What resources you use frequently when planning a trip

[spreadmywing]

I wonder what are your favorite resources you use for planning your trip?

Right now I have
Guide to scenic highways & byways
-the 300 best drives in the US

Mountain directory app, I check for difficulty of road (as newbie, I am nervous and don't want to get myself into a situation too hard to handle)

Allstay app for checking on campsite

What do you use for checking weather?

I use REI national parks app for researching trail

Anything else?

[Protagonist]

I use Google Earth or Google Maps to get a satellite view of the campground, especially when deciding which campsite to reserve.

I use The Weather Channel online on my laptop to get extended (up to 15-day) forecasts for my destination and intermediate stops before the trip, and then use AccuWeather on my phone during the trip.

iExit app on my phone for planning fuel and meal stops while in transit.

Just about every state has a website for state parks, usually with up-to-date information on full or partial closures, construction, storm damage, etc. Often with downloadable park maps and/or brochures, too.

Corps of Engineers has the Corps Lakes Gateway (http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/visitors.cfm) for information on every facility including both campgrounds and day-use areas, on every Corps lake in the US. Some of the information is also available on AllStays, but some of the information on the Gateway isn't on AllStays.

[spreadmywing]

Thank you! That is very helpful. Bought the iexit!

[Ed Brownfield]

My wife and I take about 30 days driving from VA to AZ every year. We have done most routes so many times that we are tired of them. This year we are considering taking I 64 West to I 70 West into CO and then heading south to AZ. Can anyone tell us things to do and see along that route? We normally plan for several three or four day stops during the trip. We would like to get off of the interstates and take secondary roads but that seems to backfire every time we've tried it. However you know of secondary roads that are easy to drive on along this route please let me know. Does anyone reading this forum know of a trip planning service that will plan a trip like this for us with suggestions? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[PKI]

https://www.travelks.com/listing/see...ne-museum/201/ .... try for dinner - http://www.brookvillehotel.com/ .... desert - http://www.kansastravel.org/russellstover.htm

The mansion is filled with original items, not replacements or reproductions. China, gold decorations, linens, furniture, and a bit of music to cheer you up.

Dinner - if you don't like this place, try Strouds in Wichita. It's pan fried and the gravy is good too. http://stroudswichita.com/

Desert - Russel Stover is worth a stop. They have first line product and their mistakes as well. Great fun, but don't expect to leave without extra calories. They even have ice cream.

And then there is Ike's Library too.

Travel safe. Pat

[truxpin]

Recently, we started using an app called "Campendium". A good source for not only commercial campsites but for available "free camping" areas that may be along the route.
Don't get me wrong.... I LOVE a good full hook-up camp site, but a good boondocking site is sometimes worth the stop as well.

[PKI]

We use RV-Parky.com to get local parks. Sometimes a Google search on RV parks near XXX works, but not as well. Allstays is probably on the whole a better tool. Use Good Sam, Woodalls, Passport America, and KOA books for RV parks and AAA state tour books for attractions. The threads here add some real flavor to the research and some tips we might not find any where else. The Google maps give a birds eye view to identify parks that are too close to the highway or train tracks and the little man on the road function gives a look at local conditions. Seeing how much shoulder, how tight the turns are, and just how nice the scenery looks helps with routing decisions. We also pick up the state maps from AAA. They are a bit bigger scale and show details that our book atlas does not. A wall size video screen would be great. We just don't have one. Note - the newer navigation in the TV is a real help once we get to traveling. Convinced that someday someone will develop the perfect RV GPS and when they do it will make all the other trip planning methods obsolete.

Travel safe - Pat

[Len n Jeanne]

Originally Posted by Ed Brownfield

My wife and I take about 30 days driving from VA to AZ every year. We have done most routes so many times that we are tired of them. This year we are considering taking I 64 West to I 70 West into CO and then heading south to AZ. Can anyone tell us things to do and see along that route? We normally plan for several three or four day stops during the trip. We would like to get off of the interstates and take secondary roads but that seems to backfire every time we've tried it. However you know of secondary roads that are easy to drive on along this route please let me know. Does anyone reading this forum know of a trip planning service that will plan a trip like this for us with suggestions? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

It kind of depends on the time of year, but you go right through the Colorado Rockies. You might park for a couple of days in or near Glenwood Springs, and then take your tow vehicle on excursions up to Aspen and on some of the Forest Service roads up there.

If you get over to eastern Utah on I-70, you can drop down, find a nice RV park in Moab, and then spend a few days visiting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, plus Dead Horse Point State Park. Campground revs are available in Arches and Dead Horse Point, but these places are so popular it can be hard to get in. A bit more central in Utah, you could try Capitol Reef National Park: beautiful and less crowded than the better-known parks.

If you feel more adventuresome, let us know, as there is some great dispersed, back-roads camping in Utah, as well.

For these places, we usually just Google the name of the park, making sure to get the .gov site for the National Parks and BLM camping, not the tour companies or Chamber of Commerce. Ditto for Forest Service campgrounds. The Utah state parks are separate.

When planning to leave the pavement, it's a good idea to first check locally on road conditions.

[ChuckZ]

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on All Stays Pro but really would like to hear if there is something that folks consider a better all around trip planner.