Summer Motorcycle Roadtrip

[hpina24]

Hello!!
My fiance and I are planning a somewhat cross country trip this coming June. We have a total of 16 days for this adventure and would love any help or tips for our trip. We will be starting in Richland, WA and would love to visit the following states; Colorado, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and the States around the great lakes. We will be riding on a motorcycle and are planning on camping most of the trip. We are very adventurous when it comes to the outdoors and have a list of activities we want to do; hiking, hot springs, white river rafting, swimming etc. Any help with figuring out camp sites to stay at or places we could camp for free along the routes would be very helpful. Also, if anyone has done a similar route ( Nothern States) or motorcycle trips I would love to hear from you.
Thank you!!
Luke and Heather.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Camping is a bit of an adventure and by the very nature of trying to find the cheapest variety, pre-planning and making reservations will be out of the question. So, what should you be looking for as you plan? Basically, there is going to be something of a trade-off between certainty of what you're going to get and cost - no surprise there. At one end will be commercial campgrounds (mostly set up for the RVer) that will allow you to make reservations, have conveniences like a store and laundromat, and charge almost as much as a motel. Next would be the majority of national and state parks where you might be able to make reservations, facilities will be more limited, and costs can vary wildly depending on season and demand. Where I think you really want to concentrate are the National Forest lands. These are nearly ubiquitous throughout the US, campgrounds tend to be smaller and more secluded, and charges can be minimal. In particular, check out each forest's availability of distributed or dispersed camping. This is the ability to go off-road and hike back into some more rustic areas and set up camp. Cost can be nothing or next to it, but you will have to check with each forest as to what areas are open to this practice and what the local rules are. Finally, although this applies mostly to the wide open areas of the west, are the Bureau of Land Management lands. These are usually primative, similar to the dispersed camping of the national forests, and as cheap as you can get: free.

AZBuck

[Lifemagician]

Add the Public Lands to the excellent sites above. These only apply to the Western States. Campsites are free or almost so.

In the Eastern States I would concentrate on State Parks and Forests, though these are rarely free and often have full facilities.

Lifey