Florida to Alaska

[Al F]

In the National Parks, as 2 Gypsies said, some campgrounds inside the part take reservations and others don't. 

The campgrounds that don't take reservations are first come first serve.  This means, people who want to camp in these CG's will drive into the CG about 7am and start looking for someone who looks like they are going to leave.  You then stop and talk with them and politely ask if they are leaving today and if anyone has asked to take that campsite.  If they say they are leaving, it is best to fill out the self registration form, pay for the site, and put your tag on the post at the campsite.  About registering for a campsite, there is usually a self registration booth near the entrance to the CG and a steel box to drop your registration form with payment into the box.

At these first come first serve CG's you may be circling the CG for 2-3 hours trying to find an open campsite.  Also not all campsites are long enough for every RV.  Some campsites are only about 20-25 feet long.  If your RV is 30-35 feet long you won't fit. 

Here is a link to the Yellowstone NP reservation website.  Once you are on the website, hover your mouse pointer over "stay" then click on "camping".  You will most likely find that all campsites are reserved for the whole year.  Note that reservations for the 2019 season start on May 1, 2018 (that is about 3 weeks from now). 

For more info about camping in Yellowstone NP go here. 

All the National Parks have camping info on their websites. 

Also keep in mind, the very popular NP's are very, very busy in the summer.  Some like Yellowstone are extremely busy from May to October. 

 

[Al F]

Info for our NP's.  When you go to each of the NP websites, look for "Learn About The Park" towards the top of the home page.  Hover your mouse on Learn about the park, then hover on "News" and click on the "Park Newspaper".  Most of the NP's have a newspaper you can download as a PDF file with huge amounts of info about the park.

[Kirk W]

6 hours ago, Zoco said:

I never paid attention to this sign, maybe because I only drove in Florida.

It is important to understand that the US was formed when a group of independent nation-states joined together to make a single force for defense and international trade. Each state was independent of all others and controlled things within its boundaries. Over the years the states have melded together to form a single country but many things inside of each state remain controlled by the state government and so some laws do change when you cross a state border and speed limits are one of those things. 

6 hours ago, Zoco said:

Inside the national parks, I need to have a reservation to camp? Are the parks crowded all time? 

A great deal of the answer to this will depend on which park you are speaking of and what time of the year. National parks see the most visitor traffic in the summer months when schools are not in session but there are exceptions such as Everglades NP where the highest traffic is in December and January. In general, during the busy season, it can be difficult to get a camping site in the more popular parks. In some areas, the commercial parks also fill up very early. I have done a lot of travel in the US over the years and have found that if you stop early in the day you can nearly always find a place to camp, but it may not be your first choice. 

If you have not visited the US parks much you may be quite surprised by that amount of development in some of them and the size of the crowds. There are some 417 national parks and of those perhaps 20 are extremely popular and experience very high volumes of visitor traffic. Parks like Yellowstone are very large and well known and so many families will make it a vacation destination. On the other hand, a monument like Devil's Tower (also in Wyoming) only takes a fairly short time to see and so their campground is not usually full early because most visitors only stay one or two nights. At Yellowstone, they may stay for the entire week. Yosemite is especially busy because it is located within an easy drive of several very large population centers. It can be especially full of visitors on weekends. 

[jpcoll01]

On 4/7/2018 at 11:09 PM, Zoco said:

Ok, I have used all knowledge that you shared with me to make this route, please feel free to give opinions and point any mistakes, and if possible suggest more places to complete the loop to Orlando.

I don't know how public here correctly, I divided in three parts, because the Google maps don't support all places in the same route.  If someone have a problem to access them, please let me know.

Thank You

Part 1 https://goo.gl/maps/Mvwizj97Tbr

Part 2 https://goo.gl/maps/oPuk3SqUbGL2

Part 3 https://goo.gl/maps/tcYt9Ji6qy82

Part 1 I would consider the Blue Ridge Parkway from Smoky Mountains heading East, it is slow going but is really beautiful.

