Trip Report: NY to the Grand Canyon, UT, Redwoods, Badlands

[Albiecrazy]

New to the forum - been RV'ing the East Coast (Vermont - Florida) for the past five years. Finally time to go West with our four kids ages 5-12!! We'll be on the road for at least 5 weeks.

Have my route nearly planned out - pulling a 28' TT with a Suburban LT. The 4.10 rear pulls well, but this will be our first pull through REAL mountains, ha ha!

Major stops (4 or 5 night stays): Garden of the Gods, Grand Canyon, Redwood National Park, Grand Tetons.

Minor stops (1 or 2 night stays): NY - Kansas, Glendale UT, Carson City NV, Burns OR, Craters of the Moon ID, Badland/Crazy Horse.

My first dilemma was Rt 160 between Garden of the Gods and the Grand Canyon, but a post here eased my mind a bit. Definitely sounds like a road that deserves some attention and patience.

The part of the trip that I feel like I need help with at the moment is the route from Carson City, NV to Eureka, CA for our stay in the Redwoods. Rt 299 from Redding to Eureka is the most direct route, but it also looks like a tough drive. The other possibility is to head a little WSW and take 80 through the Tahoe Nat'l Forest and then through Yuba City, then connect to Rt. 20 and then up 101 to Eureka.

Any thoughts and ideas appreciated!

[JimFromJersey]

Albiecrazy wrote:
I kind of disappeared with all the planning, but wanted to sincerely thank all of you for advice, routing, etc.! The trip was amazing, to say the least.


But what a trip! As we traveled, I thought of all the advice and help that you all gave so freely and felt bad that I just kind of fell off the face of the earth here. Thank you all! I hope to be a regular here so I can give back when I can. If anyone is interested, there's more detail in my blog - I was able to keep up with it on a pretty regular basis despite the broadband issues we came across everywhere!

gigantibeast.blogspot.com

Travel safe & light!

Sound like a great time. Reminded me of my family's trip around the horn in 1964, when I was eleven - six of us in a VW Bus with three tents and a Coleman stove... 🙂

Will check the blog for pics.

[Albiecrazy]

Thanks, 2gypsies. Updated post heading and thanks for the link. And you're right - trips are so unique to each family. We met a couple much like you, I think, in Prineville, OR. They had a motor home and a tow vehicle - were pretty much living on the road year round and were loving life! I like their "230" rule - 230 miles or 2:30 pm whichever comes first. Our days were most times longer than that - plenty of 400 mile days and two that were over 550.

Have to figure out how to do a trip like this every summer!

[2gypsies1]

WOW! What a fantastic trip you had with terrific memories. It seems you picked all the right things to do for your family. You sure did a little bit of everything. Goes to show you that folks can suggest lots of things to do or not to do but sometimes you just have to experience it yourself. Thanks for coming back with the trip report!

You might want to edit your subject heading to reflect a "Trip Report" or "Update" or else you're going to have folks give you yet more suggestions on where to go. 🙂

Here's a 'Clicky' to your blog which is great reading!

Gigantibeast Blogspot for a Trip Report

[Albiecrazy]

I kind of disappeared with all the planning, but wanted to sincerely thank all of you for advice, routing, etc.! The trip was amazing, to say the least. I keep calling this the "Best Summer EVER". rolling_rhoda - De Smet was a HUGE hit with the kids - it's such a hands on place and they had 4 kittens that followed us everywhere. My son wanted to stay another night...

Things I remember most:

First day - fuel pump sputtered (but recovered) and a blowout on the trailer on PA turnpike. Both fixed over the next 2 days and stayed on schedule.

Colorado Springs was a great stop - Garden of the Gods, Air Force Academy, Cog Railway up Pikes Peak and excellent mountain biking (Palmer Park) made for a packed stop.

Another tire went down 10 miles east of Wolf Creek Pass - not a blow out, but happened to be a tire shop right there. Tread had separated... Good thing I had to stop for gas and saw that it was low - a blowout through Wolf Creek would have been bad.

Mesa Verde - only one night. Should have stayed here at least 3...

