November 2022 — The open road is calling! Road trips are an opportunity to choose your adventure, on your schedule, with your favorite people! Explore famous parks, discover quirky roadside attractions, and roam new landscapes. Tailor the trip how you like – since you’re driving your new home-on-wheels, the possibilities are endless! Whether your trip is 8-nights or 8-weeks, read on for a few tips from our family’s own cross-country adventures!
Plan It or Wing It?
Everyone has a different take on this! Some travelers love to build their perfect itinerary far in advance, making sure to incorporate all the destinations, campgrounds, and routes they’ve heard about. Others want a flexible experience, allowing them to adapt to weather changes or to take however they like at each stop.
When our family takes a longer trip we typically do a bit of both – building a rough route plan and making advance reservations at a couple key campgrounds (particularly for evenings we expect to arrive late, or if we expect crowds). The rest of the schedule we leave flexible, so we can adjust our trip along the way! However much planning you prefer to do up-front, just make sure to identify any specific stops or dates you need to hit early so you can work toward those.
How Far to Go?
We’ve found that a daily 4-6 hour drive leaves plenty of time for fun while making progress down the road. This usually works out to ~300 miles per day. Wakeup and relax at camp, enjoy an activity nearby, and hit the road around noon. Make a stop or two along the drive to checkout roadside viewpoints, visit local attractions, or stretch your legs (remember- your kitchen and bathroom are with you!) Passing through a town grab an icecream, play a round of putt-putt, or unleash the kids at a local playground.
With the above said, we’ve also driven over 600 miles in a day! If you’re on a tight schedule, or traveling through an area with limited scenic options, you might choose to hit the Interstate and go! On cross-country trips we’ll often plan a few long days and then slow down in regions where we want to loiter and see more.
Where to Stop?
The possibilities are literally endless since our RVs may travel anywhere within the contiguous US and Canada! If you’re an RV first-timer, you’ll probably seek the comfort of spending the night at an established campground. Some campgrounds are first-come-first-served while others allow reservations. Many have transitioned to web-based payments rather than old cash envelopes.
How to Find a Campsite?
Pick your favorite spot at campendium.com, which provides a filterable map showing all the public, private, and boondock sites that users have reviewed. State Park websites and recreation.gov are great resources for campground availability and making reservations from the road. In most areas campsites are readily available on Sunday through Thursday, even when arriving later in the evening. If you’re planning to visit a particularly busy location (National Park), or a popular region on a summer weekend, you may run into trouble finding a last-minute spot. If you weren’t able to make a reservation in advance, then look for backup options nearby (remember those boondocking sites we talked about?)
Make sure to bring a good road atlas to visualize your route, spot areas with camping/recreation options, and make notes right onto the page. We’ve found the spiral-bound National Geographic atlas super-durable and useful. Your atlas works, even when cell service doesn’t.
Any Campsite Recommendations?
Yes! Many of our favorite places have been a bit off the beaten path – smaller State Parks across the country, or lesser-known federally-managed Rec Areas and Monuments. These places are often less busy than the big National Parks, while offering unique attractions and great campgrounds. Don’t be hesitant to leave the Interstate and travel 2-lane highways on the way – you’ll experience so much more! Check out some vacation itineraries at boundless-rv.com/tips, or build your own trip that fits in a few of these great stops that we’ve personally tried and approved 🙂
Ready to Try It Yourself?
Checkout availability of our modern, clean, and fully-equipped rentals! All of our rigs are equipped with kitchens and bathrooms, making road trips fun and easy for the whole family. Contact us anytime by email or phone with questions – happy camping!
