the east is best getting into yellowstone. Trying to avoid the bighorns and any very steep grades, and bad curves. Any suggestions on routes going in??
spacedoutbob
Explorer
May 22, 2013
One other thought, You could head on Hwy. 36 west and go through Lassen Park also on the way to the Coast. Avoid driving Hwy. 36 west after you hit I-5, that part of Hwy. 36 to the Coast is for crazy people.Take Hwy.299. Have a Great Trip!
Albiecrazy
Explorer
May 22, 2013
OFDPOS wrote:
I believe poster meant "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and NOT ET for Devils Tower ...

One thought/way from Tahoe would be head over to Reno Nv. then take 395W to Susanville ca about 5 miles west of Susanville , take 44W west towards Redding.
The road will T into 44/89 left Redding , right Burney , go right and wind up in Burney they have http://www.yelp.com/biz/mcarthur-burney-falls-state-park-burney
can spend a couple hours to the night there. Then back on 299 to Redding ,in Redding a must see is the Sundial Bridge at night. Then continue on 299 over to the coast.

That's the route! Thanks for clearing my head - I kept wanting to go due west which just wasn't working out...

I've taken my eye off this trip for too long, but thank you everyone for your advice.

Now to find a nice campground north of Crescent City.
deansofva
Explorer
Jan 08, 2013
4runnerguy wrote:
OK, I know this post may get long, but I want to guide you to some alternatives.

First, Garden of the Gods/Colorado Springs would not be my first (or second or third or . . .) choice of places to spend 4 or 5 nights in Colorado.

We did a VA-Utah RV trip with our kids in 2011 and spent three nights in Colorado Springs. We had a great time, and our kids liked it. We toured the Air Force Academy, went up Pike's Peak (kids loved it), went to a cowboy dinner show (kids LOVED it), visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Garden of the Gods. We really enjoyed our time there. We also took a little day trip on the Lariat Loop where we saw Buffalo Bill's grave, checked out the Red Rocks Amphitheater and area, and visited Dinosaur Ridge, where you can see and touch dinosaur tracks in the ground. My son was fascinated by it, and I was too. We enjoyed lunch in Golden, CO, a nice little town with a walkable main street with restaurants and shops.
deansofva
Explorer
Jan 08, 2013
Jim Shoe wrote:
I absolutely love the Tetons - but I'm not between the ages of 5 and 12. The Tetons are known for their beauty. Yellowstone is known for its moving parts. Lots more things for your kids to see, like geysers, bubbling mud pots, the Yellowstone river and the upper and lower falls. And a lot more wildlife. Save the Tetons for the second trip when your kids can enjoy it. You can't even do Yellowstone in 5 days, but it will whet your appetite for a return trip.
In the Black Hills area, the Badlands is a drive thru, but you can spend some time in Custer State Park driving the wildlife loop, driving the needles highway, and feeding carrots to the herds of wild burros, and check out Mt. Rushmore as well as Crazy Horse.
You'll all want to go back in a few years. So much to see and do.

Hi there! In 2009, we drove some of the same route with a 7 and 8 year old. I'll share some thoughts with that perspective:

My kids liked Yellowstone alot more than the Tetons. They loved Old Faithful, the paint pots, and all of the wildlife we saw in the park. They would have been happy just to drive through the Tetons. Of course it's beautiful, but Yellowstone was more for them because they could see and do more. And different people will tell you how much time they think you need to spend there, but I think you can whet your appetite and give your kids a good experience in just a few days there. We drove more than we hiked because we knew my daughter wouldn't hold up long, but we saw hundreds of bison, a mom and baby moose, and lots of pronghorn.

You can drive through the Badlands in an hour or two. I loved it there and if it was just me, I'd stay overnight to see both the sunset and the sunrise in the park. We saw the sunset and it was beautiful. I took some great portraits of my kids with the prairie background on one of the park stops - they're gorgeous.