Insane first RV trip plan?
I’m planning a round-trip month-long vacation with RV (pulled by VW Atlas) this summer. This would be by family’s first RV trip, so I want to know just how insane this plan is. The general idea is to ...
Forum Discussion
Traveled throughout the Southwest and West last summer and had no problem at all finding private and some public campgrounds while en route and on the road.
The only problem the OP will face is an itinerary that doesn't let so to speak smell the roses during each stop and getting into the national parks. Most if not all of the parks mentioned have a reserve system to book your visit to the park. You can get passes for up to three days (Recreation.Gov). Then of course when you get to the park for your reserved time say 9 AM and you find there is a 3-4 wait to get into the park, then what. This happened to my wife and me last May at Arches, 9 AM entry pass, minimum wait 3 1/2 hours. Sorry, not waiting in line for anything that long so we didn't bother.
Also for someplace like Yellowstone, the distance into the park from an out-of-the-park campsite can be 50 or more miles away so that should be taken into account. I would recommend the West entrance in West Yellowstone as the best option for this if a CG inside the park isn't available. Same for Yosemite, from campgrounds outside of the South entrance near Groveland, CA to the entrance which is about 24 miles, enter the park and drive another 20-plus miles to get into Yosemite Valley, park, and see the sites. This adds about an hour each way to your daily sightseeing adventures, plan accordingly.
The only problem the OP will face is an itinerary that doesn't let so to speak smell the roses during each stop and getting into the national parks. Most if not all of the parks mentioned have a reserve system to book your visit to the park. You can get passes for up to three days (Recreation.Gov). Then of course when you get to the park for your reserved time say 9 AM and you find there is a 3-4 wait to get into the park, then what. This happened to my wife and me last May at Arches, 9 AM entry pass, minimum wait 3 1/2 hours. Sorry, not waiting in line for anything that long so we didn't bother.
Also for someplace like Yellowstone, the distance into the park from an out-of-the-park campsite can be 50 or more miles away so that should be taken into account. I would recommend the West entrance in West Yellowstone as the best option for this if a CG inside the park isn't available. Same for Yosemite, from campgrounds outside of the South entrance near Groveland, CA to the entrance which is about 24 miles, enter the park and drive another 20-plus miles to get into Yosemite Valley, park, and see the sites. This adds about an hour each way to your daily sightseeing adventures, plan accordingly.