Part 2 - consider heading south out of Yellowstone and checking out the Tetons, again amazingly beautiful and doesn't take much time.  Also consider skipping the 5 south and heading over the the coast through Oregon and Northern California on your way to San Fran

Part 3 - when you leave Yosemite, might consider heading north to Lake Tahoe (great place) there are Sequoia's in Yosemite so you can see those amazing trees there.  If you head to Tahoe you can then head south down the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada (through Lone Pine) and take in another eco-system.  Way better than the drive through Fresno,Bakersfield in my opinion.  I echo some of the comments I ready about taking in some of the southern Utah national parks as well.

[sandsys]

9 hours ago, Al F said:

About registering for a campsite, there is usually a self registration booth near the entrance to the CG and a steel box to drop your registration form with payment into the box.

That box takes only cash or check. No credit or debit cards. Be prepared.

If you shop at Walmart with a debit card you can get up to $100 cash back. That's how I got money to drop into those self-pay boxes. Be sure to ask the clerk for some smaller bills before you run your card. Otherwise they will usually give you 20s although one once gave me a $100 bill and I had to go elsewhere in the store to get it broken into smaller bills. Lesson learned.

Linda Sand

[Zoco]

14 hours ago, Al F said:

In the National Parks, as 2 Gypsies said, some campgrounds inside the part take reservations and others don't. 

The campgrounds that don't take reservations are first come first serve.  This means, people who want to camp in these CG's will drive into the CG about 7am and start looking for someone who looks like they are going to leave.  You then stop and talk with them and politely ask if they are leaving today and if anyone has asked to take that campsite.  If they say they are leaving, it is best to fill out the self registration form, pay for the site, and put your tag on the post at the campsite.  About registering for a campsite, there is usually a self registration booth near the entrance to the CG and a steel box to drop your registration form with payment into the box.

5

This information is very important for me because I never made this procedure.

14 hours ago, Al F said:

At these first come first serve CG's you may be circling the CG for 2-3 hours trying to find an open campsite.  Also not all campsites are long enough for every RV.  Some campsites are only about 20-25 feet long.  If your RV is 30-35 feet long you won't fit. 

2

Yes,  the RV I'm buying is 38 feet long. I believe I will have some difficulty with it.

14 hours ago, Al F said:

Here is a link to the Yellowstone NP reservation website.  Once you are on the website, hover your mouse pointer over "stay" then click on "camping".  You will most likely find that all campsites are reserved for the whole year.  Note that reservations for the 2019 season start on May 1, 2018 (that is about 3 weeks from now). 

For more info about camping in Yellowstone NP go here. 

All the National Parks have camping info on their websites. 

Also keep in mind, the very popular NP's are very, very busy in the summer.  Some like Yellowstone are extremely busy from May to October. 

 

The problem is, I don't want to have any commitment on this trip, If I did a reservation, I need to arrive on a determined date. With your experience, should I do some reservations? 

Really after all your help, which you are giving me, I need to invite you and the others here for a dinner or at least a beer.

 

Thank You

[Zoco]

Ok, if you are looking for a quiet place, where can I prepare a BBQ, Fishing and outdoors activities. Where should I go? I want to visit the some of the most famous National Parks, but I'm looking for quiet places too.

Folks you are been really amazing, when I wrote the first time, I thought, as nobody will help me, or just will give me a poor answer, but happened the opposite, you describing all the situation and what to do. I'm really thank you for all. Sometimes or often, if I wrote a bit rude,  it's because I don't know how to express me politely in English, I'm really sorry about that. 

Thank you
 

 

[sandsys]

43 minutes ago, Zoco said:

Ok, if you are looking for a quiet place, where can I prepare a BBQ, Fishing and outdoors activities. Where should I go? I want to visit the some of the most famous National Parks, but I'm looking for quiet places too.

Corps of Engineer parks are always on a lake or river. They don't always have RV hookups though so choose well. https://www.rv-camping.org/coecampgrounds/

Linda Sand

[2gypsies]

Since you're planning on visiting the national parks and national monuments definitely purchase the America the Beautiful ANNUAL PASS for $80.  It will save you a LOT of money as it will cover your entry fee to any park.  It's good for a year and you can purchase it at the first national park or national monument you stop.

