Help with Big RV Trip Planning
So we are planning a big trip leaving out of Southern California (Orange County) out to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone and back. I've got it mapped to about 2650 miles and 13 nights to make the journ...
Forum Discussion
I definitely approve of the choice of Grizzly RV for a rig your size. If you don't yet have reservations, get them NOW!! (Yesterday would be even better.) August is still high season for YNP. 4 nights there is good; that gives you 3 full days to see Yellowstone AND the Tetons, which are right next door. You'll wish you had more time, but for hitting the highlights, three days is good.
Mt. Rushmore itself is worth an hour or so, but there are tons of good things to do in the Black Hills; we once spent a week there and could have spent longer. As with Yellowstone, reservations are a must and you should already have them. Your schedule has you arriving a little after the big Sturgis motorcycle event, I think, but not much, so CGs may be very full during those dates. Your timeframe is probably not extendable, so you may have to decide to go again sometime. I think I wouldn't shave off more than 1 day from the Black Hills at most. Personally, I'd skip RMNP and allow yourself more time to get to Yellowstone & the Black Hills, and to spend time in the places you have as the main goals for this trip. You could break up that 11-hour drive the first day and not be exhausted when you finally get to the "main attractions."
Good alternate choice for the Black Hills if the KOA is full: Rafter J Bar Ranch CG. Great place, but also very popular.
Good luck!
Mt. Rushmore itself is worth an hour or so, but there are tons of good things to do in the Black Hills; we once spent a week there and could have spent longer. As with Yellowstone, reservations are a must and you should already have them. Your schedule has you arriving a little after the big Sturgis motorcycle event, I think, but not much, so CGs may be very full during those dates. Your timeframe is probably not extendable, so you may have to decide to go again sometime. I think I wouldn't shave off more than 1 day from the Black Hills at most. Personally, I'd skip RMNP and allow yourself more time to get to Yellowstone & the Black Hills, and to spend time in the places you have as the main goals for this trip. You could break up that 11-hour drive the first day and not be exhausted when you finally get to the "main attractions."
Good alternate choice for the Black Hills if the KOA is full: Rafter J Bar Ranch CG. Great place, but also very popular.
Good luck!
