How do you plan a trip?

[jspence1]

After missing this entire camping season, I want to try and make up for it next year. We want to go to the west coast with a quick google maps check I'm looking at 4500km (2800 miles) one way. Do you just go out and drive and stop wherever or do you plan stops. All of our camping has been within a days drive up until this point. Am I being unrealistic? Should I plan a shorter trip first and hope I'll get the opportunity to do it at a later time?

[Blackcell]

Very carefully. Everyone is different, personal preferences but most have alot of similarities. I set my destination(s) then plan the route. Based on how many miles I want to drive per day I research the route for various attractions (including low bridges/tunnels, steep grades, and elevation) and where to stay for a night or however many nights. I draw my route on actual paper maps. I plan the rest stops, fuel stops, and food stops. Anyplace I enter must have suitable exit route, especially gas stations. I plot every location using GPS coordinates then upload to my Garmin. I use two GPS units and in some cases maps for those areas where GPS loses sync with satellites.

I then research road construction and plan backup routes if necessary.
Make reservations, confirm, confirm again when enroute. When I pull in the red carpet had better be rolled out (just kidding). Sometimes will have backup camp site somewhere near just in case. I can't fit in all campgrounds and I don't dry camp either.

If it takes me 3 or 4 days of driving to get to my primary destination then as a rule I prefer to stay at least 5 nights.

I once traveled 581 miles in one day with the kids and fiver and swore I'd never ever do that again. I slept 12 hrs the next day.

I'll have 10 weeks off next summer so I've already started planning my trip.

Chance favors the prepared mind.

[4runnerguy]

It depends on what kind of trip you are planning. Some like to sightsee along the whole route and are willing to give up time at the destination. Others make a beeline for their main destination and spend more time once there.

We're of the latter persuasion. I want to set up camp as few times as possible as to not waste vacation time. So we'll travel longer days, esp. on the trip out, just to get there, set up, and stay a while, doing day trips away from the camp.

Now if I were doing your trip, I'd spend a week (or less) getting to Banff, a couple of weeks in Banff/Jasper/Yoho/Kootenay (it's a big area), travel to Waterton/Glacier NP's for a week+ of sightseeing, then to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons for a week+, then a couple of weeks to head home. With the travel times between these parks plus the stop in the UP, you've used your eight weeks up.

As for planning, since you are visiting some of the most popular parks in both countries, you might consider reservations so you get the spots you want. It does tie you down schedule-wise, but there's no stress on getting a camp spot. Esp. true for the first week in July, with Canada Day on the 1st and the 4th on, well, the 4th!

Now that doesn't mean plan out each day's activities. Make a list of hikes you want to do, places you want to visit, and rainy day activities and then use the weather as your guide for what to do when you get up in the morning.

We're considering another trip to the Banff/Jasper area in the next couple of years, and I've already begun collecting information on hikes and other activities we want to do, along with Provincial/State Parks to visit along the way. We'll only have five weeks, so time will be at a premium.

[jspence1]

2gypsies wrote:

jspence1 wrote:


That two days was confusing I was saying it only added two days to my travel time. The plan is.

2 Weeks to travel to Banff National park
2 Weeks in and around Banff
2 weeks to get home

I still have 2 weeks that's why I'm thinking about hitting Yellowstone National Park

Personally, although the Banff area is wonderful, two weeks is a long time so I would cut that down.

You could then drop down to visit Glacier Nat'l Park, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and then work your way east with a stop at Custer State Park, for sure. Be sure to work in some of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Michigan lakeshore of lower Michigan for beautiful beaches. The children would enjoy all of the above, and you, too!

Thanks for the Tips. I have some friends who live in the UP and will be trying to stop there. Perhaps I should be considering 2 weeks between banff and yellowstone.

[deleted-2]

Our style is mostly I suggest, then the DW doesn't act like it's a good place.
Then we try my suggestion, then she likes it, then we keep going there.

The other method is the wife gets a mindset, then we check it out.
If it looks as tho our trailer won't fit comfortably without using a magic wand to get in, then come hell or high water that's where we are compelled to go.

The alternative to the above is:
California\Nevada map thumb tacked to the fence and a few darts...then when we have no more darts we argue about where the darts landed.

Somehow we end up having a great time when we settle on a spot to go.

[john_bet]

I open the Atlas to the front that shows the whole country and draw an imaginary line from point A to B and see what roads go in that direction. May look at the individual states along that route and see a closer view. Then we load up and head out. Stop when we want to or feel like it. Been doing it that way since spring of '67. Paper is great for me. ;

[enblethen]

Consider the Canadian side of Glacier, Waterton is extremely beutiful place.
Banf/ Lake louise is about a three-four day visit. Depending on your route consider coming from Edmonton south down the Icefields Highway to Banf/Lake Louise area.
We just came from Yellowstone. Fishing Bridge had many vacancies when we got there about 1:00 PM. It did not fill up the nights we were there.

