TOURING N.W USA and CANADA ? any tips?

[Dave'n'Kim]

Hi there. Wife and I (in our 50?s) have a Dodge truck and 32ft 5th wheel, fairly self-sufficient with solar panels, so prefer cheap quiet campsites, or better yet, free boondocking camping.
Starting mid-July 2013, we are planning a FOUR-MONTH trip heading north from mid California ? see itinerary below ? to include as many National Parks as possible (to get our money?s worth from the Annual Pass!).  We do NOT have any particular campsites in mind yet, nor do I want to reserve anything, as that would tie us down to a non-flexible agenda.  We?ll have to play everything by ear!  Does anyone have any useful advice or tips about any of the areas ? better sights to see, free or cheap camping sites we could use, etc.
CA: Lompoc ? Sacramento (visiting a friend) ? Lassen Volcanic Park ? Redwood National Park via Eureka.
OR: Crater Lake ? Bend ? through Salem & Portland.
WA: Mt. Rainer National Park ? clockwise all around Olympic National Park (big area - need advice here!) ? past Seattle via Tacoma ? North Cascades National Park.
CANADA, BC: Cross border via Osoyoos ? Okanagan Falls ? Kelowna ? through Kamloops to Clearwater and Wells Grey National Park ? Blue River ? Mt. Robson / Jasper ? Banff ? Yoho National Park ? Glacier National Park ? Kimberley (wife?s namesake!) ?
USA ? MT: cross border via Roosville ? Glacier National Park ? along Montana Hwy 2 to Williston (is there a more scenic way through Montana?) -
ND: Theo Roosevelt National Park ?
SD: Minuteman Missile Nat History Site ? Badlands National Park ? Wind Cave National Park ?
WY: Yellowstone ? Grand Teton ?
ID: Craters Of The Moon ?
NV: Great Basin National Park ?
CA: Bodie, then - back home! (we?ve ?done? Yosemite, Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon!).
            Thanks for any advice!  Dave and Kim
PS Hope I have the right place to enter this - my first time!

 

[SeilerBird]

Sound like a great trip. You should have plenty of time to see everything and the weather should be great while you are on your trip. Here are my suggestions:

CA: Lompoc ? Sacramento (visiting a friend) ? Lassen Volcanic Park ? Redwood National Park via Eureka.

When you travel from Lompoc to Lassen I would suggest starting out on Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway and heading north from there. Highway 1 up through Big Sur is one the most beautiful highways I have ever seen. If you are a hiker the hike to the top of Lassen is amazing. You can see Mount Shasta from the top.

OR: Crater Lake ? Bend ? through Salem & Portland.

The Columbia River area around Mount Hood is amazing.

WA: Mt. Rainer National Park

If possible try and be at the Paradise area of Mount Rainier as close to August 1st as you can. The best display of wildflowers I have ever seen occurs then. I am talking billions and billions of wildflowers.

clockwise all around Olympic National Park (big area - need advice here!)

Olympic is really three parks in one. There is the beach area and my favorite campground there is Kalaloch. On the western face of the park are several rain forests, of which Hoh is the biggest and it has a great campground. The third area is alpine meadows at Hurricane Ridge. All three areas are worth spending time at.

? past Seattle via Tacoma ? North Cascades National Park.

North Cascades is one of my all time favorite parks. There is a great little campground there called Godell Creek. Only 22 spaces and no hookups. It is located right on the Skagit River and you won't need reservations.

CANADA, BC: Cross border via Osoyoos ? Okanagan Falls ? Kelowna ? through Kamloops to Clearwater and Wells Grey National Park ? Blue River ? Mt. Robson / Jasper ? Banff ? Yoho National Park ? Glacier National Park ? Kimberley (wife?s namesake!) ?

I have not been to any of these parks.

USA ? MT: cross border via Roosville ? Glacier National Park ? along Montana Hwy 2 to Williston

Glacier is fantastic. I would recommend spending a few days on the west side at Apgar Campground and then spend a few days on the east side.

ND: Theo Roosevelt National Park ?

Fantastic place. Just like Yellowstone without the geysers and the tourists.

SD: Minuteman Missile Nat History Site ? Badlands National Park ? Wind Cave National Park ?

National Park campgrounds in both parks are very nice.

WY: Yellowstone

Yellowstone is gigantic. I find it best to camp at Mammoth Hot Springs and see the north end of the park. Then move down to Madison for the middle of the park and then to Fishing Bridge to see the south end of the park.

Grand Teton

Colter Bay campground is never full and it centrally located. Make sure you go to Oxbow Bend at sunset. It becomes a zoo without bars.

NV: Great Basin National Park

Fantastic park but the campgrounds are very small. Stay in Baker instead.

 

[Wendy]

Sounds like an awesome trip. Just a couple of notes.

The campground at Wind Cave NP is closed due to the sequester. The cave tour is great, so is the one at Jewel Cave Nat Mon.

Oregon state parks are fantastic. There's a nice one in La Pine, south of Bend, and another one west of Bend at Tumalo that usually has space during the week but is packed on weekends.

Lehman Caves at Great Basin is another nice cave tour. If you're claustrobic, the first 5 minutes is airtime hairy but it's ok after that.

Crater Lake is spectacular and has a nice campground.

 

[BruceinFL]

Tom,

Your park info here and in the other thread is great. You should write a book...I'll be the first to buy it.

