DW retired 3 years ago...I retire for the last time on April 4th.:B :B We're heading to the northwest of the US on April 5th then in early August towards Nova Scotia. We don't really want to deal with RV CG reservations. Can we expect to travel around the NW of the US during the summer months and find CG's with sites available for anywhere from a couple of nights to a week or so? Or is that a pipe dream??? We just don't want to be tied to CG reservations and a time schedule if possible.Many thanks.Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!:)

I would not call CO, WY, ID and MT the Northwest, that usually means Washington and Oregon. The region you are going to is the Rockies and the Inter Mountain area.That nitpick aside, you should not have any problems with two exceptions: big popular National Parks: Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains NP and Glacier NP. Best to has reservations for those. And the other problem period is national holidays: the Fourth of July mainly. CG tend to fill up then too. And Memorial Day if you are starting in April.Otherwise you should be fine, we usually call ahead when we are a couple of hours out and get a campsite. And rarely have a problem.BK+

You'll be fine, maybe not the best camping spots but there will be spots. If you get to the coastal areas you might have some problem in July and Aug. Just a side note, I almost always have snow on the ground till May.

That is about what we did last year in the same time period. For weather reasons you might want to do it anticlockwise. April still has those whirly things & thunderstorms roaming around the middle of the country so a stop in New Orleans & then NW through Amarillo to Colorado may be a thought.Reservations??? What are they? Only if you plan to be in a high demand area on a weekend. Most SPs seem to hold nonreservable sites for walkins. The trick is to arrive Thursday or early Friday, before the locals show up, & stay put till Sunday. We were at Grand Teton NP for 4/7 holiday last year. No reservations at Gros Ventre CG. Arrived 2/7. No problem. Hang loose. You are not one of those vacationers trying to cram a months worth of travel into 2 weeks. Get where you are going early & watch everybody else scramble.

Yup, been in Wyoming in early June. It is NOT summer there at that time of year - at least not like June is in the Midwest, where I'm from. April/May could be interesting.

Only time reservations maybe needed would be around major holidays. Memorial Day and Fourth of July. We normally find a place and hold up over long holiday weekends.

Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho From April thru July.

29 Replies

ford_truck_guy
Nomad
Feb 10, 2014
Double post... sorry
ford_truck_guy
Nomad
Feb 10, 2014
Cricky ,
If you need someone to go ahead of you and get the sites ready for stay , drop me a line !!! Congrats on your soon to be retired status!!! And Safe Travels.. Joe
Ivylog
Explorer III
Feb 10, 2014
OP, since you added no hookups this is the best site I've found for finding Public CGs as it's on a map. You can zoom in and look at the CG or turn on the topo feature and find the elevation. I also like Allstays for Private and Public CGs plus they have an APP.
ricatic
Explorer
Feb 10, 2014
crickeydog wrote:
agesilaus wrote:
I would not call CO, WY, ID and MT the Northwest, that usually means Washington and Oregon. The region you are going to is the Rockies and the Inter Mountain area.

Ok!!! Well alright there...wow...thanks for the 4th grade geography lesson. Whew...lucky for me I got straightened out. I'm 60 years old and my immediate supervisor is 32...the arrogant egotistical self centered "I'm always right" narcissistic a$$ kissing little snot nosed book worm that he is. :B After Montana, we're heading to Washington & Oregon but we've got those areas already squared away.

Thanks so much for the responses and all of the tips. Many many thanks. We may make a reservation or two along the way. It's just that for 42 years, we've always had to leave at a certain time...and arrive home at a certain time because of work constraints. After April 4th, I don't even plan to wear a watch!!!:B We won't care if the CG has hookups. We just want to go when we want...and arrive when we want...for as long as we want.

Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!:)

:C:C:C...have a great time...you have earned it

Regards
crickeydog
Explorer
Feb 09, 2014
agesilaus wrote:
I would not call CO, WY, ID and MT the Northwest, that usually means Washington and Oregon. The region you are going to is the Rockies and the Inter Mountain area.

Ok!!! Well alright there...wow...thanks for the 4th grade geography lesson. Whew...lucky for me I got straightened out. I'm 60 years old and my immediate supervisor is 32...the arrogant egotistical self centered "I'm always right" narcissistic a$$ kissing little snot nosed book worm that he is. :B After Montana, we're heading to Washington & Oregon but we've got those areas already squared away.

Thanks so much for the responses and all of the tips. Many many thanks. We may make a reservation or two along the way. It's just that for 42 years, we've always had to leave at a certain time...and arrive home at a certain time because of work constraints. After April 4th, I don't even plan to wear a watch!!!:B We won't care if the CG has hookups. We just want to go when we want...and arrive when we want...for as long as we want.

Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!:)
txdutt
Explorer
Feb 09, 2014
Here in CO, the high demand state parks pretty much book out 6 mos in advance between Memorial day & Labor day weekends...private CG's maybe not so much, but just be aware because of high demand that time of year here....
I_am_still_wayn
Explorer
Feb 09, 2014
Remember, Nova Scotia is in the Northern Atlantic, so Spring comes late, Fall is early, and Summer is but a fleeting moment. Also, check the Canadian Holidays so you have reservations on those busy times.
Shepherd
Explorer
Feb 09, 2014
Spent five days in yellowstone last memorial day got snow, melted by noon. Went home and it was so windy,this time it was on our backside got great mileage.:C
MTPockets1
Explorer
Feb 09, 2014
Your plan is similar to ours; FL to AZ to UT, WY. Leaving early April thru Nov. From the replies here we may be the odd duck. We most always plan ahead with reservations; especially weekends and National Parks. Our travel days are usually under 200 miles but may include site seeing stops enroute. Having the reservation takes the pressure off having to arrive early to get a site. We can pick a site we want and get there any time we want.
rjsurfer
Explorer
Feb 09, 2014
Your trip sounds like something we might be doing this spring, same time and locations. What concerns me most about the trip is the effects of the freezing nights. For those of you that have made that trip or live out there, how to keep plumbing from freezing?

Sure, I could put antifreeze in the lines for the occasional super cold nights but that would get old pretty fast. My heated basement is a joke (Keystone's Polar Package) and it depends on running the main heater something I'd rather not do because of the expense.

Ron W.