Western adventure in 2017

[Meffrig]

On my bucket list is a trip out west in May or June of 2017 for my wife and I. We have a 35 foot Class A motor home with a tow vehicle. We have about 3 or 4 weeks and will be leaving from Louisville, Ky. We want to see the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, Bryce Canyon, and Yellowstone for sure but would like to see other places as well. We have no desire to go to Las Vegas or into California. Should we do reservations for campgrounds or just play it by ear? Any travel route ideas would be helpful as well. I know there's a bunch of places to visit. I really don't want to drive more than 6 hours per day. This will probably be the only chance we have to go so we want to see as much as possible. Thanks in advance for your help. All ideas are appreciated.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

I know opinions vary but I would drop Mt. Rushmore for time. It's nice if you have time but if this is a once in a lifetime trip West, that's something to cut in lieu of the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone/Grand Teton. Custer is great if you can't get to Yellowstone but YNP has the wildlife, plus. I didn't check the route. If Rushmore is on your route from IL, drive through for the morning to see it and keep going. YMMV.

Arches in Utah is worth a quick drive through since you are doing the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon. There are tons of Yellowstone Threads but you need 4 days there, 3 in YNP and 1 in Grand Teton. Not optimal but doable.

[huachuca]

We were in SD earlier this month for the first time and will definitely return. So much to see and do but our trip cut short by Hurricane Matthew.

If you don't mind dry camping, consider a day or two at Sage Creek in Badlands National Park. It's about twelve miles down a graded dirt road but there were a couple of class A's there when we visited. Fairly rustic with no specific sites, only a few picnic tables and two dry toilets but its free and the experience is awesome. Free range Buffalo wandering through the campground, prairie dog towns, big horn sheep and incredible night skies.

I don't know how busy Horsethief Lake campground in Black Hills National Forest gets in Summer but we only had two other campers during our stay and I'd definitely recommend it. It's only a few miles from Mount Rushmore.

Lee's Ferry in Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area is another developed campground we liked. It doesn't take reservations so you should have a good chance of getting in if you arrive mid-week. Lone Rock Beach primitive camping area is another possibility.

Unlike here in the east, there is a tremendous amount of public lands in the west and its fairly easy to find a place to camp if you boondock or at least dry camp. Kaibab National Forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon has several campgrounds along with almost unlimited dispersed camping spots.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

[bikendan]

if Oregon and Washington are part of your plans, you should consider making reservations, ESPECIALLY for coastal camping.
May and June are often booked up 6 months in advance, for the state coastal campgrounds.

if you plan on using RV parks, then you may not need to make reservations, except in popular destinations.

[Ernest]

Meffrig wrote:
On my bucket list is a trip out west in May or June of 2017 for my wife and I. We have a 35 foot Class A motor home with a tow vehicle. We have about 3 or 4 weeks and will be leaving from Louisville, Ky. We want to see the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, Bryce Canyon, and Yellowstone for sure but would like to see other places as well. We have no desire to go to Las Vegas or into California. Should we do reservations for campgrounds or just play it by ear? Any travel route ideas would be helpful as well. I know there's a bunch of places to visit. I really don't want to drive more than 6 hours per day. This will probably be the only chance we have to go so we want to see as much as possible. Thanks in advance for your help. All ideas are appreciated.

You'll definitely need reservations. We had wanted to do this in 2016 and everything was booked by Feb. We are now going in the fall of 2017 and have already started making the reservations we can. as others have said 3 to 4 weeks might be a little short as many of the places you have listed are good 3 day stays all by themselves.

Good luck

[Dick_B]

Go to www.adventurecaravan.com to see what they have to offer. Their September Great Circle tour is wonderful. They do all the work and you have all the fun.
Search this Forum for the locations of interest. Somebody's been there...

[Busskipper]

Meffrig wrote:
On my bucket list is a trip out west in May or June of 2017 for my wife and I. We have a 35 foot Class A motor home with a tow vehicle. We have about 3 or 4 weeks and will be leaving from Louisville, Ky. We want to see the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, Bryce Canyon, and Yellowstone for sure but would like to see other places as well. We have no desire to go to Las Vegas or into California. Should we do reservations for campgrounds or just play it by ear? Any travel route ideas would be helpful as well. I know there's a bunch of places to visit. I really don't want to drive more than 6 hours per day. This will probably be the only chance we have to go so we want to see as much as possible. Thanks in advance for your help. All ideas are appreciated.

Lots to see - but in the loop of your list it is 4,400 miles = 88 hours divided by 6 = 15 days of driving.

So you will need the entire month as there will be more things than you can imagine along the way. I would suggest that you try without reservation and that you go earlier rather than later as once the kids are out the world of RV'ing changes drastically.

First thing is to try to get MORE TIME, then plan the route and the stops along the way. I'd start in the south and head up to Yellowstone, then back towards Home - You do Know there a many National and State Parks along your route that you have MISSED!

One other suggestion is to work this trip into "Sections" so as to be able to manage it. Read and understand the areas of the trip so as to at least drive through or by many of the places that you will want to see along your route.

A few spots that come to mind - Canyon de Chelly - Monument Valley - Lake Powell - Zion - Moab - Goblins SP - Kodachrome - Escalante - Rt 12 - Rt 128 - Capital Reef - SLC - the State of Colorado - Grand Tetons - ......................................

I think you get the idea - a lot more thought and research needs to go into such an EPIC TRIP.

After you get the number of post on this original question break the trip down into much smaller sections and see how it works out.

However you do it it will still be GREAT!!!!!!!

Best of Luck,

[2gypsies1]

I answered in your other post.

[TrailerTravele1]

We just completed a loop west from Illinois - 5,300 miles, 3.5 weeks including SD - Custer State Park, Badlands Nat'l Park, Mt Rushmore; ND - Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park; MT - Glacier Nat'l Park, various nat'l forests & Yellowstone; WY Grand Teton Nat'l Park; then visited family in Denver and back to Illinois. This was mid-Sept-ish and campgrounds were FULL - we couldn't get into several campgrounds. Rangers unanimously said they couldn't believe the crowds after Labor Day. Not sure what that means for next year.

You'll be driving right by Jackson Hole/Grand Tetons Nat'l Park - between Bryce & Yellowstone. Might want to stop for a night or two.

Be sure to check opening dates for places you want to visit - some of the campgrounds on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Bryce weren't open in early May when we were there, can't remember the year.

Personally, I'd try to make reservations anywhere you really want to stay - even though we hate being subjected to reservations. In the Mt Rushmore area, do not miss Custer State Park (again, make reservations) - in our opinion, better campgrounds than the commercial ones closer to Mt Rushmore & the drive up Iron Mountain Road is beyond scenic - use the toad though, the motorhome might not fit through the tunnels.

And a final comment - That's a huge expanse of country to cover in 3-4 weeks, might want to add at least a week.