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Started By
Message
Driving across the country - must see places
Posted on 9/22/14 at 9:33 pm
Posted on 9/22/14 at 9:33 pm
I'm in the early stages of planning a month long trip for next summer.. My dad and I are going to drive out west from east Tennessee with lots of stops along the way. We're planning on camping, fishing, hiking, a little 4wheeling and doing whatever the hell we feel like. He just retired and it will likely be my last summer without a real job so we are trying to do something cool.
My question for you all is, what are some lesser known places that are must do's? Yellowstone, Glacier Park, Moab, etc we will hit but just curious of some that don't get talked about as much.
My question for you all is, what are some lesser known places that are must do's? Yellowstone, Glacier Park, Moab, etc we will hit but just curious of some that don't get talked about as much.
6
Posted on 9/22/14 at 10:29 pm to tennessee391
Black Hills, Yellowstone, Little Big Horn, Glacier, North Cascades, Rainier, Olympic, Crater Lake, Trinity Alps, Mt. Shasta, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Utah (all the parks, plus the Green River), Mesa Verde, Rocky Mountain. By then, you'll have a lifetime of memories.
It's kind of a circular route, but if you can do all that in a month you'll have memories of a lifetime.
It's kind of a circular route, but if you can do all that in a month you'll have memories of a lifetime.
Posted on 9/22/14 at 10:31 pm to RogerTheShrubber
Awesome. That was the kind of answer I was looking for.
Posted on 9/22/14 at 10:41 pm to tennessee391
If you look at the map, it's a doable trip. I've done something similar before and really enjoyed the hell out of it. I had about 6 weeks though.
Posted on 9/22/14 at 10:54 pm to RogerTheShrubber
We threw a month out there but it could potentially be longer or shorter. Our only limit will be how long my mom wants to stay at the house alone.. 
I've seen Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and a couple other places before so I could potentially skip a couple on the list. Just trying to get some ideas flowing.
I've seen Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and a couple other places before so I could potentially skip a couple on the list. Just trying to get some ideas flowing.
Posted on 9/22/14 at 11:14 pm to tennessee391
Throw in Banff and Jasper, up in Canada if you can. Drive the Icefields Parkway.
Posted on 9/22/14 at 11:30 pm to tennessee391
Swing down south and pick me up
Posted on 9/22/14 at 11:35 pm to tennessee391
Checkout palo duro canyon In Texas too. Do the lighthouse hike and watch the light show (skip the light show if you're an atheist)
All the others I would have suggested have been mentioned.
Sounds like a great trip with your pop, I'm extremely jealous.
All the others I would have suggested have been mentioned.
Sounds like a great trip with your pop, I'm extremely jealous.
Posted on 9/23/14 at 5:41 am to tennessee391
We did a 2 month road trip out west last summer.
The Whitney Portal area at the base of Mt. Whitney has some pretty stunning scenery. Around 100 westerns were filmed there.
Mammoth Lakes/Devils Postpile is some great high country that's not too crowded.
Yosemite is awesome and packed - expect traffic jams in the valley.
Tahoe is pretty crowded as well. If you make it there go hike Eco Lakes just south of Tahoe. You can take a boat ferry several miles up two lakes to some pretty remote high country that is gorgeous.
Lassen is very nice and not as crowded as Tahoe or Yosemite.
Northern California coast to southern Oregon is very scenic and has the Redwoods which are a must see.
Crater Lake is stunningly blue. Well worth a day or two.
Drive the pass west of Sisters OR. Beautiful mountains and lava fields.
Mt. St. Helens is worth a long day. Pretty incredible what happened there.
The Olympic Peninsula is very nice in sunny weather. If you get a good day drive up Hurricane Ridge for one hell of a view.
The Northern Cascades have maybe the most scenic spot in the lower 48 with the Picture Lake view of Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker.
The Columbia gorge near Mt. Hood has very nice views and lots of produce to buy (cherries, apples, etc.).
We really liked Dry Falls in the Washington desert for a change of pace. The Grand Coulee dam is not far. And it's on the way to
Glacier National Park - the best place in the lower 48.
Outside Yellowstone drive Beartooth pass if you get a chance.
For an overlooked mountain area try the drive over the Medicine Bow range in SE Wyoming. Very few people there and some great hikes.
Hope you have a great trip. You can see a lot in a month.
The Whitney Portal area at the base of Mt. Whitney has some pretty stunning scenery. Around 100 westerns were filmed there.
Mammoth Lakes/Devils Postpile is some great high country that's not too crowded.
Yosemite is awesome and packed - expect traffic jams in the valley.
Tahoe is pretty crowded as well. If you make it there go hike Eco Lakes just south of Tahoe. You can take a boat ferry several miles up two lakes to some pretty remote high country that is gorgeous.
Lassen is very nice and not as crowded as Tahoe or Yosemite.
Northern California coast to southern Oregon is very scenic and has the Redwoods which are a must see.
