Traveling west using northern routes

[Chuck1217]

My wife and I are new to the RV lifestyle. We have a 2007 class A Georgetown. For 2 months we've staying on Nettles Island FL. We love it here but we want to travel west using northern routes (Interstate 94 & 90) out of Fargo N.D. to Seattle WA.

Does anyone have any tips, warnings, interesting places or other advice about that route? We have never seen that stretch of the US and would like to add that experience to our travel log.

We would be grateful for your help.

Chuck and Toni

[gardia55]

we have traveled #2 form UP michigan to seattle x2 it was awesome ,2 lanes of great hwys through small towns and some cities No issues at all and lots of areas to stop/camp/boon dock and many wonderful people along the way ,gas prices are slightly higher but well worth the journey , enjoy !

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by gardia55

we have traveled #2 form UP michigan to seattle x2 it was awesome ,2 lanes of great hwys through small towns and some cities No issues at all and lots of areas to stop/camp/boon dock and many wonderful people along the way ,gas prices are slightly higher but well worth the journey , enjoy !

We took US 2 also, but we found services a bit sparse.

Whatever you do, make a detour north to Crater Lake National Park. Ride their trolley around the rim.

We also detoured north to Mt. Baker in Washington state which is a ski area but has a great overlook of the Cascade Mountains.

If you are new to rving, the interstates might be a better route.

[OldGal3]

Hwy. 2 is great (I'm sitting almost on it in Northern Montana right now!). It runs thru Montana, Northern Idaho (very close to the Canadian border) and then drops down into Spokane, WA. You can continue with Hwy. 2 towards the west - Seattle. My choice would be to jump on Hwy. 20 that you would pick up in Newport, WA and follow it thru Washington. 2 lane road with beautiful scenery and enough services for comfortable travel. Keep following Hwy. 20 to Colville, on thru to Republic and Tonasket. It then follows Hwy. 97/20 to Okanogan where 20 leaves 97 and becomes the North Cascades Hwy. Wow. Breathtaking and beautiful with lots of little towns and various types of camping/rv parks.

Slower? You betcha, but a less busy and worth the time...in my opinion, and of course, for what it's worth Enjoy your trip.

[clarkbre]

I agree with Oldgal3. I've driven most of WA throughout my days and highway 20 is the only way to go if you want to see the beauty of this state. Specifically, highway 20 passes through North Cascades National Park (free). In a few hours, you can be from a 5200 foot elevation to putting your feet in the Puget Sound at sea level.

Also, Winthrop and twisp are awesome small towns with lots of history and great rv campgrounds.

[clarkbre]

Lastly, views like this need no explanation....

[Blackrock]

Now if you really want to run the I-94 interstate across North Dakota well there ain't much until you get to Theodore Roosevelt NP. That's worth a stop and a look around. Eastern Montana is pretty much the same until Livingston and if you have a toad maybe do a side trip into Yellowstone NP. The Missouri Headwaters state park at mp 278 is an interesting stop.

And that's about all I know about that part of the country.

[Wilco]

If you take I-90 you have the Badlands, the Black Hills & Mt Rushmore in South Dakota, Devils Tower NM in Wyoming, the Little Bighorn battlefield in Montana, Yellowstone NP & Glacier NP. (If you decide to go that direction, PM me and I will give you details of our several trips through there.)

[RamblerGuy]

On your return you could follow the Columbia River. Take the old road on the Washington side instead of the interstate on the Oregon side if you can.

[davez]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

Lastly, views like this need no explanation....Attachment 177018

Did you find the F150 capable for your trailer (weight ? ) on US 2 ?

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by davez

Did you find the F150 capable for your trailer (weight ? ) on US 2 ?

That picture is of Lake Diablo, on Highway 20.
Highway 2 is farther south and goes from Everett to Wenatchee, through the Cascades.

I've driven over both, towing my trailer with my F150 and previous Avalanche.
Neither were much of a problem towing. The Cascade passes are lower than other Western mountain ranges, lime the Sierras and Rockies.

But some flatlanders might be intimidated though.[emoji23]

[45RPM]

Crazy Horse Memorial! If you're going to Mt. Rushmore, you've got to go to the Crazy Horse Memorial! Nearby.

-Rich

[Reprise]

Originally Posted by Wilco

If you take I-90 you have the Badlands, the Black Hills & Mt Rushmore in South Dakota, Devils Tower NM in Wyoming, the Little Bighorn battlefield in Montana, Yellowstone NP & Glacier NP. (If you decide to go that direction, PM me and I will give you details of our several trips through there.)

^^^ This.

At Glacier, the Going-To-The-Sun Road should just about be fully open now (it wasn't when I was there 3 weeks ago.) It doesn't fully open until late June / early July, as it takes them that long to finish plowing the middle section (which is at the highest elevation) enough to keep it open & safe for travel.

The only issue is that you wouldn't be able to drive it with a Class A (restricted to vehicles 20ft long / 8ft wide) - but if you have a toad, you'd be set. Reservations for camping within the park itself are non-existent now (especially the few sites that would fit your rig,) but there are plenty of RV parks in the surrounding area. If you don't have a toad, the 'red coaches' can ferry you around; they run on regular schedules. And the Blackfoot tribe also conducts tours in smaller class C-type enclosed coaches.

Driving through their lands as you approach the eastern side of the park is an eye-opening experience, IMHO. When I was there, it was election season, and handmade signs were everywhere.

If you're taking US 2, as discussed, I believe you'll run right into the southern edge of the park.

I-90 is the closest interstate to most of the places above that Wilco mentioned above, so it's 'one-stop shopping', more or less.

