Western Trip

[linux3]

Late May we plan to travel from Western NY to Utah.
I don't know how to plan this trip.
I guess I don't like driving more than 5'ish hours a day. How do we figure on where to stop? What's the best route?
Like I said, I'm not sure where to start mapping this thing out.

[Cbrez]

Rob, if you are a Good Sam member, they have a decent trip planner on their web site. You can program in a route you think you'd like to take, then adjust for campgrounds, points of interest or the max time and distance you want. It is a little quirky, but served its purpose. I wish it had a calendar component included in the program, but it does not. While you can see duration, distance and estimated fuel cost between stops, I have to track arrival and departure dates in a separate calendar. Perhaps someone else has a better solution.

[JRTJH]

There are a number of free sites on the internet that will help you plan a trip. One very good "RV specific site is the Good Sam Trip Planner. You can find it here: http://www.goodsamclub.com/travel/freetriprouting/ One of the features is that you can input the miles or the hours you want to travel and the program will identify campgrounds, fuel and attractions along the way.

[ctbruce]

I've used both Good Sam's and Trip Wizard. I usually identify a campground I'm interested in and then go to Google maps to check out a satellite image. This way I get an idea of if it's a junk yard or not and prevents surprises. This combo has worked well for us.

I'll also use Pilot/Flying J app to look for diesel stations. Another good app is Gas Buddy, but you have to know where you want to stop to search. This helps a bunch and gives you best area prices as well.

If I'm just heading to an area and already know what route I'm going to take, I'll usually use the two apps listed above along with RvParky and Google to find area campgrounds. You can't beat first hand reviews to weed out problems.

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[notanlines]

Very few things better in this world than a road trip. Just the sound of those two words puts a sparkle in Brenda's eyes. Keep in mind that your trip entails about 2000 miles of travel at about 250 to 300 miles a day. Google, Good Sam's, Pilot/Flying J credit card; they're all your friend. I can think of about a dozen great routes for you to take but just the travel NY to Utah round trip will take you about 16 days, not allowing for any visiting time while in Utah. You are headed to one of the most beautiful states America has to offer. Don't dawdle in Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. You are within striking distance of these states by virtue of where you live. Use the time you save to visit more of Utah. I'll bet the members here will not only agree with me, but hopefully will name a few of their favorite parks to visit. I also hope no one thinks that I have besmirched the other states......I just moved them to the back burner. Have a great trip!

[66joej]

^ agree with "notanlines" about Utah.
Very beautiful area. Be sure to visit Zion park. We stayed at WillowWind RV park for a month. It's located in Hurricane not far from St. George. Nice RV park and reasonable rates. This is a tribute to the state of Utah. We live in the mountains of BC surrounded by lots of trees and beauty.

[canesfan]

I use google maps and rvparkreviews. Planned a route to Kansas and back that way a few years ago and had great success. All the CGs were exactly what I expected and was very pleased. If your route takes you through Kansas City and you need a stop over there is a little CG in Lees Summit called Lake Jacomo Campground. It's a county park on a lake just off the Interstate. Nothing fancy, but a nice place to spend a night or weekend. May want to make reservations at that time of year. It's small and seemed to be quite popular. Wmart just down the road if you need anything. There's another beautiful CG in Illinois I'm trying to come up with the name, but it would probably be off your route depending on which way you go.

Added - Whittington Woods CG off of I-57 South of I-64 South of Mt Vernon. Could have stayed there for a week easily. Awesome owners, beautiful perfectly kept CG. Made the same trip a year later and they remembered us, which spot we liked, gave us fresh eggs for breakfast, firewood $12 for as much as you can stack in a wheelbarrow. We ended up with enough wood to take to the race for the entire weekend. There is also a lake on the other side of the Interstate.

[theallde]

Originally Posted by 66joej

^ agree with "notanlines" about Utah.
Very beautiful area. Be sure to visit Zion park. We stayed at WillowWind RV park for a month. It's located in Hurricane not far from St. George. Nice RV park and reasonable rates. This is a tribute to the state of Utah. We live in the mountains of BC surrounded by lots of trees and beauty.

Agree with 66joej, WillowWind RV Park, in Hurricane, is great place for home base. The park is 2 hours to Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park, 2 hours to Grand Canyon North Rim, 30 minutes to Zion National Park (be prepared for LOTS of people at Zion, 2016 attendance was way up from 2015). WillowWind RV Park is 30 minutes to St. George with all the major restaurants, shops, Camping World, Neilson RV and a first-class hospital, just in case.

Enjoy the road trip and Utah ..... Don

[linux3]

Well, with the help of AAA and a few other sources I think the plan is WV -> MO -> KS -> CO -> Utah. The return will be as the wind blows.
I'm thinking I should join Good Sam.

[SummitPond]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

There are a number of free sites on the internet that will help you plan a trip. One very good "RV specific site is the Good Sam Trip Planner. You can find it here: http://www.goodsamclub.com/travel/freetriprouting/ One of the features is that you can input the miles or the hours you want to travel and the program will identify campgrounds, fuel and attractions along the way.

