CT to Yellowstone

[bigt1739]

I am planning a trip from Connecticut to Yellowstone in July...Lucky enough to have the whole month off!! The route out is set. I won't bore you with the details, but basically we are going through NY, Canada, MI...etc. Badlands, Mt Rushmore... kind of the "northern" route for us.

The drive home is where I would like some help. I want to take a more "southern" route. After Yellowstone, we are planning to go down to Arches National Park. I guess we'll head back out through Colorado and then not real sure??

I'm looking for suggestions for things to do/see in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana or Kentucky. I'm not planning to hit all those states, I'd just like to know if there is a better state to go through in terms of sightseeing. Or should we spend more time out West and just shoot straight home?

[Ripley711]

I am jelaous, have a great time.

[GalsofEscape]

me also jealous - we only had two weeks to go from Maryland to Yellowstone. It was a whirlwind trip but had a great time. We also did Badlands and Mt. Rushmore on the way out (with a stop at Walls Drug in Wall SD; LOL) We back traced our way home, so can not provide any info on your question. I am planning on going that way out to Grand Canyon in a couple of years, so am interested in what you get from others on this forum. I hope you are also stopping at the Grand Teton?

[bobcrowder]

Maybe Mammoth cave in Ky. Can see most of it in a couple days. The St. Louis Arch is worth a stop.

[Toby]

HWY 2 from Alliance Nebraska (car henge) to Grand Island Nebraska is very scenic (through the sand hills). Watch for turtles on the road. I broke down on my Goldwing while on that road. What a trip! I took that trip on my way up to Spearfish SD.

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by bigt1739

I am planning a trip from Connecticut to Yellowstone in July...Lucky enough to have the whole month off!! The route out is set. I won't bore you with the details, but basically we are going through NY, Canada, MI...etc. Badlands, Mt Rushmore... kind of the "northern" route for us.

The drive home is where I would like some help. I want to take a more "southern" route. After Yellowstone, we are planning to go down to Arches National Park. I guess we'll head back out through Colorado and then not real sure??

I'm looking for suggestions for things to do/see in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana or Kentucky. I'm not planning to hit all those states, I'd just like to know if there is a better state to go through in terms of sightseeing. Or should we spend more time out West and just shoot straight home?

Nothing against NE, KS, and MO but I would spend the extra time out west and then shoot straight home.

[dcheatwood]

Come thru mo with a few days in Branson then across to Gatlinburg/pigeon forge, tn. Then drive the blue ridge parkway up from Cherokee. Nc to Shenandoah. Va.

[bigt1739]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think we're going to "reverse" our original plan and shoot out to the Grand Canyon first. Then work our way up to Yellowstone spending as much time out there as we can. Then come straight home....

The big decision now is whether or not to tow the car..(we're in a class C)

[Oakman]

I would tow the car. Your trip is planned during the peak tourist season so with a car you will have a much easier time finding a place to park to visit features of the areas you plan to visit. This is especially true of Yellowstone. Just my opinion of course.

[bigt1739]

I am leaning towards taking the toad. In my head the upsides outweigh the downsides...biggest hurdle I getting DW to drive while towing. I think once we get out of these congested roads in the northeast she'll be fine.

[msalvatore]

Originally Posted by bigt1739

I am planning a trip from Connecticut to Yellowstone in July...Lucky enough to have the whole month off!! The route out is set. I won't bore you with the details, but basically we are going through NY, Canada, MI...etc. Badlands, Mt Rushmore... kind of the "northern" route for us.



The drive home is where I would like some help. I want to take a more "southern" route. After Yellowstone, we are planning to go down to Arches National Park. I guess we'll head back out through Colorado and then not real sure??



I'm looking for suggestions for things to do/see in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana or Kentucky. I'm not planning to hit all those states, I'd just like to know if there is a better state to go through in terms of sightseeing. Or should we spend more time out West and just shoot straight home?

Where from CT are you from? We are from Southbury.
We did three one month long cross country trips over the past few summers. Northern route, middle route and southern route.
I can copy our trip logs and diary and sent them to you for some ideas.