Crater Lake is stunningly blue. Well worth a day or two.
Drive the pass west of Sisters OR. Beautiful mountains and lava fields.
Mt. St. Helens is worth a long day. Pretty incredible what happened there.
The Olympic Peninsula is very nice in sunny weather. If you get a good day drive up Hurricane Ridge for one hell of a view.
The Northern Cascades have maybe the most scenic spot in the lower 48 with the Picture Lake view of Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker.
The Columbia gorge near Mt. Hood has very nice views and lots of produce to buy (cherries, apples, etc.).
We really liked Dry Falls in the Washington desert for a change of pace. The Grand Coulee dam is not far. And it's on the way to
Glacier National Park - the best place in the lower 48.
Outside Yellowstone drive Beartooth pass if you get a chance.
For an overlooked mountain area try the drive over the Medicine Bow range in SE Wyoming. Very few people there and some great hikes.
Hope you have a great trip. You can see a lot in a month.
Posted on 9/23/14 at 6:52 am to Tigris
Lots of good places already suggested, this is the last moto trip I took out west, doesn't include all my side trips to get to some parks like Bryce Canyon., but the route is good. Highly recommend North Rim over South Rim if you head to the canyon and then it's a easy trip over to the Utah parks Zion/Bryce/Canyonlands.
Make sure you plan your time frame carefully, I went in early June and had to use my longcut around Tioga Pass to get to Yosemite because Tioga was closed due to snow. Crater lake was an adventure as well, there was still about 12 feet of snow on top.
This is close to 7000 miles if I remember right. I was riding about 500-600 miles a day when actually traveling the route, close to two weeks of actual riding days at that pace. Which was very easy to do out west. Make sure to leave some gaps for travel and breaks. Start looking at booking certain places you stay now, North Rim Grand Canyon has cabins that are absolutely amazing to stay at right on the rim, but they book up fast. Stuff like that.
Make sure you plan your time frame carefully, I went in early June and had to use my longcut around Tioga Pass to get to Yosemite because Tioga was closed due to snow. Crater lake was an adventure as well, there was still about 12 feet of snow on top.
This is close to 7000 miles if I remember right. I was riding about 500-600 miles a day when actually traveling the route, close to two weeks of actual riding days at that pace. Which was very easy to do out west. Make sure to leave some gaps for travel and breaks. Start looking at booking certain places you stay now, North Rim Grand Canyon has cabins that are absolutely amazing to stay at right on the rim, but they book up fast. Stuff like that.
This post was edited on 9/23/14 at 6:58 am
Posted on 9/23/14 at 11:15 am to Dam Guide
That's a good point about snow being a problem in early June. Hell, the northern Cascades were just getting their hiking trails clear in mid July, though Tioga was open very early last year. Glacier can be a problem in June too. If possible the trip would be best in July to even August. Better weather in Washington/Oregon then too (sunnier).
Posted on 9/23/14 at 12:02 pm to RogerTheShrubber
Palo Duro Canyon is nice as is Zion.
This post was edited on 9/23/14 at 12:04 pm
Posted on 9/23/14 at 12:34 pm to HoustonGumbeauxGuy
If you are going to Glacier might as well run on up to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. Absolutely amazing place. Prince of Wales Lodge is stunning.
Posted on 9/23/14 at 12:40 pm to tennessee391
If you do this trip in April, there is a civil war reenactment in Mansfield thats pretty legit.
Posted on 9/23/14 at 12:43 pm to tennessee391
quote:
We're planning on camping, fishing, hiking, a little 4wheeling and doing whatever the hell we feel like. He just retired and it will likely be my last summer without a real job so we are trying to do something cool.
Spend as much time as possible with him while he's still around.
I'd do almost anything to have one more day hanging out with my old man.
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/
Durango-Silverton train in Colorado, and whitewater rafting under Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, CO.
This post was edited on 9/23/14 at 12:48 pm
Posted on 9/23/14 at 2:12 pm to Tigris
quote:
That's a good point about snow being a problem in early June. Hell, the northern Cascades were just getting their hiking trails clear in mid July, though Tioga was open very early last year. Glacier can be a problem in June too. If possible the trip would be best in July to even August. Better weather in Washington/Oregon then too (sunnier).
Yeah, it's a balancing act, I wanted to go to Yosemite when the falls were going pretty good instead of dried up like in August, but then they didn't get the road clear til middle June or so that year.
Temps are a lot better on the bike in June too. I can deal with extreme cold, extreme heat gets me bad. Death Valley was only 83 when I went through, it was awesome. This post was edited on 9/23/14 at 2:13 pm
Posted on 9/23/14 at 4:29 pm to Shexter
quote:
Spend as much time as possible with him while he's still around.
I'd do almost anything to have one more day hanging out with my old man.
I plan on it.
He's only 49 so I'm hoping for many, many more years.
Thanks for all the suggestions, I will certainly look into all of them.
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