[2gypsies1]

jspence1 wrote:


That two days was confusing I was saying it only added two days to my travel time. The plan is.

2 Weeks to travel to Banff National park
2 Weeks in and around Banff
2 weeks to get home

I still have 2 weeks that's why I'm thinking about hitting Yellowstone National Park

Personally, although the Banff area is wonderful, two weeks is a long time so I would cut that down.

You could then drop down to visit Glacier Nat'l Park, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and then work your way east with a stop at Custer State Park, for sure. Be sure to work in some of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Michigan lakeshore of lower Michigan for beautiful beaches. The children would enjoy all of the above, and you, too!

[jspence1]

awoodwaring wrote:

We are now planning our trip to Yellowstone for next July. I made reservations and noticed the larger sites are already booked! Luckily, we have a smaller trailer.

Wow in Canada we can only book 6 months in advance. I better start looking now.

[awoodwaring]

We traveled from California to Florida last year. I input the final point (Disney), and then added points in between. I used mapquest and an excel spreadsheet. I made reservations for disney, universal, and a few very popular places (New Orleans, beach towns, etc...). Other places we just went with the flow.

We tried doing going with the flow this summer while driving up to Washington, and a lot of the Oregon state parks were full (on a weeknight!!)...even in the middle of i5?! They do have lovely and cheap campsites, though.

My kids love long road trips....unlimited movies and video games. 🙂

We are now planning our trip to Yellowstone for next July. I made reservations and noticed the larger sites are already booked! Luckily, we have a smaller trailer.

[jspence1]

rfryer wrote:


I think you may find you want to spend more than two days at Yellowstone. It’s a huge park and you’ll miss a lot with just a couple of days. As far as MS S&T’s go, it bases its overnight stops on your start and stop times. I think the flexibility comes into play if a destination/stop on the trip is within the flexibility you set.

But maybe I use it a little differently. I just punch in the info and see what it shows me. Then I adjust my time or stops to fit what I want to do. For example, I recently planned a short trip to Houston for the DW to visit family. It had her stopping in some obscure place in Texas and I knew she wouldn’t want to drive longer. So I just backed up and set Abilene as an overnight stop. And that’s how I basically use it, I just tweak the driving time or stops to best suit me.

That two days was confusing I was saying it only added two days to my travel time. The plan is.

2 Weeks to travel to Banff National park
2 Weeks in and around Banff
2 weeks to get home

I still have 2 weeks that's why I'm thinking about hitting Yellowstone National Park



I'm going to have to play with the software a little more I've never used it before, I'm going to spend some time on it tonight.

[rfryer]

jspence1 wrote:


Yellowstone only adds 2 days to the trip home so a stop there could be fun.

I just tried microsoft streets and trips and it seems a little too rigid when I put in 4 hours of driving it uses 4 hours exactly even when I added 2 hours to the flexibility when I noticed it would stop in strange places.

I think you may find you want to spend more than two days at Yellowstone. It’s a huge park and you’ll miss a lot with just a couple of days. As far as MS S&T’s go, it bases its overnight stops on your start and stop times. I think the flexibility comes into play if a destination/stop on the trip is within the flexibility you set.

But maybe I use it a little differently. I just punch in the info and see what it shows me. Then I adjust my time or stops to fit what I want to do. For example, I recently planned a short trip to Houston for the DW to visit family. It had her stopping in some obscure place in Texas and I knew she wouldn’t want to drive longer. So I just backed up and set Abilene as an overnight stop. And that’s how I basically use it, I just tweak the driving time or stops to best suit me.

[enblethen]

We use S&Ts as a guide. You do not have to use it as a rigid route. We update the last day or so route when we get a chance.
We do not make reservations. We play by ear. Reservations normally can be made by cell call a day or two before arrival at most locations.

[Atlee]

We're planning to do the same thing, but in early 2014. We're going

What I've done is determine the end point and major places we want to see on the way.

I have adjusted the route from time to time. I've also added sites I like to see, when I see my proposed route goes near something we'd like to see.

I look at the area around a place I plan to visit/see, such as The Alamo in San Antonio to see of there are other places we'd like to visit.

For us, time isn't a factor, since I recently retired. For me, money will be the only limiting factor, that and how much time we want to stay away from our 2 year old grand daughter.

[jspence1]

I'm going to have the entire summer for the trip over 8 weeks. I want to have everything planned out are ready to go for June 28. I want to take my time and have a great summer with the kids. We're going to travel the trans canada highway on the way there and come back through the northern states on the way home. I want to be flexible and have a schedule (crazy right). I'm going to plan on 2 weeks to get there (10 days if I do 400km/day (250 miles) and use the rest of the summer getting back.


Yellowstone only adds 2 days to the trip home so a stop there could be fun.

I know I'm probably over thinking this but I don't think I'll ever get this opportunity again and want to make the most of it.

I just tried microsoft streets and trips and it seems a little too rigid when I put in 4 hours of driving it uses 4 hours exactly even when I added 2 hours to the flexibility when I noticed it would stop in strange places.