Suggested Campgrounds out West

[Bert]

We are going from Florida out west. We are looking at campgrounds in these areas.
Around Mt. Rushmore
Little Big Horn
Yellowstone
Salt Lake City, Ut
Grand Canyon
The Four Corners
Around Albuquerque, NM
Dallas, TX

I'm trying to wing it. I know where we want to go but I want to be flexible. I'm looking for nice campgrounds with at least water and electric. Also I'm trying to figure out how important reservations are in these areas.

[Loneoak]

We toured the U.S. South west recently. We stayed at the Cortez, CO KOA and found it to be very nice. It is spacious and the Internet is very good. This is not far from the four corners. We also drove to Telluride from there as a day trip and was it ever beautiful!

As for Yellowstone, we ere there two years ago and stayed in the park at Fishing Bridge. Talk about being shoe-horned in! We could not open our awning as the neighbouring unit was too close!

I hope this helps.

[johnboytoo]

We make the run from Dallas Eastward a lot, so I can help that way... we've stayed at all these, so can recommend them.. they are wife-approved!

What are you looking for,
on I-10 or I-20 ?
just "sleep stopovers and go" with just basics?
or stay a day or two in a nice park ?

I use all manner of look ups when going to a new area,
google, google maps, but have found a few users that match our values on http://www.campgroundreviews.com/ I saw how they rated parks we've been to and they matched

North of Nawlins is a nice state park -->
http://www.reserveamerica.com/campin...&parkId=240011

On I-10 in 'Losing-Annie' --> http://www.cajunpalms.com/ (will be there 12-11 thru 12-14!)

For stopover just west of Shreveport http://www.campingfriend.com/misselliesrvpark/ can be loud right off I-20 on the service road, but easy on and off for a quick getaway

nicer - Tall Pines in Shreveport - now KOA --> https://www.google.com/search?q=koa+...3925ad1606c0,1

even nicer in canton, tx --> http://millcreekranchresort.com/

even nicer in grapevine, tx --> http://www.vineyardscampground.com/ (staying there Christmas week)

good luck and jealous of your trip !

Member of GoodSam ?
On our trip to hilton head and back used their trip planner which list all kinds of campgrounds around your trip path... gave mileage and time between them which really helped when we were hustling along...
but usually just called on the day of for that nights stay... and even found a nice little family run park South of Atlanta Georgia that had like 20 sites, but it was on their farm and just gee-or-geous !!!

http://www.goodsamclub.com/travel/freetriprouting/

[cw3jason]

Beaver Lake Campground in Custer South Dakota was real nice. close to the state park, MT Rushmoor, and Crazy Horse

[harley]

What ever you do , do not take the trailer with you thru the needles highway, south of mt rushmore..alot of very small tunnels. a must to do by truck only. we stayed at a small private site just south of rushmore kinda on the way to crazy horse . do not remember the name. Koa's were way over priced.
Only place we found a bit full was fishing bridge in yellowstone. close sites but you are only sleeping there as the days are for touring. Alot of sites there are water only and maybe sewer , cause of the very old electrical system but if you have a good battery , you won't need power for just a few days.

[tator447]

In Dallas, or just outside of Dallas in Grapevine, there is a nice City owned park: www.vineyardscampground.com

We stayed there for a week while visiting our son and enjoyed it totally.

Good luck with your trip.

Travel well, travel safe,
Jim

[Sirsea]

Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park just outside the West entrance is a great park, very clean and well kept; walking distance to a few restaurants and downtown shopping.
Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City, SD is one of the best around Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills (be sure to drive Needles Highway..just not with the camper)

[Bert]

I took a picture of the Good Sam Map I'm using to route the trip. I like the map because I can set warnings for low bridges and tunnels.

[Bert]

The trip will be a mix between staying over and passing through. The idea is to hit the major places I listed and cruise through the rest. I don't want to rush, if we like a place we stay if not we hit the road. I'm hoping to keep the driving days down to 8 hours max. I will have at least 30 days to make the trip possibly a little more.

[johnboytoo]

Dang - I'm even MORE jealous now seeing the map and 30 days !!!!

[Bert]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Dang - I'm even MORE jealous now seeing the map and 30 days !!!!

I've had this map up in my locker for months at work. My daughters and I look at probably once a week and write down in a book the places we want to see. My wife is not so excited because all she thinks about is the cost. I tell her even though I pray we can both enjoy our retirement and travel the country we need to enjoy today. Plus you can put a price on the memories with our girls.

[harley]

Looks like you will be near Zion and Bryce canyon when you are in the lower part of Utah. Great parks to hike with unbelievable scenery.

[johnboytoo]

Originally Posted by Bert

I've had this map up in my locker for months at work. My daughters and I look at probably once a week and write down in a book the places we want to see. My wife is not so excited because all she thinks about is the cost. I tell her even though I pray we can both enjoy our retirement and travel the country we need to enjoy today. Plus you can put a price on the memories with our girls.

Amen to that --- too many friends and relatives have waited too long and can't now...

An active older couple we are meeting next week at Cajun Palms, well, the hubby retired and wife is retiring in Jan...
bought a new Motorhome and planned to do the semi full timing thing...

he's starting to have health issues and they may not be able to go now...

[socoguy]

Go for it and leave regrets behind. You never know what is in the future the memories with the girls will always be precious. We did a similar trip last april (93) days. We are retired, we left shortly after my wife Laura retired. Have a few friends that postponed plans and now they regret it.
Best of luck when are you leaving?
Go Well!

[Loneoak]

We recently took a trip out west, and the highlight was the Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ. Page is near the top of the state, about in the middle. Below is a picture I took there.

We saw a lot of really cool stuff on our trip (Bryce Canyon, UT, Zion National Park, UT, Grand Canyon, AZ, Colorado, etc.) but I would have to say this was the highlight. It is so beautiful that it takes your breath away. Antelope Canyon is on the list of the most beautiful places on the planet. I highly recommend you go there. It is one of the most beautiful slot canyons in existence, and definitely the most accessible. The parking lot is a few yards from the entrance (Lower Antelope Canyon).

We went there on a day trip from where we were staying at the time (Jacob Lake, AZ).

One thing you need to know about the area is that Highway 89 is closed from Page to Highway 89A which runs south to Flagstaff. This is due to a landslide there in 2013 and it is a huge job to replace the road.

Here is a link to the thread about our trip, and I added an album of pictures to Photos at the top of the page.

The U.S. is a beautiful county and has a lot of awesome and diverse scenery. We are lucky that we are able to explore it in our beautiful RV.

[jlongsta]

Mesa Verde (which is fairly close to Four Corners) has a few hookups in Morefield CG. If you haven't seen this park, it is worth visiting.

[jlongsta]

Last summer, we went to Williams, AZ and stayed at the Grand Canyon Railroad campground. We rode the train to the south rim of the canyon. The campground is nice. The spaces are large and all are pull-through. The only thing I didn't like was the lava rock in between the spaces. I was forever sweeping it out of the camper.

[jlongsta]

We stayed at the American campground in Albuquerque. It was very nice.

[DavidandJennifer]

For Dallas / Fort Worth the Vineyards campground can't be beat; we also stayed at the American Campground in Albuquerque and had a great time! Good luck with the trip.... the memories will be irreplaceable!

[johnboytoo]

oh, and I would be remiss not to offer a beverage or two when you come through "Big D" !