Summer 2016 RV 1 month Where!?!?!?

Another vote for Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier. And I don't care about the age of the kids. The best way to get teens to like camping is camp as kids. Mine have been going to National Parks since they were toddlers and as teens they are planning and plotting on how they can get to the rest and get their kids to all the parks.

Yellowstone and Teton are so diverse the youngest shouldn't get bored, although there is a lot of driving in the park. You can rent a boat. Plenty short hikes. Bears take work but he would be just as enamored with the buffalo.

4runnerguy wrote:
I'd fly to Denver and rent an RV if you don't want the drive all the way west. Then do a Colorado/Yellowstone trip.

I'm a firm believer that kids the age of yours should get to Yellowstone. Wild animals, geysers, hot springs, I still remember our trip to Yellowstone when I was around 10. Amazing experience. There's a reason it was the first national park in the world. But make your camping reservations early, once you have your schedule figured out to be sure you get a camping spot.

+1

I have done three such drives to the Yellowstone area from California with my three kids, first trip they were 5/8/10 and 10/13/15 on the final trip. Was the 5 of us in a 24'C, by choice. And we aren't talking small people, my youngest is now 6'5", and his parents average 6'. But we had been tent camping in the years prior, so a 24'C is a huge upgrade.

If your children enjoy the outdoors, then Colorado, Wyoming, Montana are perfect. My youngest still misses going on trips like that.

Other good fly in cities would be Salt Lake City, or even Bozeman.

happynow wrote:
Great suggestions here.
July is an excellent time to visit the Northeast US.Many interesting and fun towns to visit coastal or inland of Acadia National Park.

The Park and surrounding areas offer small town charm and some of the kindest folks we have ever met.

Exploring offers a wide range: hiking, tide pooling, many lakes for fishing, rock climbing, sandy beach or ocean cliff views, kayaking, sailing, bike rides on carriage roads and amazing scenic drives. History of the area and then there is... Lobster and Maine blueberries.We ate out a few times, we asked locals where to go.

We stayed in Blackwoods Campground, located within the park. Woke early several mornings, took a walk down the path to the seaside cliffs. Enjoyed our coffee watching the sun come up over the ocean.

Acadia National Park was a pleasant surprise, one of our favorite parks. We also enjoyed that you could get away from the crowds.

You'll want to make your decision and reservation soon to these more popular places.
Good luck ~

I second going to Maine, not too hot, plenty of lakes, ocean to swim. Abundant wildlife, a few amusement piers in Old Orchard and south. Up in Millinocket ride up the golden road, go to Baxter state Park. Sorry I'm rambling but Maine is my favorite place to camp.

My vote would be for the four corners area. If you can find a rental in Flagstaff, AZ and do a big loop around the Grand Canyon. We just did this in July and wish we had more time! Williams AZ is a great small old town and near the south rim of GC. Not sure if they have rentals there, which is why I mentioned Flagstaff. From there go West and North around to Zion in Utah, then east to Bryce and Moab (Arches), Canyonlands, and back down to Az to return. So many other parks there too for all the outdoor activities and breathtaking scenery. Native American lands. Moab also has a great downtown area. You won't be disappointed!
Humidity was not high. Temps did get high at times, but not too bad.
Definitely look up the tourism sites for the areas, and order a couple travel guides. There's so much there we will be planning a return trip soon.

jukes wrote:

Just curious, we love delta blues music, but I rarely see trips to the deep south mentioned, where this music comes from, is it just that there's not so much to see in comparison to the natural beauty elsewhere and of course the summer must be REALLY humid in those parts (I'd rather avoid that).

Cajun country is typical too hot and humid for most folks in the summer.

We've done the area in late fall/early winter. Early spring would also be a nice time. How about when the kids have a school break? We love the music and the friendly folks.

I'd fly to Denver and rent an RV if you don't want the drive all the way west. Then do a Colorado/Yellowstone trip. For more information, check out this response I wrote plus the link I put in there for even more information. Salida, Buena Vista, Durango, Ouray, plus the national parks in CO make a great summer time get away with pleasant temps and amazing scenery, plus fun things like rafting, ghost towns, etc. Except for a few places certain times of the year (e.g. Grand Mesa in June), bugs generally aren't an issue.

I'm a firm believer that kids the age of yours should get to Yellowstone. Wild animals, geysers, hot springs, I still remember our trip to Yellowstone when I was around 10. Amazing experience. There's a reason it was the first national park in the world. But make your camping reservations early, once you have your schedule figured out to be sure you get a camping spot.

Do read those links for some great ideas. I don't know where Dick_B has been west of the Mississippi that is boring for kids, but the children of friends who visited us in CO when they were young still talk about their adventure 25 or 30 years later!

wow!! so hard to narrow it down, so much to see, one of the reasons we moved here is so we can explore!! Husband keeps saying 'yellowstone', Glacier np, Utah, Alaska....fishing... so I guess those are his curiosities...

