RV Trip Throughout the Northern U.S.

[pnichols]

Hello folks,

In years past we've taken a couple of extended RV trips throughout the Southern and Central U.S. and are planning another this year to explore the north-central and northern part of this great country of ours.

Our trip will start in California and hopefully extend all the way to Maine and back, trying to stay in the northern third of the country most of the way. The time frame we are hoping for would be from around the middle of August to the middle/end of October. We can use drycamp or hookup campsites along the way - national, state, county, city, and commercial camping spots are all OK, depending upon convenience wherever we are at the time. We don't have solar, but do carry along a very quiet small Honda generator for battery charging.

We consider the collective personal travel knowledge on these forums as far more vast than literature and Internet searchs are providing and sure would appreciate all the help any of you can provide!

Here's some general areas where we are needing a lot of help on:

- Will our desired 8-10 weeks be enough?

- If not, about how many weeks should we plan on?

- What are the things we should watch out for?

- What things might make the trip easier?

- What are the must-see sites along the way?

- What are the best routes to take?

- It will be the myself, the DW, and a small dog in the RV.

We are interested in a broad spectrum of sights and things to do when we travel - blue grass/ethnic music, general picture taking, museums, rockhounding for free or for pay, U.S. historical sites, Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, Native America areas, etc.. We don't want to miss anymore than we have to!

We will be in our small (24 foot) Class C motorhome and won't be towing. However the motorhome is about 11'5" tall and is a full "widebody" model (101 inches wide) ... and has no slides. Our navigator system will have a bridge/overpass height database in it, with automatic warnings that can be set by height.

Thanks much in advance for any ideas you can provide. 🙂

P.S. Should I also post this somewhere else in the RV.net forums?

[pnichols]

Thanks to all of you for the great inputs!!

We'll take all of them into consideration for our planning. We'll probably catch some of the Northern areas mentioned here on a later Alaska trip.

[The_Mad_Norsky]

Just one more added thought from me, re oil country camping.

As I previously said, spots are really crowded in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. Shoot, there were even adds posted by landowners that they would rent you out spots to park your RV.

So most all the commercial RV parks are just packed solid.

However, the Corps of Engineers campgrounds and the various ND State Parks may both have the 14 day rule going, and these may in fact have some openings.

But best to phone in advance.

I just popped in without reservations to the COE campground below Garrison Dam in North Dakota last summer. Had no problem at all finding a spot for the night.

Mind you, it did get very busy and filled up after I checked in.

So even in those busy areas previously mentioned, there are alternatives.

[BrianinMichigan]

Two things I would like to add. Route 2 in the UP of Michigan is beautiful in a lot of areas because it looks over Lake Michigan. Once you get near St. Ignace Mi. You can pull right along the lake and spend quite a peaceful afternoon. The other that is one my bucket list is to tour New England in the fall for a color tour. I've went through the Appalachians in the fall one time and it was spectacular.

[Just_Lee]

I for one have learned from this thread in fact I made a thread about staying in OIL country and got some great answers......

[pnichols]

The Mad Norsky and Islandman,

Great advice earlier and above regarding the oil fields! We never would have thought about the oil workers' living situations.

I've always wanted to check out camping in grasslands areas, too. And since the DW is into U.S. history, including our past presidents ... Teddy Roosevelt NP sounds like a must see.

Again ... thanks to everyone for the detailed help and encouragement. I hope others are learning as much from this thread as we are.

[Islandman]

Don't think the OP will have trouble with camping in Teddy Roosevelt NP or any USFS National Grasslands areas in western ND as those are federal areas and camping is generally restricted to 14 days or some rather short periods. You won't find oilptach workers in these CG's since they'd have to pull up stakes and move too often. Many oif the workers are staying at big RV parks especially built for the workers with laundromats, showers, etc.....not your usual camping thing. And if there is a problem, you can always venture a little north up into southern AB and SK to continue your journey, roads are fine in CA and the people are great.

[The_Mad_Norsky]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but;

if you decide to route along US 2, be aware of the mess in eastern Montana and North Dakota with the Bakken oil boom taking place.

Due to the extreme shortage of housing, folks are living there all year long in their RV's.

So RV spots for overnight stays are almost non-existent from eastern Montana all the way through central North Dakota through to and including the Minot area.