 

[Marsha/CA]

A couple of thoughts:

• Check the weather conditions at Crater Lake, even in the summer months.  We hit snow and sleet when we visited a number of years ago.
• If you have pets going into Canada make sure you have all vaccinations up to date with paper work
• No guns into Canada.
• You will need a passport coming back into the U.S.
• Be sure and check to see if the National Parks have sites that can hold your rig, some sites are smaller in the Parks.

Have a great time.
Marsha~

 

[SeilerBird]

Tom,

Your park info here and in the other thread is great. You should write a book...I'll be the first to buy it.

Thank you Bruce. I am retired and writing a book is work so there is no chance that will happen. I thought about doing some writing when I first started out ten years ago, but quickly I realized that the National Parks already have a huge volume of information printed about it. I really would not have anything special to add to the conversation. If I ever did decide to write a book it would be about the California Condor.

 

[Dave'n'Kim]

FANTASTIC, valuable responses! thanks to all.
- I agree Bruce - TOM your info was GREAT! Just the kind of stuff I wanted! Your comment about Roosevelt Park will help me convince DW it's worth the 'long loop' Montana detour'!
- Wendy, thanks for the heads-up on Wind Cave CG, bummer.
- Marsha, great tips! We have a cat but are prepared (vaccination papers etc); also have passports, no guns, and have read up on border requirements/'problems':  When 'google-driving' through one crossing (Osoyoos?) I was fascinated to see a big Fresh Fruit shop right by the border (on the side of the road just before the border!) - I'd have thought Fresh Fruit was the one thing no-one's ever certain about (I'm certainly not, so we won't risk carrying any 'fresh food'!), so who'd buy it just before the border?!  (Wife thinks the produce they sell is simply that confiscated by the border guards, then re-sold!) 
Great Stuff, thanks guys! Dave

 

[Marsha/CA]

Glad we could help.  Re the cat, be sure it has had rabies vaccination, Canada requires it.

Marsha~

 

[SeilerBird]

You are welcome Dave. There are three sections to Roosevelt. The middle one is TRs cabin and you don't want to hike to it. The south section is where most people go but the north section is the one that I really like. I hopped into my van one afternoon to head out to see if I could find some wildlife. Well an entire heard of buffalo had decided to camp out in the campground. So there was about 20 or so buffalos hanging out by the check in board and restrooms right at the entrance to the campground. No one was checking in while they were there ;D They left after an hour or so. Most of the time you are in TR you feel like you are in your own private National Park since virtually no one knows the place exists.

 

[Trailer traveler]

...The campground at Wind Cave NP is closed due to the sequester...

The Campground at Wind Cave NP is open. I just confirmed this by telephone a few minutes ago. It was closed for a few days, but is now open for the summer. One loop is closed for repairs, but according to the lady I spoke with they still have 54 sites available and never fill up.

Dave,

On the way from Glacier to Williston on MT-2 there is the Underground City at Havre, MT.

Since you posted on two forums, here is my response to that post in case others might be interested:

Between Wind Cave and Yellowstone, you might consider visiting Devils Tower National Monument and Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. If you are going to enter Yellowstone through the East entrance, there are Campgrounds in the Shoshone National Forest two of which Rex Hale and Wapiti have some electric sites. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and the Beartooth Highway are worth exploring.

In Yellowstone itself, there are several first come first serve campgrounds. This is a pretty good list of the campgrounds outside of Yellowstone. The Gallatin National Forest has opportunities for dispersed camping. You can download the Motor Vehicle Use Maps. There is a Ranger Station in West Yellowstone where you can pickup paper maps and check for changes in the dispersed camping rules.

In Grand Teton, there are usually dry camping spots available at the Colter Bay and Gros Ventre Campgrounds.

 

[Wendy]

Glad to hear the campground at Wind Cave NP is open. We stayed there 5 days while exploring the area. Nice little campground, very quiet. The campground doesn't fill but the larger sites do get taken.

 

[Jim Godward]

USA ? MT: cross border via Roosville ? Glacier National Park ? along Montana Hwy 2 to Williston (is there a more scenic way through Montana?) -

Arguably, yes.  I-90/94 have more variety but from Glacier east 2 there is not much change.  South to Missoula and then east you will be in mountains till you are east of Livingston, then prairie till you reach the bad lands around Miles City till east of Glendive.  Also there are more interesting side trips on the southern route ch as the Beartooth Hwy, mining museum in Butte, opal mining in and around Phillipsburg.  At Glendive there is the state badlands park which is an interesting drive.

Lots more if you interested.

 

[DKL]

Hello! I just wanted to add that the western Washington state parks (I'm sure this applies to many parks in the summer) do tend to book quickly for the summer months, especially the Olympic peninsula. We are from Seattle and are doing "local" trips this year and were surprised at how crowded things were already when we booked a few months ago. That isn't to say you won't get a spot, but you may want to call ahead or arrive early to the places you are interested in. Have a fantastic trip!

Alisa

 

[babylunatic]

Just FYI. I was at Crater Lake about 3 weeks ago, and they are conserving water, since they had 1/3 less snow this year. So, the water is turned off at CG. Before you hit Crater Lake, fill your fresh water tank. They do have coin-operated shower and laundry, so no problem there.

Anyway, I'm hijacking this thread to ask about the Canadian parks. I'm leaving Vancouver, BC in a few days, heading to Jasper NP via Kamloops, then heading down to Banff NP. My question is, is the nearby Yoho NP or Kootenay NP worth going?