Grand Canyon - stayed five nights and should have stayed 2. Did hike into the Canyon with my son (Bright Angel) which was a highlight of the trip.

Utah - Bryce & Zion were fantastic! Biked the Red Canyon (Thunder Mountain Trail). Best ride of my life!

Nevada - survived the Extraterrestrial Hwy. Got 240 miles out of a tank of gas with MAJOR hypermiling. Would never take that route again... Had to replace both tires on the OTHER side of the camper in Carson City - tread separation again. Decided that all four Carlisle's were defective. No tire issues after this.

Crescent City - Redwoods: a huge hit with the kids. Hiking is kinda what we do so to be amongst these magnificent trees was a great experience. Mountain biked with the kids at Prairie Creek and came up on an elk herd. Another highlight for me - to see the kids come up over a rise and see a magnificent male standing in front of them - priceless.

Oregon - John Day Scenic By-Way was beautiful. Also the route up 101.

Idaho - Craters of the Moon. Kids explored caves FOREVER! Pretty stark environment and to find ice in a cave (lava tube, really) in July was a hoot for the kids. Stayed in Arco - learned about the nuclear history there with the Navy.

Yellowstone - most beautiful park I'll probably ever stay in. But I have to say - the human behavior in this park was atrocious. I've never seen so many rude foreigners with a complete disregard for nature. Approaching wild life, walking in areas that were clearly marked to stay out of, wading in a stream that says no swimming and just complete lack of manners on boardwalks. We took a back country hike and when we go back, it will be the back country only. But we did see fantastic wildlife and geothermal features. Steamboat had erupted the night before we went to that section of the park so we were able to witness the steam phase. Steamboat's last eruption was 8 years ago! Bison were in the rut - saw some males really going at it!

Thermopolis - best trout fishing of my life! Caught rainbows, cutthroat and browns on the fly. Caught and released a brown that was no less than 7 lbs. I came here to fish the Bighorn - other than that, the hot springs were OK and they liked the dyno museum (kids went while I fished).

Devils Tower - it was Sturgis week while were here. Love being around bikes and bikers and they owned Devils Tower the day we were there. There was also a climber that broke his leg in two places - the rescue involved 9 professional climbers and they pretty much shut down the trail while we were on it. Phenomenal stop. Watched Close Encounters with thunder and lightning rumbling all around us, but it never rained. Cool experience.

Custer State Park - biggest surprise of the trip! Stockade was the best campground we stayed in the entire trip. Just about as beautiful as Yellowstone with regular folk doing regular things. Must not be on the rude foreigner's list of "places to go"... Got caught in a tornado warning and the subsequent hail storm. Nothing like large marble sized hail pinging off my bike and my helmet. Awning sustained damage - about 2 dozen holes. 😞

Badlands - drive through only on our way to De Smet (Little House on the Prairie) but it's the perfect park to drive through anyway.

Ingalls Homestead - a definite for kids. We could have stayed there another 2 days.

La Crosse Wisconsin - came here only for the mountain biking and a convenient jump stop to start back home. And ended up trading in our camper for 2013 Kodiak Express! So much has changed in the 7 years since we bought our K-Z. It was a major upgrade in size and features and the price and trade in would never have been matched back East. Nothing like parking the old camper and the new camper door to door and transferring ALL your stuff in an hour and a half! It was sad to drive away from our Frontier - my son actually broke down crying our first night in the Kodiak...

But what a trip! As we traveled, I thought of all the advice and help that you all gave so freely and felt bad that I just kind of fell off the face of the earth here. Thank you all! I hope to be a regular here so I can give back when I can. If anyone is interested, there's more detail in my blog - I was able to keep up with it on a pretty regular basis despite the broadband issues we came across everywhere!

gigantibeast.blogspot.com

Travel safe & light!

[dkreuzen]

Albiecrazy wrote:
...My first dilemma was Rt 160 between Garden of the Gods and the Grand Canyon...

If you take US160 west from I-25 in CO to US89 in AZ there are a few stops along the way you should consider...

In Durango, CO; the Train ride to Silverton.

East of Cortez, CO; Mesa Verde NP.

