Hey guys, I need some input and figured you all would know best. Although this is my first post, I have been a frequent visitor to this site for the past few years. I am a recent college grad and a frequent traveler. I want to take one last adventure before I enter the 9-5 world, and what better way than a nice long road trip.
I plan on driving from New York State to Alaska. On the way there I want to cover the northern US, hitting a little of the west coast and then going north to Alaska. The way home will include southern Canada all the way back to NY. A few details for the trip are as follows: I have two months of time set aside and can even (if necessary) go into a third month, so time should not be an issue. I plan on roughing it as much as I can, camping, cooking out, etc. I have some destinations set in stone but really want to leave a chance to explore and do the unexpected. I am leaving the first week of May, and am traveling alone.
So here is a rough/open itinerary and list of destinations:
-Leave NY and basically head straight for South Dakota
- Badlands, Rushmore, Black Hills, Sturgis, Rapid City, Deadwood
- WY -Yellowstone, Jackson, Grand Tetons
- ID -I wanted to stop in Stanley, as I heard the hiking is very good.
- OR -Crater Lake NP
- CA -San Francisco is a must for me. If I am going that far south, should I go the extra bit for Yosemite NP? I don’t know how far out of the way it would be, and I see it as another trip through the southwest US.
- OR -heading north along the coast. Astoria (Goonies), Portland
- WA - Olympic NP, Mt. Rainier NP, Seattle,
- British Columbia -Vancouver, Dawson Creek
- Alaska -Fairbanks, Deadhorse, Denali, Anchorage, Katmai (hopefully)
-After Alaska in Canada
Edmonton, Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Medicine Hat (world’s largest Teepee), Winnipeg, and going as far east as Montreal, Quebec City and it would be cool to go as far East as I can, possibly Nova Scotia? and heading back to NY from the East.
Well that’s just a quick overview. Is there anything important between NY and South Dakota that I NEED to do? Otherwise it’s going to be a straight shot to SD. Extensive time is planned for Yellowstone, and all of Alaska especially Denali. Anywhere I might have missed or any special treasures I should see/enjoy? Comments/suggestions/criticisms much desired. Thanks in advance for all your time and assistance.
Jason