Parks and Routes Help 😊

[stef0597]

Hi! 😊
My husband and I have officially been in our GT27FB for 1 month full timing and are starting to get used to our new life. We are planning to travel from Austin to California and want to find some good routes (to avoid The snow) but we would love great parks and scenery. We plan on going NM- AZ- CA and then on to Oregon, Washington, Utah, etc.
Has anyone done this and have any suggestions??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Overstreet]

Perhaps "when" might be important. (ie January or June)

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Another constraint is how many weeks / months / years the trip is targeted to take. If you have a target arrival time, that does impact how you do this.

The "big deal" stuff (National Parks etc) will take a certain amount of time. If you want to stay in the park, they likely also need advanced reservations. In some cases that can be a year in advance. Is staying in the park worth it? Is this park better than that park? Is this thing at that park a "must see"? All of that is up to the individual.

As you move north on the coast, temperatures will drop and rain levels will increase. In the winter (February) the Oregon / Washington coast can be a bit of a turn off. In August, I'd much rather be there than outside Phoenix.

Next layer is just how crazy you want to get. There is a *lot* of BLM land between Austin and LA. You *could* spend 90% of your time well off the beaten path. For some that's the best way to do things. For others, 15 minutes or less to the restaurant / laundromat / grocery store is the target.

There are *lots* of choices and lots of ways to do this ....

Bob

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Overstreet

Perhaps "when" might be important. (ie January or June)

Overstreet's question is critical. However, in general to avoid snow, stay to the South. Just know the altitudes across Southern New Mexico and Arizona will still get you cold at night. Our trip was made this past April. No freezing temperature and nice pleasant days.

You can take 290 West out of Austin and drive through the Hill Country to I-10. Tour the LBJ house in Johnson City and stay at Perdenales State Park nearby. Once you get to Fredricksburg, it's just a short hop to I-10 or you can take SH16 down to Ingram and I-10 if you'd like to tour their Stonehenge Replica (it's free).

Once on I-10 it's easy to make time, but not a lot to see and few camping options. Balmorhea State Park (past Fort Stockton) was closed and undergoing repairs last April, but should be reopened now. You should check first and just know, I've not stayed there. Or, turn South on SH17 towards Fort Davis. There is Ft. Davis State Park and you can visit the McDonald Observatory. From there to El Paso, keep your gas tank full and keep driving.

If you are a Harvest Host member, there is the Sabra Antigua Winery in Anthony, NM. They even have one 30A electrical hookup we were allowed to use free since no one else was there the night we were. Rockhound SP in Deming, NM is not too far up the road as well.

We enjoyed Tombstone, AZ which is just a short loop south of I-10. We stayed at the Apache RV Park in St. Denis on the loop down the night brfore for $20. Nice and quiet. On the loop out after touring Tombstone, we stayed at Karcher Caverns SP for $30. Took the tour of the caverns. Price is $23/person, but was worth it if you're not in a hurry.

Stayed mostly in RV parks from there on (most were gravel lots and nothing to recommend). We drove the West Saguaro National Park near Tucson (there is also an East park). From there we diverged South to I-8 for the rest of our drive. We enjoyed the history and tour of the old Yuma Prison before leaving Arizona.

The sand hills in Southern California and then the unique boulder mountains were a surprise to me. I hadn't realized the mountains extended that far South and was expecting more desert plains like in Arizona.

Stopped our first night in California at San Diego RV Resort, which seemed to be quite a way out of San Diego proper. From there we did the Coast Highway thing.

Overall, it was an enjoyable trip and prices were reasonable until we got to California.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.

[PKI]

Wear out the Hill Country around Austin

Try Big Bend in South Texas

Check out Los Cruces

Then Demming

Then Quartzite .... https://www.quartzsitervshow.com/attendee-info

Then Joshua Tree

Then Palm Springs

Then San Diego

Then Paso Robles ... Cambria, Moonstone Beach and Hurst Castle

Then Laguna Seca Recreational area .... Monterey, 17 mile drive and Big Sur

Then SF Bay Area

If the rain has slowed, move North.

If the rain has not slowed, make your way over to Sacramento, see Napa, and find a quiet place to stay in the valley until the rain does slow. Lodi might work. There is wine there.

Make your way up the coast from Pt Reyes, Bodega Bay and then Ben Bow. We drive PCH. You may stick to HW101. Research first

Then the Redwoods

Then up the Oregon Coast on HW101.

Explore Portland and the Columbia Gorge

Then up the Washington Coast to the Olympic Peninsula

Work your way over to Seattle

Now you are ready for Canada or the Run over to Glacier National Park or ?????

It's all about the weather. Go where it works. Hide out when you need to do that.

