May Jun trip Grand Canyon and Colorado from RI

[Boba911]

I plan to travel from Rhode Island to the Grand Canyon during the month of May following Rt 66. In June i will travel through Colorado to Steamboat to visit a friend. While traveling through Colorado, I will be stopping along the way to do some trout fishing on the state's great rivers. I plan to follow Rt50, the loneliest road, on the way back to RI in late June. My question is what do some of you think about the weather going out in May and back in June for this adventure?

[Steamy1]

Historically, the weather is generally beautiful. But this is Colorado, and we have seen snow every month of the year, though in May/June it will be gone in a day or two.

[field & stream]

Good advice from all. Personally, I would travel winterized and use the lug-a-jug water system.

The high elevation portions of the trip have to be watched closely. Steamboat is about 7,000 feet and the passes to get there are in the range of 10,000.

[rodsterinfl]

I will be out that way as well though I will not reach Colorado until May 29th-June ish to visit Mesa, Black Canyon and Great Sand Dunes. Hoping for the best.

[Piggy Bank]

We did Kansas City to Grand Canyon a couple of years ago during the first week of May. That was a fantastic time to travel. We went the 66 route, through Wichita( stayed 1 night there) ,then thru Liberal KS, Dalhart TX, and spent next night in Tucumcari. Next night near Petrified Forest. 4 nights in Grand Canyon and took same route home, staying in Alburqurque.

There was A LOT of semi truck traffic on this trip in NM and AZ. With the DOT regulations on drivers having to take rest breaks, the shoulders and exits were full of truckers. We guessed that distance is probably the 1 day allowed drive from LA for the trucks.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

As mentioned in other threads, wind may well be an issue at that time of year. Watch the various information sources. If they are calling out a high wind situation, pull over and wait it out.

Back when we lived in Kansas you could tell when there had been a high wind situation by the number of vehicles "way off over there" from the highway. It would take a while for them all to get "recovered".

Bob

[Aironius]

You didn't ask, but I will cheerfully offer my advice on RV camping at Grand Canyon.
When we visited last (several years ago) it was crowded. Probably worse now. All the campgrounds were full, and we saw rangers running people out of the roadside spots they were attempting to camp in. This was on the more popular South Rim. We noticed a cattle guard and a dirt road running south into the Coconino Nat'l. Forest, which is outside the GC park boundaries. Driving over the cattle guard, we found ourselves on a dirt road that was quite passable in our 2WD F-150. We simply drove until we didn't see anyone's campfire nearby, pulled off the road and slept in the truck bed. Excellent campsite, great stargazing, and when we awoke the next morning it was a 5 minute drive to the South Rim to watch the sunrise over Grand Canyon.
I think this road would be accessible towing a small to medium AS trailer, you might consider the option if you are unable to reserve a site in the park.

[bholland]

We spent essentially our first two years RVing in and around Colorado. Snow in May is not uncommon but it typically does not last more than a day or two. Just be flexible with your plans, ensure you have propane, and sit tight if the forecast indicates a storm coming on your route.

We've never winterized while on the road and have experienced temps in the single digits. Just kept the furnace running and cabinet doors open (esp. in the bathroom, a cold spot in our rig). You may want to bring along some 2" thick wood blocks to put under your stabilizing jack pads if you expect snow so you your jack pads don't freeze to the ground. If it's super windy, covering your tank area with some cardboard or similar may help keep your tanks above freezing.

It's a lovely drive. You're sure to enjoy it!

[mejess1964]

Originally Posted by Boba911

I plan to travel from Rhode Island to the Grand Canyon during the month of May following Rt 66. In June i will travel through Colorado to Steamboat to visit a friend. While traveling through Colorado, I will be stopping along the way to do some trout fishing on the state's great rivers. I plan to follow Rt50, the loneliest road, on the way back to RI in late June. My question is what do some of you think about the weather going out in May and back in June for this adventure?

If you're using Google or RV Life for your routing source you may want to try the "avoid highways" option and at least see what it comes up with. The reason is... I 40 is the main east/west trucking route and it can get very hectic trying to drive around trucks. I have 3 million miles driving an 18 wheeler. They hate you as much as you hate them. Regardless.... there isn't much of rt 66 left out west. It got swallowed up by I40.
If you do decide to travel on the big road it's less stressful if you set your cruise on 65mph and stay in the right lane. That way you will rarely need to pass a truck, and that's where most conflicts happen. You get a 71mph truck passing a 70mph truck and traffic builds up and everybody gets mad. Just go 65 and peacefully let them go on up the road.

[swat2]

Originally Posted by Aironius

You didn't ask, but I will cheerfully offer my advice on RV camping at Grand Canyon.
When we visited last (several years ago) it was crowded. Probably worse now. All the campgrounds were full, and we saw rangers running people out of the roadside spots they were attempting to camp in. This was on the more popular South Rim. We noticed a cattle guard and a dirt road running south into the Coconino Nat'l. Forest, which is outside the GC park boundaries. Driving over the cattle guard, we found ourselves on a dirt road that was quite passable in our 2WD F-150. We simply drove until we didn't see anyone's campfire nearby, pulled off the road and slept in the truck bed. Excellent campsite, great stargazing, and when we awoke the next morning it was a 5 minute drive to the South Rim to watch the sunrise over Grand Canyon.
I think this road would be accessible towing a small to medium AS trailer, you might consider the option if you are unable to reserve a site in the park.

We pulled our GT 27 FBT down this road and camped while visiting the Grand Canyon NP the first week of November 2022. It was a great spot! From Hwy 64, the National Park road along the south rim, turn south off the pavement onto Coconino Rim Road (unpaved) and drive maybe a quarter mile or so to a cattle guard crossing. The road to this point had lots of potholes but was pretty level. I believe this may be the national park / National Forest boundary, because the road after the cattle guard was well maintained and is labeled Fire Road 310 in Google maps. Continuing southward on FR310 there are numerous places to pull off the road and camp, and the spots will accommodate any size rig. We continued down the road toward Grandview lookout tower to camp and had the place to ourselves, but there were several folks camped in the forest along the way. We had excellent T-Mobile cell service here. As for fishing in Colorado in the May-June time frame, we've been disappointed that time of year due to high flows and murky waters from snowmelt runoff in the Rio Grande and Arkansas River basins. Of course that will vary from year to year depending on snow amounts and temperatures.

[djabl]

Generally that time of year is a fine time to travel. As already mentioned Colorado can have unpredictable weather. It will probably be totally fine but watch the weather. From a freezing pipe perspective the likelihood is greater that your low points will freeze before the inside lines will. Know where your low point valves are and how they operate to drain what is in the low lines at a moments notice. If you have winterized it is not hard but if you are going over a pass and it starts to snow it is nice to be able to pull over somewhere and release that water and have some peace of mind. Other than that, watch out for wind and enjoy the beauty.