Denver to Vancouver to San Diego

[LadyMcB]

Me and two friends are going on a long road trip in a month. We are leaving Denver, going to Vancouver, then south all the way down the coast to San Diego before going back up to Denver via Vegas. We plan to hit Seattle, Portland, Napa Valley, San Francisco... and take full advantage of any surprise adventures that come our way. We have no real plan, no time limit... we are just going. We are camping most of the trip, mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing.
I plan on taking only the necessities and buying whatever I need from thrift stores along the way. When I leave the mountains and get into southern California, I will take my coats and sweaters to Goodwill and buy t-shirts and shorts.
Any suggestions? Is there anything that I should absolutely take with me and not try to find along the way?
Any good things to see or do?

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

I would hesitate on getting rid of the coats, but that's me. I've found snow in July and 75˚F in December... not necessarily where you are going, however.

Apart from any medication you may be taking and the usual automotive safety gear (a good spare tire, jack, jumper cables, etc.) you should be able to find most of what you need along the way.

What have you budgeted for this trip? Despite not having a firm plan, it's still going to take money to achieve your goals.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome.

Any good things to see or do?

A million and one things to do, and then some more !

With no time frame or specific route the world [or at least America] is your oyster and we could throw pages and pages of ideas at you that would take a lifetime to visit.
Have a search of the forums and road trip planning pages that are full of ideas and as you like camping and the outdoors the NPS pages are worth looking through as a guide to the very best the outdoors has to offer. If you plan on visiting a number of parks [usually 4 or more] purchase the annual pass for $80 to help your budget.


It sounds like a great adventure ahead of you, have fun !