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm#CP_JUMP_5088574

We've all enjoyed helping you out with your questions and hopefully with a successful trip.  Your eagerness in learning and seeing the U.S. is awesome!  You must be young because we wouldn't have the stamina and drive to do what you are planning in six months' time.  Your children are very lucky to have you as parents. 

Where's the beer party?  

[Kirk W]

8 hours ago, Zoco said:

With your experience, should I do some reservations? 

If you are willing to stay outside of the major parks and drive in each day you can probably avoid reservations but you will have to just stay where there is an opening. If you will have internet capability you can use RV Park Reviews and a cell phone to call ahead just before you start to travel each morning or even in the middle of the day. In most parts of the US that will not be a major problem but when you get to the area of Yellowstone NP or Yosemite it may be difficult, possibly a few other places. We do not usually make reservations ahead, but we also stay well outside of major areas and drive in. It also depends on when you will be there. July and August are the most busy for Yellowstone.

Quote

 I want to visit the some of the most famous National Parks, but I'm looking for quiet places too.

 

There will be many such possible places along your route and as mentioned, the Corps of Engineers have parks that are good possible locations for that. Many of them which are close to population centers are full most weekends but only lightly used during the week. A good source to locate those would be the book Camping with the Corps of Engineers but there are several other good sources of such information as well. Another book that I suggest is RV Camping in State Parks that covers all states fairly well. 

Quote

 I need to invite you and the others here for a dinner or at least a beer.

Which leads me to my next suggestion. If you are interested, we will be spending the summer in North Dakota this year from mid June through August. If you happen to pass that direction, we will be staying in a volunteer host site at Cross Ranch State Park which has a public campground and we will also be helping out at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. I would invite you to consider stopping by and if you wish, drop me a note. Cross Ranch might be just what you are looking for so check it out.

[trailertraveler]

In my opinion, contrary to what some others have said, 6 months is not that long a time. Looking at your route, there are huge swaths of the country that you are bypassing. You will have to pick and choose what you want to see and will have no shortage of choices.

We have spent over two months in Utah alone and have not seen it all. In the Utah Highway 12 Highway 24 area are The UT-12 Scenic Byway, Fishlake Scenic Byway, Burr Trail, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Anasazi State Park, Calf Creek Falls, Hells Backbone, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Goblin Valley State Park.

In the Moab area are Kane Creek Road, Potash Lower Colorado Byway, Upper Colorado River UT-128 Scenic Byway, Sago Canyon, Dead Horse Point State Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Needles District, and Newspaper Rock.

 

 Near US-89 in Southwestern Utah are Zion National Park,  and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

 

In the Monument Valley, Bluff, Blanding Area are Monument Valley, UT-261 the Moki Dugway, Goosenecks State Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, Bluff Fort, South Fork of Mule Canyon and House on Fire, The Valley of The Gods, Sand Island Petroglyphs, Edge of the Cedars State Park, and the Dinosaur Museum. 

After the Grand Canyon, you might consider heading East rather than Southeast Big Bend. 

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area.

 

Heading East from Flagstaff along I-40 are Petrified Forest National Park, Meteor Crater and  Homolovi Ruins State Park. You can stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona.

 

As you head into New Mexico, Acoma Sky City is between Grants and Gallup. It is said to be the longest occupied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.  Near Grants are the Mining Museum, El Malpais National Monument, EL Malpais National Conservation Area, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano.

 

In Albuquerque there is Petroglyph National Monument, the Pueblo Cultural Center, the  Turquoise Trail and the Sandia Crest Highway. The world famous Balloon Fiesta is in early October.  

 

Santa Rosa is a Route 66 town and has The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions.

 

In the Amarillo, TX area there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the The Big Texan on Old Route 66.

 

Hot Springs, AR is close enough to Memphis that I would include it.