Kayenta, AZ; 24 miles north is Monument Valley.

Normally I would add a side trip to Lake Powell but with the section of US89 closed just below Page, AZ it would add an extra 130 miles.

Also when traveling through the Navajo and other Indian reservations be in your best defensive driving mode...

[odiehm]

We are doing the same trip in 3 wks. I will be pulling for the first time a 27' TT. What route from the east is best getting into yellowstone. Trying to avoid the bighorns and any very steep grades, and bad curves. Any suggestions on routes going in??

[spacedoutbob]

One other thought, You could head on Hwy. 36 west and go through Lassen Park also on the way to the Coast. Avoid driving Hwy. 36 west after you hit I-5, that part of Hwy. 36 to the Coast is for crazy people.Take Hwy.299. Have a Great Trip!

[Albiecrazy]

OFDPOS wrote:
I believe poster meant "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and NOT ET for Devils Tower ...

One thought/way from Tahoe would be head over to Reno Nv. then take 395W to Susanville ca about 5 miles west of Susanville , take 44W west towards Redding.
The road will T into 44/89 left Redding , right Burney , go right and wind up in Burney they have http://www.yelp.com/biz/mcarthur-burney-falls-state-park-burney
can spend a couple hours to the night there. Then back on 299 to Redding ,in Redding a must see is the Sundial Bridge at night. Then continue on 299 over to the coast.

That's the route! Thanks for clearing my head - I kept wanting to go due west which just wasn't working out...

I've taken my eye off this trip for too long, but thank you everyone for your advice.

Now to find a nice campground north of Crescent City.

[deansofva]

4runnerguy wrote:
OK, I know this post may get long, but I want to guide you to some alternatives.

First, Garden of the Gods/Colorado Springs would not be my first (or second or third or . . .) choice of places to spend 4 or 5 nights in Colorado.

We did a VA-Utah RV trip with our kids in 2011 and spent three nights in Colorado Springs. We had a great time, and our kids liked it. We toured the Air Force Academy, went up Pike's Peak (kids loved it), went to a cowboy dinner show (kids LOVED it), visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Garden of the Gods. We really enjoyed our time there. We also took a little day trip on the Lariat Loop where we saw Buffalo Bill's grave, checked out the Red Rocks Amphitheater and area, and visited Dinosaur Ridge, where you can see and touch dinosaur tracks in the ground. My son was fascinated by it, and I was too. We enjoyed lunch in Golden, CO, a nice little town with a walkable main street with restaurants and shops.

[deansofva]

Jim Shoe wrote:
I absolutely love the Tetons - but I'm not between the ages of 5 and 12. The Tetons are known for their beauty. Yellowstone is known for its moving parts. Lots more things for your kids to see, like geysers, bubbling mud pots, the Yellowstone river and the upper and lower falls. And a lot more wildlife. Save the Tetons for the second trip when your kids can enjoy it. You can't even do Yellowstone in 5 days, but it will whet your appetite for a return trip.
In the Black Hills area, the Badlands is a drive thru, but you can spend some time in Custer State Park driving the wildlife loop, driving the needles highway, and feeding carrots to the herds of wild burros, and check out Mt. Rushmore as well as Crazy Horse.
You'll all want to go back in a few years. So much to see and do.

Hi there! In 2009, we drove some of the same route with a 7 and 8 year old. I'll share some thoughts with that perspective:

My kids liked Yellowstone alot more than the Tetons. They loved Old Faithful, the paint pots, and all of the wildlife we saw in the park. They would have been happy just to drive through the Tetons. Of course it's beautiful, but Yellowstone was more for them because they could see and do more. And different people will tell you how much time they think you need to spend there, but I think you can whet your appetite and give your kids a good experience in just a few days there. We drove more than we hiked because we knew my daughter wouldn't hold up long, but we saw hundreds of bison, a mom and baby moose, and lots of pronghorn.



You can drive through the Badlands in an hour or two. I loved it there and if it was just me, I'd stay overnight to see both the sunset and the sunrise in the park. We saw the sunset and it was beautiful. I took some great portraits of my kids with the prairie background on one of the park stops - they're gorgeous.