Good Luck - post your general plan and folks can help you flesh it out. Pat

[uncle_bob]

Hi

As part of "wearing out the hill country" don't leave out visiting every single winery ....

Bob

[mojo]

Campendium, Allstays, and a slew of other campground websites are best for planning and finding campgrounds. If you are full timing without a tight timeline, you are free to pick your routes based on what you want to see in your travels and select the right time to go based on weather reports. You just need some maps and guide books!

[leap-baby]

There are a number of AZ State Parks in SE AZ that have nice campgrounds. If you wish to stay in the Metro Phoenix area, there are a number of Maricopa County Parks with campgrounds. Most of these facilities have electric and water. You can check them out here:
https://azstateparks.com/find-a-park/
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/

[banderabob]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

As part of "wearing out the hill country" don't leave out visiting every single winery ....

Bob

And a fine Bourbon Distillery, Garrison Brothers in Hye.

[lemley]

Out in West Texas we loved Davis Mountains State Park. At McDonald we booked an evening on the 72”. Wow. Caverns of Sonora off of I 10 was a great stop. Toured the cavern and stayed at the diminutive RV park right there.

[dechampion]

Originally Posted by stef0597

Hi! 😊
My husband and I have officially been in our GT27FB for 1 month full timing and are starting to get used to our new life. We are planning to travel from Austin to California and want to find some good routes (to avoid The snow) but we would love great parks and scenery. We plan on going NM- AZ- CA and then on to Oregon, Washington, Utah, etc.
Has anyone done this and have any suggestions??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We took this exact same trip earlier this year. Lots of very good suggestions already. I wanted to add another. If you like being a stone's throw from the ocean, be sure to reserve a space for at least a few days in Ventura, California, on the Rincon Parkway. Get more info and make reservations here: https://www.ventura.org/parks-depart...incon-parkway/
No hookups, but been one of our favorite places for many, many years. Enjoy !!

[CruizinDux]

If you're in ca 101, great wine country in Paso Robles, spend ackuple of days..(couple of very nice sun rv resorts, the newer cava verrrry nice and the nearby wine country rv resort not too shabby). Further S, Jalama beach a santa barbara co campground on the coast tuck in next to vandenberg AFB. Jalama burgers at the shack!!!!!I

B

[CruizinDux]

If you're in ca 101, great wine country in Paso Robles, spend ackuple of days..(couple of very nice sun rv resorts, the newer cava verrrry nice and the nearby wine country rv resort not too shabby). Further S, Jalama beach a santa barbara co campground on the coast tucked in next to vandenberg AFB. Jalama burgers at the shack!!!!!😀
B

[57Wanderer]

Some ideas: from Austin, drive south to San Antonio, catch Texas Route 90. Stop at Seminole Canyon SP. Then straight west to Marathon. Check out the Gage Hotel, and the Gage Gardens. Take a detour to Big Bend NP, come up out of there via Alpine and then drive west to Marfa. Stay at the Marfa Yacht Club (Airstream AirBnB, with covered spots for traveling Airstreams. In Marfa, take a tour of the Chinati Foundation; the art of Donald Judd and his artist friends. You can take a day trip up to the Davis Mountains, and take in a star party (weather permitting) at the McDonald Observatory. Dark skies, 10 telescopes, astrophysicists sharing all the stuff they know! Follow Route 90 up to the I-10, and proceed further westwood.......City of Rocks in Deming, Bisbee, Arizona, Tucson (Gilbert Ray Campground, first come first served, worth it due to the surroundings and proximity to the city)..........Then California, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Anza Borrego SP, San Diego. Happy trails to you!

[stef0597]

Thank you so much for all your help!! We have to take in our GT to AS in Austin on Friday and after that we are headed to Davis Mountains. From there we are making our way through NM to AZ to CA. We are then hoping to do CA, OR, UT, WA and lots more. We appreciate all of the suggestions and will continue to look to this forum for help. You all have been amazing.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by stef0597

Thank you so much for all your help!! We have to take in our GT to AS in Austin on Friday and after that we are headed to Davis Mountains. From there we are making our way through NM to AZ to CA. We are then hoping to do CA, OR, UT, WA and lots more. We appreciate all of the suggestions and will continue to look to this forum for help. You all have been amazing.

Enjoy your trip!


Just to add to what 57Wanderer posted. If you do go the more Southern 90 route, don't forget to stop at the Judge Roy Bean welcome center in Langtry. Then, if you do take the side trip to Big Bend, just know you won't be able to tow your GT up into the Chisos Basin campground. To miss camping there is why I didn't make the suggestion to go there. But not a reason to stay away either.