Winter Road Trip Ideas

[Redbear]

I've got a couple weeks and would like to take a road trip. I'm a very self-sufficient traveler and don't really need hotel/motels. I'd be starting from SW Washington and am thinking of going as far as Jackson Hole or Canyonlands. I'm looking to just unwind and loiter around for awhile. Any ideas?

[Mark Sedenquist]

I've got a couple weeks and would like to take a road trip.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! If it were me and I wanted to unwind I would head for the Oregon Outback -- soak in some of the hotsprings and go exploring in the Hells Canyon area. Aways to the south is the area around Heise -- this is prime time to find elk and deer in the lower valleys. Farther afield, the Canyonlands is a favorite place for "getting lost" -- Just make sure you really are "a very self-sufficient traveler" before venturing into this region.

Mark

[AZBuck]

Mark's suggestion of the Oregon Outback is intriguing, and it's one of those places (along with the Oregon coast, unfortunately) that I haven't gotten to yet. So I can't comment on what to do there. A couple of places that I have been are southern and northern Idaho. Both are within easy range and offer plenty of opportunities to 'unwind and loiter'.

AZBuck

[Redbear]

Thanks for the input. I like the Idaho idea. Any special out of the way places?

[AZBuck]

If you're heading for southern Idaho and the Snake River valley, there is no better sight than Bruneau Canyon. Even though it is only slightly less spectacular than the Grand Canyon, everyone I know who has seen it (and that's not many) has seen it in solitude. The road into it is unpaved and traverses an old(?) Air Force weapons range. You may not even be able to negotiate it in February, but if you can it is well worth it. As an added bonus, the Bruneau dune fields are in the same area - take the climb to the top of one.

If you're heading for northern Idaho, just be aware that it has perhaps more scenic byways than anywhere else. I've driven just a few of these, but those were full of hidden gems, and at this time of year, you might have these roads essentially to yourself.

AZBuck