Advice for road trip NC to west and back

Hi! We are planning a road trip for the month of June, driving a Subaru Forester camping and moteling. We'll leave from central NC. Not sure whether to go up and across first--that is across Iowa, Nebraska, etc. Or go down and over through Arkansas,OKlahoma etc. Or neither! Musts are the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone(should we?) Sedona, the Black Hills. Very interested in two lanes. I don't feel we have the time to do CA so I thought we would go from Arizona up (or down) from Yellowstone. Planning is overwhelming me. Should I book compgrounds/motels ahead of time? How do you decide a time frame? What kind of gear do you guys suggest? Geez, I need lots of help...this is just the beginning! Thanks!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

For outsiders to help you (and that's what we're here for!) we need to know some of the very basics of your trip that you take for granted. Such as: Where, exactly, are you starting from? How much time do you have? Who is "we"? Do you have any budgetary constraints? What are your interests? What kind of mix between campgrounds and motels are you considering? About the only question you've asked that I can answer with the information available is a minimal timeframe for the basic route you've laid out so far. and that's about two weeks. And that's just the time needed to drive a mix of highways and back roads to connect Greensboro (my guess at what 'central NC' means), the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and the Black Hills, and spend just a very short time at each stop. Ideally, you'd have at lest three weeks available to you to make the trip more enjoyable than driving day after day for not much more than quick looks at some iconic natural wonders.

AZBuck

As mentioned above, there is very little for us here to go on. However, I am guessing that so far most of your research and attempts at planning have been in front of a computer monitor.

What would probably help you is to get some good paper maps of the areas you will be covering. Maps such as are produced by AAA (if you are a member they are free) and Rand McNally. These maps have more than just the roads and towns/cities. They show where the National Parks and Forests are, National Monuments, State Parks and Forests. Many of the chief historical sites are also on the maps as well as some of the more quirky tourist attractions. A map of the complete US is also handy to get an overall perspective.

Sit down and study these maps, from NC all the way out west. Pick out or mark the attractions you would like to check out. Pretty soon a route will develop to help you on your way.

Members here can then help you to refine a route once they are aware of the time frame and other specifics which Buck mentioned.

Enjoy the planning, it is so much part of the trip.

Lifey

It sounds as though you have the whole of June for the trip so you should have a reasonable amount of time to break the drives with sight seeing stops. If you are planning on camping in the National Parks then you need to check for available dates asap and if you can fit them around your plans, book them if it isn't too late. I really don't think there is any significant difference in which way around you travel although you might benefit from heading to the GC first and allow Yellowstone to warm and thaw a little more later into June. On the way to GC and when leaving to head towards Yellowstone there are many attractions you could visit from the Painted desert, Petrified Forest and Monument valley to some fo the wonderful NP's of Utah such as Zion, Bryce canyon, Capitol Reef and Arches. Much will depend on your travel style and whether or not you want to spend multiple days in certain areas or keep on the move. The one thing I would say is that to visit Yellowstone and the Tetons, you really need a minimum of 3-4 days.

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Should I book compgrounds/motels ahead of time? How do you decide a time frame? What kind of gear do you guys suggest?

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Booking CG's and motels ahead of time will depend a lot on where you are going, when you're going to get there, and how much peace-of-mind you want to have. If you want to camp or get a room INSIDE a national park such as Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Tetons, yes, you need to book NOW! Even there, you may not be able to get something. However, get something outside of the park (if you can) and then keep trying back, because often there will be a cancellation right before you call, and you get it. Sometimes, when tent-camping, it's easier to get a site in a national forest campground that is surrounding the park - we've done that before! Rooms may be tough to get, too - we're still trying to get inside Yellowstone in July. Outside of popular areas, such as along the roads, it's easy to get a spot without a reservation if you stop early enough in the day (say 3 - 5 pm).

Time frame: on two lane roads, we plan on no more than 400-450 miles per day. When on interstates and 4-lanes, we plan 550-600 miles per day. National parks, we always plan to stay at least one full day for a small park, 2-4 days for larger parks. (We're planning on 3 for Yellowstone, this coming summer, from my previous experience with the park.) If you're a hiker or avid animal-observer, you might like to plan an extra day or two.

If this were me, I'd head along the more southern route first, then up to Yellowstone and back via the more northern route. As someone suggested above, you'll want to give Yellowstone a chance to get out of the winter-spring mode.


Donna

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Originally Posted by meg1155

Hi! We are planning a road trip for the month of June, driving a Subaru Forester camping and moteling. We'll leave from central NC. Not sure whether to go up and across first--that is across Iowa, Nebraska, etc. Or go down and over through Arkansas,OKlahoma etc. Or neither! Musts are the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone(should we?) Sedona, the Black Hills. Very interested in two lanes. I don't feel we have the time to do CA so I thought we would go from Arizona up (or down) from Yellowstone. Planning is overwhelming me. Should I book compgrounds/motels ahead of time? How do you decide a time frame? What kind of gear do you guys suggest? Geez, I need lots of help...this is just the beginning! Thanks!

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Ok guys more info. "We" are me and my husband. The whole month of June. We love the outdoors and quirky bars, towns and people. Camping nights equal to motel nights. Budget isn't a concern (within reason ;-). Leaving from just east of Greensboro, NC. I have books Road Trips USA, Secrets of National Parks and Rand Mcnally Atlas.

With the whole month you have ample time to wander, and see all the sights you mention... and some more along the way.

For the time being, forget about the route you will take to or from Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, that can be attended to later. If you want to stay within the National Parks (highly recommended), you will need to get the dates for those set first and get onto their booking site. For some, it may already be too late, but worth a try. You might also look at Yosemite, Zion and Bryce, as well as Death Valley - and of course, the Tetons.

In between those major attractions you could leave your route fairly flexible to explore places you chance upon without having planned them.

Lifey