Rushmore is an hour's stop, more or less. Parking may be an issue in a Class A; check ahead on their website. 22mi away is the Crazy Horse monument - IIRC, it's $6 for entry, and (I thought) more interesting than Rushmore--although they have a different philosophy about completing their monument, vs. the 17yrs it took to carve out Rushmore (which, actually, 90% of that was done using dynamite)

[harleybiker]

We plan to go I90 from SD to Glacier, any tips or advice what roads to take would be appreciated. Are driving a 2013 Chevy 3500hd Duramax pulling 34 ft 5th wheel 12,000 lbs loaded weight.

Thanks.

[Blackrock]

Originally Posted by harleybiker

We plan to go I90 from SD to Glacier, any tips or advice what roads to take would be appreciated. Are driving a 2013 Chevy 3500hd Duramax pulling 34 ft 5th wheel 12,000 lbs loaded weight.

Thanks.

Check out all the usual sights along I-90 like Wall Drug, the Badlands maybe Mt. Rushmore etc. coming across South Dakota. Devils Tower in Wyoming. Custer Battlefield in Montana and the Big Horn Co. Museum in Hardin Montana (my old hometown). After that depending which way you are approaching Glacier will depend a lot on your route.


BTW isn't that 3500hd Duramax kind of an overkill on that small of a 5th wheel? Most of us are pulling those light loads with our half ton trucks.

[OldGal3]

Originally Posted by bikendan

That picture is of Lake Diablo, on Highway 20.
Highway 2 is farther south and goes from Everett to Wenatchee, through the Cascades.

Yep, he was answering my post about 20 instead of 2 from Newport, WA on over. It's all good, either one will work, I just prefer slower and more quiet with spectacular scenery

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by OldGal3

Yep, he was answering my post about 20 instead of 2 from Newport, WA on over. It's all good, either one will work, I just prefer slower and more quiet with spectacular scenery

Totally agree about Highway 20, through the American Alps. Done it many times. Highway 2 is also nice but not as spectacular as the North Cascades Highway.
The DW grew up in Concrete, Wa and her sister owns 2 stores in Winthrop.

[Gsykora]

We just completed a 32 day adventure that covered many of the same places you are thinking about. We took I90 west for Sioux Falls all the way to Custer. We stayed there for 4 days and hit; Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore, Needles Hwy, The Badlands & Wall Drug, Crazy Horse and Deadwood. We then shot over to Devils Monument for a couple days. From there, we went north up Hwy 59, Hwy 2 up through Ft. Peck to Malta Mo. We used this as a base to cross over into Saskatchewan and the Grassland National Park. If we were to do this trip again, I'd leave this leg off. From Malta, we headed west on Hwy 2 all the way to West Glacier for 4 nights. Then down to Billings for 2 days to restock. Then down to West Yellowstone for 10 days. I90 is an 80mph hwy so be prepared for that. The leg up to Malta is so sparsely traveled, that we went for 20 miles without seeing another car in either direction. We stopped several times in the road to take pictures and there was no chance of anyone driving by. The drive across northern Mo. on Hwy 2 is pretty nice - wide open scenery and few other vehicles. The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier just opened 100% yesterday (6/23). It was only open for 10 miles when we were there. An awesome trip.
Safe travels.

[harleybiker]

[QUOTE=Blackrock;1850464]Check out all the usual sights along I-90 like Wall Drug, the Badlands maybe Mt. Rushmore etc. coming across South Dakota. Devils Tower in Wyoming. Custer Battlefield in Montana and the Big Horn Co. Museum in Hardin Montana (my old hometown). After that depending which way you are approaching Glacier will depend a lot on your route.


BTW isn't that 3500hd Duramax kind of an overkill on that small of a 5th wheel? Most of us are pull with half ton.

Thanks.
From Hardin would you take I90 to Missoula or head up through Great Falls?

I see very few 5th wheels towed by half ton pickups on the road.

The 3500hd happened last January. We head to AZ in mid Jan for a couple of months. A week before departure my 2010 GMC Ext. Cab 2500hd 2WD Gas was t-boned and would not be fixed for at least 3 weeks (11K damage). So I got online to find a 4wd Duramax LTZ or SLT. I couldn't find anything I liked in MI where we live, and found 2 I liked on Carmax, one in VA, one in MN. While pondering the 2500hd in VA disappeared leaving the 3500hd in MN. It was just under 5 years old with 22k miles in mint condition. I flew there on a Monday morning, drove it, kicked the tires, and drove it home averaging 22 mpg at 80 mph. We ended up leaving for AZ just a week late.

We had pulled with the 2010 (bought new) to TX 4 times, once to FL and twice to AZ. I wouldn't tow with the crosswinds of TX or NM with a half ton. And the 3500hd Crew (some extra wheel base and extra weight up front-4wd) was more stable than the 2500hd in 50 mph cross winds we met this spring, I barely felt the wind on the wheel.

I know we have several 2wd trucks in MI, but with 90%+ being 4wd, it's tough to sell a 2wd truck here.

[Wolverine 1945]

Great Idea to go thru Michigan,,, over the Big Mac and thru the U P !!!
What ever you do stay the hell away from Chicago !!!
Last week we came down I 90 to I 294 to I 80 on our way home,,, in our little 2500TS Sunseeker,,, cost us $20.25 in tolls !!! The only toll you will pay in Michigan is the Big Mac or if you cross over to Canada from Detroit !!! Or you could take the ferry across Lake Michigan !!! Michigan State Parks are Great,,, like the DNR web page !!!