Advice needed for a road trip around US

[EmilyandJon]

Hello All!

My Fiancé and I are planning a trip around the US! We are very excited! We live in GA and plan to head out West, Hit up the Grand Canyon and then head up the West Coast to see the Red Wood Forest. After Red Wood, go through Montana and make our way to Colorado. Then it's off to NYC and back down the East Coast. Total miles 8,774. We will be leaving GA in mid-March and hope to be back by the end of April. We would greatly appreciate any advice you have on weather conditions, places to see along the way, good camping spots and anything else you think we need to know!

Thank you so much!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

A couple things I can tell you is that you're are planning a trip at the end of winter, so you really need to be ready for anything in regards to weather. You might have some roads closed because of storms, and many mountain roads will still be closed for the season. That's especially true if your route will include Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, or Rocky Mountain National Parks - all which will have some limits to access at that time of year.

The weather will also be a big factor in your plans to camp, as you need to plan for temperatures to be below freezing many, if not most nights. I'd say you'll really need to have true winter camping gear if you are planning to camp most of the time.

A month and a half is certainly enough time to make this loop, although be warned of the dangers of using online map programs. If your point to point distances are 8,800, then you will certainly travel well over 10,000 miles before you get home, once you factor in drives in towns and parks. You should also plan on your legs taking longer than online maps suggest, once you factor in stops for food, fuel, etc.

[EmilyandJon]

Thank you so much for your quick responce, the weather is main concern right now. We do have the proper camping gear for winter but winter campouts are only fun for so long. we have friends/ family in TX and Colorado but non up the West Coast. We dont want to have too strict of a route bc we kinda want to let the road take us; my must see is the Grand Canyon and his is Red Wood. Do you know what these places are like that time of year.. AZ like mid/end of March and Red Wood like beg of April? Thanks again!

[DonnaR57]

Welcome aboard RTA!

As was mentioned above, weather is unpredictable and it's difficult to tell you two months in advance what the weather will be like anywhere. At the south rim of the Grand Canyon (the only national park rim likely to be open in early April), it's up there in elevation. So you're likely to see some cold nights and days. We were up there in early April one year in a tent trailer (pop-up). It was windy and cold at night (enough to need the electric heater in the rig), but nice enough for light jackets during the day. The rim is high enough in elevation to experience snow.

Up the coast can be unpredictable as well. The ocean can bring cold winds from the north, or warmer ones from the southwest. Fog is likely at any time of the year, particularly in the early morning hours.


Donna