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scottz's avatar
scottz
Explorer
Dec 09, 2013

30 day trip out West - Dare we without reservations?

I am in the early stages of planning a family trip West for June 2014. We will have 30 travels days. It will be my wife, two sons (7/11) and our dog.

It would be nice to camp as we travel so we can set our own schedule. Camp as we travel means not making prior reservations; dry camp, stealth camp, or find a campground is all in play. I would really appreciate everyones opinion if we could reasonably get away with camping as we travel to the below list of destinations without making reservations.

Please share any specific advise as it relates to camping in these areas:
Day1 - Leave home in Minnesota
- Denver, CO
- North Rim Grand Canyon
- Hoover Dam
- Las Vegas (Casino Campground?)
- Death Valley
- Sequoia National Forest
- Yosemite
- San Francisco
- Lake Tahoe
- Sparks, NV (stay with Family)
Day 30 - Return home, MN
Truck Campers

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  • jim1632's avatar
    jim1632
    Explorer
    Dec 09, 2013
    Reservations recommended for weekends near populated areas. You can always find something out west but nice places may fill with locals - most true for federal/state/local parks.

    National and state parks usually need reservations.

    Ck June temps in Death Valley - it gets serious there quick!
  • Rangerz's avatar
    Rangerz
    Explorer
    Dec 09, 2013
    Yosemite. Absolutely. Be ready the day they start accepting reservations. They go very fast.

    Might be a little toasty for Death Valley that time of year.
  • Buzzcut1's avatar
    Buzzcut1
    Nomad II
    Dec 09, 2013
    yosemite if you camp at 10000 feet at saddlebag lake just outside of the park on 120on Tioga pass yes otherwise you need a reservation
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    Dec 09, 2013
    we travel to AZ avery year and stop when we want ,seen days when we only made 100miles. pull in to any small town and ask the people they,ve always pointed us to a spot for the night chrches are great. even overnighted in a farmers field one time and had a real old time cooked supper. play it day by day. get off the freeway and see the world.
  • 4aSong's avatar
    4aSong
    Explorer
    Dec 09, 2013
    On the road into the North Rim from Jacobs Lake to the Canyon (Hwy 67)there is the national forest areas which you can dry camp (Don't know the day limit) and as for Hoover Dam the closest camping would be in the Lake Mead Recreation Area (one place comes to mind called Boulder Beach) which I believe should not be an issue finding a spot during that time of the year as the weather gets quite hot.

    Just do a google search on hwy67, jacobs lake, LMRA, Boulder Beach, etc. etc.

    Hope this is of some help.
  • jules6's avatar
    jules6
    Explorer
    Dec 09, 2013
    I have made 10 cross country trips so far and I did not have reservations on these trips except if I will be traveling during a holiday weekend. My last trip was 53 days and we had reservations in Helena Montana for Labor Day weekend but after I arrived even then there was plenty of open spaces. We had reservations at Dos Picos County Park in Ramona Cal. because it is very popular on weekends and is often full. We have even camped in Yellowstone at Fishing Bridge without reservations. Just be flexible and you should be fine
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Dec 09, 2013
    No camping in SFO. The national parks you will want reservations. Wing the rest of it.

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