Why bother with National Parks?

Hello freed up some time and made a last minute decision to head down the Washington, Oregon, California coasts to San Francisco then cut over to the Sonora desert, Death valley Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, Arizona for an idea of our general route. Unexpected opportunity to go right now, next to no planning just hooking up the trailer and heading out, but otherwise we are experienced travelers. Somewhat familiar with the coasts from 8 years ago.

Looking for recommendations on rv parks, private or government and sights to see besides the main ones. We are researching this site but mainly looking for any recent information. We will be checking with tourist centers as we travel.

I am a steam locomotive engineer and military buff so any related information, museums and such, much appreciated.

Thankyou for information.

Dog Folks wrote:

wbwood wrote:

Trails And Tails wrote:
We're new to RVing and have just bought an older Class C. My wife wants to take a trip touring many of the western United States' National Parks. I've been doing some research and this is what I'm finding: Crappy Roads, Crappy Campgrounds, Large Crowds, Lots of Walking, Varying Rules from Park to Park, Unpredictable Conditions and more that I'm forgetting righ now. With all of this, why in the world do people even bother with these parks and how do you even think about relaxing and enjoying the scenery? Righ now all I see is a gut-wrenching experience and I'm already a wreck just thinking about it.

Sounds like you are starting off with a negative attitude about it. So you won't be happy no matter where. If you want all pretty and nice, then be ready to shell out the money. And then again, with your 25 year old RV, some of them won't allow you to stay there anyway. Lighten and enjoy the trip.

He is talking about visiting National Parks.

Are there National Parks with age restrictions:h.

When I said " If you want all pretty and nice, then be ready to shell out the money." I was referring to paying for a private park. You don't shell out the money at NP's.

wbwood wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:

wbwood wrote:

Trails And Tails wrote:
We're new to RVing and have just bought an older Class C. My wife wants to take a trip touring many of the western United States' National Parks. I've been doing some research and this is what I'm finding: Crappy Roads, Crappy Campgrounds, Large Crowds, Lots of Walking, Varying Rules from Park to Park, Unpredictable Conditions and more that I'm forgetting righ now. With all of this, why in the world do people even bother with these parks and how do you even think about relaxing and enjoying the scenery? Righ now all I see is a gut-wrenching experience and I'm already a wreck just thinking about it.

Sounds like you are starting off with a negative attitude about it. So you won't be happy no matter where. If you want all pretty and nice, then be ready to shell out the money. And then again, with your 25 year old RV, some of them won't allow you to stay there anyway. Lighten and enjoy the trip.

He is talking about visiting National Parks.

Are there National Parks with age restrictions:h.

When I said " If you want all pretty and nice, then be ready to shell out the money." I was referring to paying for a private park. You don't shell out the money at NP's.

Got it now. Thanks.

I have travelled 25,000 miles west of the Mississippi over the last 10 years.
I view an RV as an enabler to visit National Parks AND anything scenic along the way.

California's coast and Yosemite, or any place within about 4 hours of a major city are always crowded in the summer. Travel in the state requires a lot of planning during that time, and even in spring/fall. I find RV trips in California near these places stressful, and avoid making them part of any of my grand tours. But I also can schedule shorter destination trips here, because I'm in California.

Outside of the the above, everywhere is manageable without reservations, with the exception of Yellowstone and the Oregon coast. And I've even managed a pair of impromptu visits to Yellowstone in July of 2013 & 2014.

Since you are from the flat side of the country, take your time on the mountain roads. Low gears are your friend. Pull over often, both for breaks and to let folks by. And as others have recommended, get your RV in tip top shape mechanically.

My keys?
Small class C (24'), less restrictions, no toad.
Happy without hookups, actually prefer it that way.
Get up with the animals, you'll have far better luck finding the next campground early in morning.

Yellowstone without advance res during the summer:
First, once you do know your arrival date in a couple days, see if you can reserve a single night in the park, anywhere. If not, there are plenty of national forest campgrounds you could use as your single night outside the park. After that one night, break camp early (sunrise) and head to one of the first come non reservable sites in Yellowstone. Stay there as long as you want, then move again to another section of the park if you want to. Yes, this is without hookups.

I found the other option at the non reservable at Yellowstone, show up late, if there are unused handicap sites (which according to the camp host is +90% of the time), you can have them for the night. If that falls through, Wyoming and Montana allow overnights in road side pullouts. There are many available in the National Forrest to the NE of Yellowstone. While no hookups in the non reservable, it is easy enough to dump and fill at the other campgrounds in Yellowstone. Also great inexpensive showers at those campgrounds.

After several trips to Yellowstone in June, July and August, I have yet to find a time when I felt I needed power for heat or air.

OP, you are correct, the USA National Park system is terrible. The roads and campgrounds are deplorable. The scenery is hard to see because of all the trees and don't even get me started on the wildlife. The animals are killers! Every year poor unsuspecting tourists are gored, stomped, clawed, and otherwise killed and also eaten. They need to do something about those animals!

The National Parks are a terrible place to go and you have to deal with all those crowds. There are so many people everywhere that nobody goes there anymore!

I think you should reserve your camping adventures to privately owned RV Resorts, ---- and I will use the National Parks every chance I get.

TIC, in case you didn't figure it out.

Here's what you'd be missing if you didn't go to Teton National Park:

Grand Teton National Park Photos

Find yourself a KOA (@ 2-3 times the rate) and you might find the NP's a bit better. Especially when there will be 3 or 4 sites at a KOA in the space where 2 sit in a NP campground.