Solo Trip Pennsylvania to California

Hi all,

I'm finishing up graduate school in Pennsylvania in about a month, and would love to take a solo trip back home to the San Francisco Bay Area. The plan right now is to rent a car, although I still need to find a reasonable price. I may have just come across a good weekly rate. We'll see... My timeline is pretty wide open. I'm thinking I'd like to take up to two weeks to make the drive. Since I'll be going alone, I want to make sure I have plenty of time to rest, and I don't want to take on too many miles each day.

My main interest is checking out national parks. Primarily, I'd like to see Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon. I'm pretty open as far as itinerary is concerned, but am not sure how to start with the planning. Any recommendations for routes and sights would be much appreciated.

I'd like to camp along the way to save money, so campground recommendations/resources would be great as well.

Thanks!
Steffi

Hi, and Welcome to the RTA Forums.

This sounds like a great trip, and easily doable in your timeframe, which I am assuming is one-way. You might like to start with a good Map of the US to lay out your route. Then, using the green menu bar above, check out the planning pages and roadside attractions. Your biggest decision will be to decide how long to stay at each NP. When you have a route, use the Map Centre to see what else is along the way. As more specific questions arise, feel free to come back. Someone will be here to answer them, and help you refine your trip and fill in the blanks.

Enjoy the planning.

Lifey

Thanks a lot, I'll start there!