John

I know I need glasses, but I don't see where one can input the miles or the hours to the GS trip planning program. I am a GS member and have been using this site for a little over 2 years, but I've always had to figure out where to look when my daily mileage is "up". What am I missing with respect to being able to get the program to do this for me? I've included a screen shot of what I see. Thanks.

[ChuckS]

Another item to perhaps consider doing, we do.... is if you online bank see if your bank has a section where you can select what CCs you will be using, dates, and states.. an added security feature when traveling


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[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

Another item to perhaps consider doing, we do.... is if you online bank see if your bank has a section where you can select what CCs you will be using, dates, and states.. an added security feature when traveling


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Good point. May want to alert them anyway. Back in 2005 the DW took a trip east. Stopped for gas a few times, bank called questioning charges "out of the area". I wasn't allowed to ok them, had to call mama and have her call to verify.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by linux3

Well, with the help of AAA and a few other sources I think the plan is WV -> MO -> KS -> CO -> Utah. The return will be as the wind blows.
I'm thinking I should join Good Sam.

I didn't see where you said how much time you have. There are so many things to see and do in both CO and UT. I can spend a month in either place and never see/do what's in the area I'm in much less the state so check points of interest wherever you're going. And yes, Good Sam is a worthwhile investment IMO.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Good point. May want to alert them anyway. Back in 2005 the DW took a trip east. Stopped for gas a few times, bank called questioning charges "out of the area". I wasn't allowed to ok them, had to call mama and have her call to verify.

I know most of us on here have been around the block a time or two but Chuckster brings up a point to think about. It's about banking and travel....but now that I think about it I'll post a new thread. I don't want to hijack Rob's thread on a great sounding trip.

[linux3]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

Another item to perhaps consider doing, we do.... is if you online bank see if your bank has a section where you can select what CCs you will be using, dates, and states.. an added security feature when traveling
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Thanks, just finished with the bank.

[linux3]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I didn't see where you said how much time you have. There are so many things to see and do in both CO and UT. I can spend a month in either place and never see/do what's in the area I'm in much less the state so check points of interest wherever you're going. And yes, Good Sam is a worthwhile investment IMO.

We are having second or 3rd or whatever thoughts.
Colorado may be our turn around for this trip. You are right, lots to do there.

[Movin' on]

Another good planning tool is AllStays.com, We use it for finding campgrounds, fuel stops, rest areas, etc. You can set it to show low clearances, steep grades, etc.

Check it out, you might like it too. We've used Good Sam also, but seems like we end up using AllStays most of the time now.

That's going to be a fun trip! Travel safe.

[Alpine]

Utah is definitely our "go-to" state! Such a coincidence that we just stayed two weeks at Willow Winds RV Park.

[linux3]

Trip Report: We just returned and learned a lot.
1) We never made it any further than Topeka KS. High winds, tornado warnings and snow in CO told us it was time to work our way home.
2) We set much too much of an aggressive schedule. Too much driving too little stopping. By the time we reached KS I was burned out and my wife doesn't drive when pulling.
3) Google maps just plain sucks! Little back road "short cuts" aren't. I ended up buying a Garman for RVs.
4) We took twice as long on the return and had a great time. We spent more time camping and less time driving. Some travel days were only 1.5 hours.
5) US roads are better than Interstates. Sure it's a little slower but I don't want to drive pulling at 70 MPH. Plus you see more stuff. We stopped at a bunch of interesting small attractions and had a blast.
6) Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds are some of the best and cheapest. Most have electric and water and large easy to park sites.
7) We joined Good Sam. Worth the price.

Next road trip, and we are planning it now, will be a lot less structured with fewer goals.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by linux3

Trip Report: We just returned and learned a lot.
1) We never made it any further than Topeka KS. High winds, tornado warnings and snow in CO told us it was time to work our way home.
2) We set much too much of an aggressive schedule. Too much driving too little stopping. By the time we reached KS I was burned out and my wife doesn't drive when pulling.
3) Google maps just plain sucks! Little back road "short cuts" aren't. I ended up buying a Garman for RVs.
4) We took twice as long on the return and had a great time. We spent more time camping and less time driving. Some travel days were only 1.5 hours.
5) US roads are better than Interstates. Sure it's a little slower but I don't want to drive pulling at 70 MPH. Plus you see more stuff. We stopped at a bunch of interesting small attractions and had a blast.
6) Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds are some of the best and cheapest. Most have electric and water and large easy to park sites.
7) We joined Good Sam. Worth the price.

Next road trip, and we are planning it now, will be a lot less structured with fewer goals.

Note: if either of you are 65 years old the America the beautiful senior pass is well worth the effort and $10 cost.

I'm camping with full hooks for 7 nights at a COE campground for a cost of $91 while typing this..

Javi