 

Some websites that may help you find public campgrounds (including local city and county parks and fairgrounds), Forest Service Campgrounds, Bureau of Land Management Campgrounds and Corps of Engineers Campgrounds are Ultimate Public Campground Project,  Corps of Engineers Campgrounds and The National Forest Campground Guide.

 

 

[Kirk W]

Quote

In my opinion, contrary to what some others have said, 6 months is not that long a time. 

Do not allow anyone to deter you from your efforts. I have not seen anyone in this thread state that 6 months is long enough to see everything in the US. Even so, I would encourage you in your adventure as this can be the experience of a lifetime for you and the children. There is no question that you will have to select to see only the highlights of the country, but 6 months is enough to get a pretty good sampling and your chosen route is a good start. With the limited time that you have, it is wise to avoid spending too long in any one state as we have 50 different states that have some very different attractions. We also have some amazing amusement parks at various points around the country and it may be worth considering a stop at one of two of those for your children. 

[trailertraveler]

28 minutes ago, Kirk Wood said:

,,,Do not allow anyone to deter you from your efforts... 

Zoco.

My intent was not to deter you from your visit to the United States. If that was in fact my intent, I would not have taken the time to post links to places in Utah and suggest other alternatives to your route from Grand Canyon National Park to  Hot Springs National Park. If you perceived my comments as dismissive or derogatory, I sincerely apologize.

[Zoco]

21 hours ago, sandsys said:

Corps of Engineer parks are always on a lake or river. They don't always have RV hookups though so choose well. https://www.rv-camping.org/coecampgrounds/

Linda Sand

Thank You, very nice !!!

[Zoco]

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Since you're planning on visiting the national parks and national monuments definitely purchase the America the Beautiful ANNUAL PASS for $80.  It will save you a LOT of money as it will cover your entry fee to any park.  It's good for a year and you can purchase it at the first national park or national monument you stop.

1

I will buy the annual pass, It was a good tip.

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm#CP_JUMP_5088574

We've all enjoyed helping you out with your questions and hopefully with a successful trip.  Your eagerness in learning and seeing the U.S. is awesome!  You must be young because we wouldn't have the stamina and drive to do what you are planning in six months' time.  Your children are very lucky to have you as parents. 

Where's the beer party?  

I'm 38, and we love to travel to learn about the history and behavior, we don't like the luxury resort or something like this. When I was a child, my dream was to know the USA, for my lucky, I come to the USA three times year, since 2006. Now I hope to know better.
 I really love this place.

Thank you for your help.

[Zoco]

9 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

In my opinion, contrary to what some others have said, 6 months is not that long a time. Looking at your route, there are huge swaths of the country that you are bypassing. You will have to pick and choose what you want to see and will have no shortage of choices.

 

I'm with you, but the USA immigration just gives me 6 months. Maybe for the next time, I can visit different places.

On my route, I inserted some places, but that's not exactly what I will do, certainly, I will add more places between them, and the places you suggested, appears to be nice choices.
 

 

[Zoco]

1 hour ago, Kirk Wood said:

Do not allow anyone to deter you from your efforts. I have not seen anyone in this thread state that 6 months is long enough to see everything in the US. Even so, I would encourage you in your adventure as this can be the experience of a lifetime for you and the children. There is no question that you will have to select to see only the highlights of the country, but 6 months is enough to get a pretty good sampling and your chosen route is a good start. With the limited time that you have, it is wise to avoid spending too long in any one state as we have 50 different states that have some very different attractions. We also have some amazing amusement parks at various points around the country and it may be worth considering a stop at one of two of those for your children. 

 

I believe all of Us have the same opinion about the time, since the first post, and thank you very much to advise me about it.

If I am crossing the North Dakota between June and August, certainly I will stop to know you personally. 

 

thank you

[Zoco]

37 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

Zoco.

My intent was not to deter you from your visit to the United States. If that was in fact my intent, I would not have taken the time to post links to places in Utah and suggest other alternatives to your route from Grand Canyon National Park to  Hot Springs National Park. If you perceived my comments as dismissive or derogatory, I sincerely apologize.

I know, what do you want to say. All of us here have the same opinion about the time, don't apologize for it, if all here didn't gave me good advice like this, now I was following my original plan to Alaska, and I certainly would be frustrated when the trip ends.