Mind you, US 2 in North Dakota is now four lane all the way across the state, and a very good route.

Just plan to go through the above noted affected area without a stop in mind.

[JimFromJersey]

I have no additional "specifics" to add, other than these small tidbits:
1) remember that the closer you get to the eastern seaboard itself, the narrower the streets and the harder it is to park, even in a Class C. The good thing is, many of the cities, such as DC, Philly, NYC and Boston, have fairly good mass transit and/or 'tourist jitney' facilities. I'd not recommend driving into the downtown areas of any of the larger East Coast cities, as it's just too crowded. The flip side is that they're easily 'walkable', especially DC and Philly, and by mid-September the weather is probably bearable.

2) We did Niagara in August, and our 34' Bounder necessitated using a tourist bus to tour the Falls area. I noted that the city itself is QUITE narrow-of-street. But there was plenty of parking around the Falls spots themselves, such as the Cave of the Winds area, and the Maid of the Mist. You should be fine in the Class C, just stay out of the city proper.

3) This winter is shaping up to be the second in a row with murderous snow and other winter******- which leads to worse-than-usual potholing and crappy roads. Be aware that the Northeast US, in toto, has really bad roads when compared much of the West. The odds that they'll all be repaved by September are small.. 🙂

Have fun, though. There's a lot to see. And one thing to do while you're over here is to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel from the Delmarva to Norfolk. It's a unique achievement that's the east's answer to the Hoover Dam.

[Just_Lee]

This thread has some great information. We plan on doing the same trip up north starting in September. I made a thread that has some good information in it also search for it.

I would like to suggest to see Olympic National Park. Our plan is to go 101 north of SF and go up the Oregon coast and circle ONP and then head east. Once in New Hampshire we will head south to Tennessee and then back home. We are planning at LEAST 2 months (Maybe longer)

Sounds like a wonderful trip........ Enjoy the U.S.A.

[C-Bears]

I would try to route the trip to include going up around the Great Lakes. The UP has great camping. At 11'5" height you won't have to worry. We did a "circle" trip around the Great Lakes and our fiver is 13'5" tall.

We always consult a Trucker's Atlas though, even when using the Rand RV GPS set to our height/width/length.

[profdant139]

Phil, what a great trip! Since you like bluegrass, you might like French-Canadian fiddle music -- I have heard that there are places near Lewiston that might have live music. Check out this story:

French music and food in Lewiston, Maine

I am told that the music sounds a lot like Cajun music, which is not too surprising, since the Cajuns of Louisiana were forcibly resettled from the Acadian area. (The word Cajun comes from Acadian.)

[pnichols]

Super good inputs! The DW and myself are checking this topic a couple of times a day.

All of your help is much appreciated and will make our trip way more enjoyable and comprehensive. I'm sure others who might be traveling to these places in the future can benefit too.

Thanks so much ... and please jump in more as you think of new things.

[4runnerguy]

Lots of great scenery options already listed. For some historical things to see:

Gettysburg. I've been four times and want to go again.

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village Only spent a day at the museum. Want to go back to spend a few more seeing everything else.

Springfield IL Lincoln Home NHS and other sites associated with Lincoln. Don't miss the Ghosts of the Library at the Lincoln Presidential Library A little out of the way, but I've made the detour twice to visit here.

Of course one could spend weeks just in Washington DC. Whether your interest is history, science, botany, the post office, etc. etc. etc., you'll find things to see here that will take up hours of exploration. Next time I go, it will be for at least a week.

Mystic Seaport Only once many moons ago.

Colonial Williamsburg. Never been, but on my list.

Of course your final destination of Maine should include Acadia NP. Been twice many years ago. We'll return when we make a trip like you are proposing.

So you can decide if 8-10 weeks is enough. I mean when I add it up, I've spent two years exploring Nevada, three years exploring Utah, a year each exploring California, Oregon and Washington. So much to see and so little time . . .

[Matt_Colie]

Wow, you have a lot of good advice here, and I actually have little to add.
I do have a caution.
Even if you have passports and are ware ot the issues, if you plan to cross though Canada, avoid reentering the US at Detroit. It is the worst crossing area ever.
Going into Canada has never been a problem.

Matt