Reminder Yellowstone does not allow any hybrid or pop up campers due to the bears. Our 1st trip to Yellowstone they padlocked the hybrid sides closed when we pulled in. We have since upgraded to a nice 5er. They also have a limited number of sites so you better have a reservation. They will not hold it if you do not arrive on your checkin date so plan ahead for a day on slow travel or repairs. We carry two spares for longer trips as it may be hard to find a tire shop with a tire for you to mount and go. We had two trailer flats and one truck flat on one of our trips and having the extra spares helped. Priority one was to get new spares once we mounted them on the camper.

We did not camp every night between major cities or tourist stops we just used a walmart or rest area so we did travel heavy with water. I would say every three days we hit a campground to dump and fill. Many major truck stops out west also have rv hookup 1st come 1st service with a pay as you go meter for power hookup and free dump station. Basically you swipe your credit card once you hookup and when you disconnect it stops charging your card. An average price was $8-12 for 8hrs of power.

Send me a private message with an email address and I will work on copying our trip logs for some ideas for you and some really nice and cheap camp grounds along the way.

[Oakman]

FYI Yellowstone does allow hybrid and popups, just not at Fishing Bridge campground. Also there are quite a few tent camping sites in the various campgrounds and backcountry.

[msalvatore]

Ahh I stand corrected we were at fishing bridge I thing.

[bigt1739]

Thanks msalvatore..I sent out a message to you....I think..

[Toby]

Originally Posted by Oakman

FYI Yellowstone does allow hybrid and popups, just not at Fishing Bridge campground. Also there are quite a few tent camping sites in the various campgrounds and backcountry.

We camped at Grant campground a few years ago in our pop up toy hauler. That was one of the few that would allow pop ups at the time. Has that now changed?

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by Toby

We camped at Grant campground a few years ago in our pop up toy hauler. That was one of the few that would allow pop ups at the time. Has that now changed?

Nothing has changed. Only Fishing Bridge is restricted to hard sided units only. If you experienced that restriction at any of the other campgrounds then it was probably due to unusual bear activity in a particular area at that particular time. Some of the campgrounds within Yellowstone are more suited than others for Hybrids, Popups, and tents, such as Slough Creek Campground and Pebble Creek Campground. BTW, the Madison Campground has two large loops that are reserved solely for tents so you know soft sided trailers are allowed at Madison.

DISCLAIMER:
While I have spent many days in Yellowstone, I’m not an authority on Yellowstone NP and don’t pretend to be so never take my word as gospel. My best advice is to call the campground or park if you are in doubt about whether your soft sided camper is allowed in a particular campground.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by Oakman

Nothing has changed. Only Fishing Bridge is restricted to hard sided units only. If you experienced that restriction at any of the other campgrounds then it was probably due to unusual bear activity in a particular area at that particular time. Some of the campgrounds within Yellowstone are more suited than others for Hybrids, Popups, and tents, such as Slough Creek Campground and Pebble Creek Campground. BTW, the Madison Campground has two large loops that are reserved solely for tents so you know soft sided trailers are allowed at Madison.

DISCLAIMER:
While I have spent many days in Yellowstone, I’m not an authority on Yellowstone NP and don’t pretend to be so never take my word as gospel. My best advice is to call the campground or park if you are in doubt about whether your soft sided camper is allowed in a particular campground.

Actually, I believe it was likely more geared towards it being the only campground with availability that allowed pop-ups at the time. We did travel around to other campsites (including fishing bridge) on the Goldwing. I definitely need to get back up there soon! I now have a hard sided camper too!

[bigt1739]

Anyone know what the are the roads like from the north rim Grand Canyon up to Moab Ut. Arches national park? I'll be traveling in a 29' class c towing a car...

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by bigt1739

Anyone know what the are the roads like from the north rim Grand Canyon up to Moab Ut. Arches national park? I'll be traveling in a 29' class c towing a car...

No worries. It'll be a bit warm but the roads are good two lane highways. Have you picked a route yet? Lots to see depending on which route you go.

[Twisty]

I would race out there and then race back.
Time on the road could be used to research and explore for the next trip, process pics, build albums or scrapbooks, etc.