Trip planning help

[DeltaRon]

We live north of Atlanta and our rig is a 2018 Classic 33; TV is 2015 Chevy Silverado HD 2500 Duramax. We’re planning a west trip mid-April. Principal stops are San Antonio, Phoenix, San Diego, Huntington Beach, Palo Alto and Salt Lake City. Plan on also visiting Grand Canyon and parks in Utah. For those of you who have made a similar trip, any advice on best routes/roads to take. We were thinking southern route out and central route back. We have plenty of time since retired. Some of our Texas friends have recommended US Hwy 84 out of Georgia to Texas.

[BayouBiker]

My only advice is to try to avoid I-10 as much as possible. It is terribly boring in West Texas, Houston traffic is awful. Baton Rouge, and Achafalaya basin Causeway have frequent accidents that cause major delays although the scenery is nice so its a tossup. Lake Charles area of I-10 the road is horrid.

[Woosch]

We did the "Great Circle" of the Utah national parks in 2012. To this day we rank it as one of the best trips we did in the Airstream. Be sure to do Mesa Verde and Monument Valley as well. We missed Dead Horse State Park which everyone recommends. (Guess we need to go back) Also, be sure to do some of the Highway 12 scenic byway. We did the section between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef. Spectacular!
Sounds like a great trip. Enjoy.

[Mollysdad]

If you enjoy planning, try RV Trip Wizzard.
It does a lot of things for you.

[PKI]

You might find I10 to be a better route through Texas after San Antonio. The alternatives are not much better. Agree that the causeway may well need a miss. We rolled across with no delay, but there is no way off if a problem does develop and it is a long stretch of road.

You can take I20 to Birmingham, I22 to Tupelo, the Natchez Trace (very relaxing) to Natches, 84 into Texas far enough to head for Nacadoches (just sounds interesting), followed by Austin (hill country is great) and then San Antonio.

Note - The Long long honeymoon has a video on what to see in Birmingham.

You can get to Phoenix off of I10 by taking 70 out of Lordsburg. It is more interesting than the Interstate, but slower. The Apache Gold Casino is not a bad stay, but don't hit it on a weekend.

Do not miss Quartzite. It is not much and still a major element of the RV world.

San Diego is good and bad. It's interesting and there is a lot to do, but it puts you South of the challenging LA parking lot. If you are committed to Huntington Beach, grin and bear it. Just get in line and enjoy the ride. Play the reverse commute directions when possible.

Do the research on the Pacific Coast Highway. A stop at Hurst Castle can be a day trip from Paso Robles and it's worth the trouble. One thread that is running now. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...es-204363.html

Up 101 is Yanks RV Resort. I would not live there as it's too windy, but it is a very nice park and worth a visit. All concrete pull through pads. Well maintained. Your 33 will be right at home.

You will be passing Monterey on the way to Palo Alto. Might be worth doing the 17 mile drive. The views are fantastic.

In Palo Alto, you might try to fit in with the locals and students by parking on El Camino Real around the Stanford Campus area with all the other RVs. Not likely to find a spot open, so better to reserve a site within commute distance. The Park over in Pacifica is often recommended.

Salt Lake is a simple run up I80. There is a nice Passport America park in Winnemucca. The New Frontier Park is mostly gravel and a combination of pull through and back in sites. But it is new, clean and far enough from the Interstate to be quiet.

Note - the alternative to I80 is US50. The loneliest Highway in the US across Nevada and Utah is an interesting route and a bucket list for many RVers. Truly a different experience from I80. You have until Sacramento to chose your way.

Hope you have a good trip. Pat

[no_worries]

We drove 84 from Ruston, TX to Natchez MS last year. Good roads and a pretty / relaxing drive.

[Acheron2010]

Above all else, it is the weather that will decide your pace and your route. Accuweather, Weatherbug, The Weather Channel, whatever, collect as much info as you can to scope out the next day+ travel. You know it gets serious when your campground has tornado shelters.

[Len n Jeanne]

Mid-April is a nice time to be in the Utah desert, but it is still winter in the high elevations. If you Google the national parks you plan to visit, and find their .gov sites (vs. the many commercial sites trying to mimic national parks web sites, they will have average weather data. The Grand Canyon (esp. the North Rim) and Bryce Canyon have surprisingly high elevations.