[OFDPOS]

I believe poster meant "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and NOT ET for Devils Tower ...

One thought/way from Tahoe would be head over to Reno Nv. then take 395W to Susanville ca about 5 miles west of Susanville , take 44W west towards Redding.
The road will T into 44/89 left Redding , right Burney , go right and wind up in Burney they have http://www.yelp.com/biz/mcarthur-burney-falls-state-park-burney
can spend a couple hours to the night there. Then back on 299 to Redding ,in Redding a must see is the Sundial Bridge at night. Then continue on 299 over to the coast.

[paulj]

It is 255 miles from Crescent City to La Pine State Park near Bend. Given the mountainous and scenic nature of the most of that route, I consider that plenty for a day's drive. I think the kids would enjoy an evening on banks the Deschutes River more than an RV park near Burns.

The Big Obsidian Flow at Newberry Crater
http://karws.gso.uri.edu/photo_shows/oregon_oct02/BigObsidian.html
http://karws.gso.uri.edu/photo_shows/oregon_oct02/Oregon2002.html

Last time I camped near Bend, I spent another 3 nights camping before getting to the coast at Gold Beach.

It is one thing to put in 4-500 mile days when the driving is all freeway, quite another when it is mountain roads (even good ones), and the kids need time to stretch their legs.

But camping near Bend raise the question of where would be a good place to stop next. Boise is about 350 miles away. There's a nice campground at Lake Owyhee State Park in a reservoir canyon backed up by a scaled-down Hoover Dam.

[Albiecrazy]

4runnerguy wrote:
OK, I know this post may get long, but I want to guide you to some alternatives.

First, Garden of the Gods/Colorado Springs would not be my first (or second or third or . . .) choice of places to spend 4 or 5 nights in Colorado. Unless you're looking for tourist traps, there are a lot of other places in CO where you'll get the real mountain experience and that your children will enjoy more. If it were me, I'd head a little further west and settle in somewhere around Salida/Buena Vista. There are soooo many things to do there for families with kids of yours. There's rafting, lakes, biking, hiking, real ghost towns, amazing mountains, hot springs pools, interesting little towns and museums. As a Colorado native, this is where I take out of state visitors with kids when they come visit. Check out Now this is Colorado for lots of ideas on what to do and where to stay. I know you may have booked something in Colorado Springs, but it's not too late to change. You absolutely won't regret moving to Salida instead and your kids will thank you for it. (BTW, the pull up to Salida is no big deal. You can also go up through Pueblo and avoid any passes at all.) From Salida, head south over the easy Poncha Pass and connect with what ever route you were planning toward the Grand Canyon.

Burns OR. I don't know what is there that has your attention, but I'd suggest staying in the Bend area instead. Some cool volcanic features that kids love, including lava caves that they can poke around in. Cool obsidian flows in some places (the stuff arrowheads were made of). If you go here, you can skip Craters of the Moon altogether, as it is similar geology, but with more trees in the Bend area.

As many have already noted, Yellowstone is great for kids, but keep them close.

My wife has fond childhood memories of Garden of the Gods, but you're right - we don't have to stay there. I'm with you 100% on staying away from tourist traps and getting off the beaten path. Salida may be a little too far west, though since we'd like to see the Air Force Academy, Royal Gorge and Garden of the Gods while we're there. I'm thinking Cripple Creek would make day trips pretty doable. Any suggestions for a campground that isn't wide open and has full hook-ups? Lost Burro looks like it may work and I didn't like the looks of Cripple Creek Travel Park... Staying a little further west of Colorado Springs will also make our leg to GC a little shorter - it was a long day from Colorado Springs.

Burns was just a convenient stop after a full day's drive from the Redwoods. I'll take a look at Bends and see how it works into our plans. Thanks!

[paulj]

Burns is in the middle of nowhere (so to speak). However there is a major wildlife refuge around the lakes to the south, best known for birdwatching. And the BLM campground near Frenchglen is quite nice. When we were there in late May several years ago, most campers were birdwatchers. And local hikes are nice.

But overall, the area from LaPine to Bend has more things for families. La Pine State Park would be a good base.