Western USA trip

I agree with Busskipper - for us to really help you we need more info. West Coast - OR/WA or swinging south and going to CA? The Coast is a long way along it and all kinds or variations depending on your wants.

And, for example, the best time to be on OR Coast is mid Aug to early Oct. But those are the best times to be in the mountains of WY or CO - and places in the mountains start closing down around mid Sept.

Fill us in - we are here to help.

smikles wrote:
We are planning a trip in 2016 to Dakotas, Wyoming, and down the West Coast. When is the best time of year , and any suggestions on routes?

Thinking you need to give us a lot more info............ Likes - Dislikes ... Unit you are traveling in......Hiker or drive byer ...... FHU or Boon-docker?........ Just too many variables to give you advice that might be useful.

That said If this were ME I'd head out now and take a southern Route to the Left Coast. Still some good weather and lots to see and do in the Southern Part of the USA. I'd look to winter between Texas and San Diego with the coastal trip beginning in Spring as you head up the Coast and late Spring Early Summer approaches you could head over to the Mountains, understanding that at elevation you will/may still have SNOW. As the weather warms I always try to avoid the CROWDS so for the schools out time try to explore more of the remote and out of the way places saving all the big sites for end of summer. Start of fall season. Try to be in the State of Colorado for the last week of September for he changing of the Aspen and then finish up in the mountains till the Snow comes late October early November heading back to the Desert and lower elevations before heading back home.

Give us a little more info and we can be much more specific.

Hope this generalization is of some help,

Roy&Lynne wrote:
It really depends on how long you have for this trip. I don't particularly like to travel when school is out, not because I don't like kids but I don't like crowds. So if time was unlimited I'd start March heading west along the southern route. Check out the Grand Canyon and and they Yosemite, and the Redwoods and Oregon Coast and Olympic 101 loop and then over Hwy 2 to Glacier and then down to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

I think this is a good plan. Yosemite is at its best in late spring. Stay away after Memorial Day. CA coast is really good from spring through to fall. Finish in Yellowstone at start of summer.

We pulled out of Port Townsend Washington on October 28th and slowly came down 101 on the Pacific coast and today we pulled into Monterrey, CA. Great time of year, we had some rain but the weather ran from the mid fifties and a few days in the seventies. Some campground closed on November 1, but we didn’t have and problems finding a place to stay. We pulled out of Minnesota the first of September and traveled SD, WY, MT and WA the color was great and it was not real busy at the parks.

It really depends on how long you have for this trip. I don't particularly like to travel when school is out, not because I don't like kids but I don't like crowds. So if time was unlimited I'd start March heading west along the southern route. Check out the Grand Canyon and and they Yosemite, and the Redwoods and Oregon Coast and Olympic 101 loop and then over Hwy 2 to Glacier and then down to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

Dakotas and Wyoming would be good in August. Then head over to the coastline for September/October.

I would wait until late May or June. Later is even better. I was in Yellowstone late last May and ran into a snow storm to where you could not see the mountain tops. Glacier NP in Montanna does not open going to the sun road until mid June. Last year it was nearly July 10th. July or August is better for Glacier NP. There are many beautiful sites to see in the area you are talking about. ND has Roosevelt NP. SD has the badlands, Custer State Park and black hills, Wy has Glacier and many other state parks, UT has Canyonland and Arches near Moab, WY has Tetons and Yellowstone, CO has Rocky Mt. NP, Mesa Verde and Gunnieson, NM has has cliff dwellers of Bandelier, Pecos, and Sante Fe Loretto Chapel. We have visited all these site and they are breath taking.

I sent you a private message.

I like to use Roadside America when traveling. Maybe you can find something interesting.

Wide open? By west coast are you saying along the ocean, or south thru the interior? Best time of year depends on your response. Best on the coast is September. Interior is June thru August.
BTW, Dakotas, Wyoming are not west coast, more closely associated with mountain states.