If you had a month...?

[dedmiston]

My wife and I have found ourselves in the unique (for us) situation of having the month of September free. Unbelievably, we have the time and the means to hit the road for roughly a month. We don't have firm boundaries on either end, so it could possibly stretch into five weeks.

So my question is...

If you had a month to wander throughout North America (USA and/or Canada), where would you go and what would you do?

Requirements:

* The start/end points are Southern California
* The goals are to see national parks, amusement parks, and things one doesn't see every day.
* We can't leave before 8/29 or return after 10/5.
* We're pulling a 44' fifth-wheel toy hauler. We're intrepid, but not stupid. We have made it into some tight places to get a beautiful spot, but I'd rather have a nice wide camp to pull into.
* We dry camp probably 80% of the time, so hookups are a welcome novelty for us. We love the freedom of boondocking though.
* We are fairly active and pre-retirement age.

So if life gifted you with 4-5 weeks with your lovely spouse and a couple of dogs, where would you go and what would you do?

[suprz]

Dick_B wrote:
Adventure Caravans tour of the Great Western Parks takes the entire month of September starting in St. George, UT.

Wow! Some of those tours are pricey

[dedmiston]

I love all these great suggestions. Thanks everyone.

[Edd505]

Utah is a must any time, lots to see & do. OR/WA coast, CO mountains, every single state has things to see and do.

[RickLight]

15 years ago the family took a month to Alaska. Incredible even in Sept.!

That's the trip that convinced us RVing would be great as soon as we could afford a good one.

[opnspaces]

No real suggestions, but I'm with zcookiemonstar. Drive to the farthest destination first and then mosey your way back home.

[Ivylog]

Amusement parks are one of the last things on my list that starts next week. I would use the Labor Day weekend to get as far north as possible...probably Glacier. From Glacier we are headed to the mountains south of Missoula and then to Yellowstone and the Tetons around Labor Day. Next is Grand Lake for RMNP and then south to Leadville, Gunninson, Ouray, CO. Hopefully by then it will be cool enough to head to Utah and it’s 5 NP and then the N Rim. Canyon de Chilly and then up to Mesa Verde. Will probably head back up into CO for the fall Aspen colors before heading home...2 months. We like trees and green so the Badlands are well named.

We will be at the Monaco International rally next week in Rapid City so will see if we are wrong the Badlands.

[myredracer]

It's all good and hard to recommend!

We were in Jasper & Banff last month. Very interesting and very mountainous (burned out the engine in our F250 on the way home). If you want to see lots of wildlife, you want to go to Jasper. Didn't see any in Banff. The national park campgrounds are awesome. Nothing like seeing Moose wander mere feet from your campsite.

We're just near Mt. Hood. Love the area. Close enough to visit Portland. Timberline Lodge is fascinating. Not too far to Bend which is very different terrain in high country. Many places to camp around Mt. Hood, FHU or dry camping. Mt. St. Helens is worth a visit (south entrance).

Can never go wrong with the Or. coast but don't know what's available in the way of dry camping. The Mt. Ranier area is interesting and farther north, Leavenworth is an interesting visit. It can start to get cold in Sept. up in high country east of the mountains from OR to BC/Alberta. Few years ago in Bend, the entire CG unexpectedly froze up overnight in early Sept.

One thing to be aware of in Aug/Sept, is the potential for bad wildfires. Later Aug. & Sept. can be the worst times. Travelling closer to the coast could be a safer bet. Last Aug. we ended up towing our TT alongside a wildfire that had just broken out near Peachland BC. Few seasons ago we bailed out at the last minute on a visit to Yellowstone in early Sept. due to a large wildfire nearby.

[d3500ram]

Leaf peeping when the Aspen turn in Colorado can be golden.

[patperry2766]

Olympic/Mt Ranier Natl Park to either Jasper/Banff NP. Down thru Glacier to Yellowstone/Jackson WY

[bigred1cav]

Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore then back thru Idaho and st lake city, then on to Washington Mt St Helens and Oly Pennsey, Levenworth on way to Oly pennsy. Fish Hatchery in Wa and Or.

[janstey58]

Ozarks, Hot Springs if u are looking for lots of things to do. They have the amusement and water parks, shopping, great dining, 4-5 rivers and lakes. Lots of hiking and history. We just spent 10 days there last month and loved it. And the scenery driving in is amazing!

[CFerguson]

Everyone else has beat me to it!

Since you are asking, I'm betting that you are looking for new ideas on places you haven't been. That probably rules out the desert west.

For my money, and since you are talking as far east as OH, the UP of Michigan is a MUST. You could easily spend the entire time there depending on your personal interests.

Banff/Jasper/Calgary is another place you could do the entire trip imo. Great time of year for it. The trip up in itself would be grand.

I may be jaded from growing up in east TN, but the Smokies cant compare to the Rockies in any form or fashion except traffic, cheesy roadsides, and tourist volume in which they beat the Rockies by many orders of magnitude. But they are fantastic in mid-late October when the leaves turn.


When you narrow it down, be sure to post where so that we can get more specific in places to go, things to do.

[JAC1982]

Crowe wrote:
I'd head straight up to Banff and Jasper National Parks then mosey my way down through Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Custer State Park and the Badlands in SD. If you're willing to drive that far, I'd agree with PartyOfFive as the northeast is perfect that time of year.

This is what I would do. Maybe throw in Glacier instead of the SD stuff since that's not too far for us.

[Nutinelse2do]

Gorgeous time to head over to Michigan.
Start on the SE side of Lake Michigan and head North. There are some great museums in the UP. Travel up and over, along the lake, then into Wisconsin, and down to Door County. Hit the Dells, then to S Dakota for all the National Parks, Spearfish Canyon,etc.

Fall colors abound, great food, gorgeous scenery, and hopefully, not too busy.

Have a fun, safe trip wherever you decide to go