I think we are definitely more drawn to traveling west, and one question would be if we fly, we may need to fly in and out of the same city to keep rv and flight costs down, so a loop would be nice. It would be nice to drive then we can take all our bikes, fishing gear etc, but we don't own a TT as yet (but that could change)

I'm thinking Alaska may just be too big a trip for next summer...

and another idea would to visit some kind of music festival along the way, not essential though. Of course the kids like climbing, jumping off rocks, and water. We don't need amusement parks. We love local food and enjoying trying new foods special to that area...

Just curious, we love delta blues music, but I rarely see trips to the deep south mentioned, where this music comes from, is it just that there's not so much to see in comparison to the natural beauty elsewhere and of course the summer must be REALLY humid in those parts (I'd rather avoid that).

We like to sit outside in the evenings around the campfire and not be attacked by bugs. We went to Florida and Savannah GA one Easter and had to sit in the RV at night, shame.

thanks you everyone so far!!!
Tons to research and narrow down.
We actually moved from the UK to Asheville.NC 3 years ago, so we live right by the Blue Ridge Parkway :))) Yes it is beautiful, but always like to explore further afield too.....

jukes wrote:
Sorry for the very broad question, just starting to think about next summer.

We'd like another RV trip. We have done 2, hired an RV and drove the California central coast are, and Yosemite. Trip 2 was Baltimore down to Florida via Asheville (we then moved from the UK to Asheville, after these great trips!!)

So, we are now 2 adults and 3 boys who will be 4,10,13. Where next!!!?? We can fly and hire an RV, or drive from Asheville NC, either is okay.

We could have a month June/July kind of time.

Areas that we seem most curious about are Alaska, the SouthWest 4 corners areas, Washington/Oregon, Yellowstone.

We don't like extreme heat, but a few days of it would be okay. Don't want rain and dreariness the whole trip but some is okay.

Some fishing, rafting, hiking, interesting scenery, nice small towns, friendly people, would be nice too! Also has to appeal to the kids...... If hot then some water to swim in ,lakes, ocean...

Would hire a C class 30ft RV. Or a small chance we could drive across to somewhere and buy a travel trailer and tow it with our diesel Excursion (but currently don't own a TT).

Ideas appreciated. Thanks!!

Try looking this over with 17 years of trips this family should be able to give some inspiration.

BOL,

It has been a long time since we did Utah in the Summer but my recollections were mid range temps. The National Parks there are great. Kind of a long trip but there is a lot of American History to and from and nearby. The Dakotas and Nebraska have a lot to offer young folks and most campgrounds have pools or some water for cooling off.

As you are former GB residents and may not know, from the St Louis area to Arches is along the Westward Movement corridor. Scott's Bluff is an interesting stop. Near St. Lewis is the starting point for the Lewis and Clark Trail.

I'm kind of jumping around in places along the way but it is a great trip.

Now the Fly-Drive thing to Alaska. Five years ago we had three weeks in June that the Grand Kids were with us and we wanted to take them to Alaska. We knew driving up and back would take at least that long so we flew up and back and rented a 31 foot Winnie Chalet. Having been there before, we knew what we wanted them to see and jammed a lot into those three weeks. We rented from Great Alaskan Holidays and even though the time to get checked out was pretty long, it was painless and we were on the road before noon. They are a very popular rental company and we highly recommend them.

If I were to do that again I'd go for July or August. Those are higher travel months but one of AK's biggest draws is fishing and we were too early for most salmon runs. We did have a little rain but it's just part of life and usually welcome. I planned on going to the Arctic Circle for the Summer Solstice. The grandkids loved it, Nana let them stay up all night(they didn't, but they tried) and setting your camera to time stamp the pictures and taking pictures at Mid-Night just like you would at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning is neat to show folks later. The kids were 9 and 12 and never got bored. A must do trip when you pull it off.

The Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Four Corners and Rocky Mountain NP tour is really cool. As in unbelievable scenery. Also that takes you by Great Sand Dunes NP. The kids can hike forever in the dunes and play in the creeks. And then in Golden/Denver is a sight to se for the adults, Red Rocks Theatre. It is a venue for all the great musical groups that is totally unbelievable. It was built in the 1930's by the WPA as a way to help the economy recover during the first great depression.

We have been on Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall and it was beautiful. We want to return when we can drive the whole thing. Our trip was interested due to snow in both Shenandoah and BRP, and we missed a lot of the drive. For just plain old spectacular scenery, that drive cannot be beat.

I could go on for days and days and never say which area and what attractions are the most spectacular. My wife and I thought that Kansas was spectacular, many feel it is flat and boring, it is flat but it is not boring. We both grew up in the Los Angeles Basin. BASIN is the operative word here, we are surrounded by mountains and very tall hills(mountains in Kansas speak). There isn't a horizon, there is skyline. In Kansas, there is a horizon, 360 degrees of horizon. There is also a lot of American History to be told there.

Early American music from the sea chanteys to the Folk era of the sixties and seventies abounds with the names of places in this country that are of minor to great historical significance. It is a lot of the music we grew up with and love. My wife wants to go see all of those places mentioned in song. So far she has been pretty successful.

Good luck and when you decide on the general area, come back and we'll give you all the details you could ever imagine. Another note before I forget, your kids can join n doing the Jr. Ranger Program in most NP's and many other sites operated by the NPS. It is fun for them and they learn a lot.