 

thank you

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

We also have some amazing amusement parks at various points around the country and it may be worth considering a stop at one of two of those for your children. 

We also have some fantastic water parks with amazing slides. The first one we ever went to was in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, and that was probably ~35 years ago. I've never forgotten it.

I'm becoming envious of you having this opportunity to travel with your kids. For some reason our 48 year old is no longer interested in doing this although we had some good times when she was the age of your kids. 

Linda Sand

[jpcoll01]

10 hours ago, Zoco said:

I'm 38, and we love to travel to learn about the history and behavior, we don't like the luxury resort or something like this. When I was a child, my dream was to know the USA, for my lucky, I come to the USA three times year, since 2006. Now I hope to know better.
 I really love this place.

I'm not sure if this has come up but since you don't need luxury resorts I'd consider boondocking some while on your trip.  On driving days I have had great luck staying at a Walmart overnight or for a couple days to explore an area.  Also, once you get to the west there is so much BLM land that you shouldn't have a lot of problem finding a remote place to park for a few days.  That becomes harder without another vehicle (since you can't really scout locations) but it is possible.  Enjoy your trip, should be a lot of fun.

[trailertraveler]

Zoco,

Given that you are travelling with two children, I would not recommend staying at Walmarts or other parking lots/truck stops except in an emergency and certainly not as a basecamp for sightseeing. The Free Campsites Website lists a large number of locations nationwide. If you join the Escapees RV Club, you can subscribe to the Days End Directory which also list many locations. If you are interested in boondocking/dispersed camping on government lands, you will need to become familiar with the regulations which differ with each controlling agency and sometimes from one area to the next.

[jpcoll01]

49 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

Given that you are travelling with two children, I would not recommend staying at Walmarts or other parking lots/truck stops except in an emergency and certainly not as a basecamp for sightseeing. The Free Campsites Website lists a large number of locations nationwide. If you join the Escapees RV Club, you can subscribe to the Days End Directory which also list many locations. If you are interested in boondocking/dispersed camping on government lands, you will need to become familiar with the regulations which differ with each controlling agency and sometimes from one area to the next.

I do, all the time, which is why I gave this suggestion.  I specifically said for travel days and wouldn't suggest that as a place to stay all the time, but I have used Walmart to explore an area with great success.  A specific example is Alamosa Colorado and the Great Sand Dunes, we parked at Walmart unhooked the jeep and explored all day, stayed there that night, explored the Sangre De Cristo's some more the next day, stayed another night and then moved on.  It was perfectly fine for the few waking minutes we were in the RV.  If your plan is to sit in your RV then, yeah, a WalMart parking lot isn't the best option. 

[trailertraveler]

6 hours ago, jpcoll01 said:

...I do, all the time, which is why I gave this suggestion...

Your kids, your choice. Personally, as I said, I would not with a 7 and 10 year old. I also do not consider staying in a parking lot "boondocking". Presented both opinions the OP can make his own decision of what is best and will meet the needs of his family.

[jpcoll01]

11 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

Your kids, your choice. Personally, as I said, I would not with a 7 and 10 year old. I also do not consider staying in a parking lot "boondocking". Presented both opinions the OP can make his own decision of what is best and will meet the needs of his family.

Agreed, multiple opinions are likely helpful.  Will close with one point. What other boondocking location can you think of that has actual security on-site?  Walmart does. 

[trailertraveler]

40 minutes ago, jpcoll01 said:

...What other boondocking location can you think of that has actual security on-site?  Walmart does... 

As I said, I do not consider parking lots "boondocking" . Lots of commercial properties have security, electronic or actual onsite personnel. Whether they allow habitation of the property is up to them and the local government. In the past, Florida rest areas and Welcome Centers that allowed habitation of vehicles overnight had security. If you consider dry camping "boondocking" almost every State Park has law enforcement personnel onsite. At real boondocking sites, in the boondocks, security is provided by the RV owner and occupants just as it is at a sticks and bricks.