Snowbird traveling to Maine

[Chuck_S]

Headed south on I81 from PA to NC you're basically between the mountains, running SW thru the valleys, not cross compartment. I81 stays east of the WV mountains.

I81 isn't as bad as I95 but still gets massive amounts of truck traffic avoiding the cities and tolls along I95.

I can echo KOA even for overnighting. Full service. Roll in, relax, roll out in the morning. We have a hybrid so don't even consider Walmarts, etc. Good state parks are always a good option if you can be self contained for a night. Seldom more than electric but every other night works well for us on a very long road trip. You can skip the KOAs if you're comfortable with state park showers most of which are now quite nice in our experience.

-- Chuck

[Oldbears]

We do a couple cross country trips per year, and we stay at Flying J/Pilot truck stops in their designated RV parking areas. We have their guide book for locations/amenities, and that info is available on their website as well. Besides, they always have the best gas prices anyway, and we have their discount RV card. We also stay in rest areas that allow overnight parking, TA, Petro, Cracker Barrel, and an occasional Wal-Mart. (We've found several Wal-Marts in areas with city ordinances where overnight parking is not permitted, so we always ask in the store or call ahead.)

[cvcian]

Originally Posted by GMAL

Our trailer is 24 feet. We've primarily camped in the west where there are primitive camp sites in organized camp grounds on public lands, so no hookups- just picnic table and fire ring for a fee. We would be fine with something like that, or with a clean, safe, private campground with or without hook ups. We want to have a base, so we can explore museums and see the sites without the trailer in tow. So we don't need a "destination" camp with lots of activities. We are coming to see and experience Maine. Is there anything like that near Bangor?

Yes, Bar Harbor. A must See!!

[ysidive]

Originally Posted by cvcian

Any advice from anyone traveling through Fancy Gap Va? Never been through with travel trailer... better route through the area?
Thanks!

Travel through there many times traveling from Georgia to NY... Pulled 31 ft camper as well as a boat at different times... Some decent hills, up and down...But never had a problem....

[cvcian]

Originally Posted by ysidive

Travel through there many times traveling from Georgia to NY... Pulled 31 ft camper as well as a boat at different times... Some decent hills, up and down...But never had a problem....

[emoji106] Thank you so much for your reply!

[CentralMePistol]

Originally Posted by GMAL

Our trailer is 24 feet. We've primarily camped in the west where there are primitive camp sites in organized camp grounds on public lands, so no hookups- just picnic table and fire ring for a fee. We would be fine with something like that, or with a clean, safe, private campground with or without hook ups. We want to have a base, so we can explore museums and see the sites without the trailer in tow. So we don't need a "destination" camp with lots of activities. We are coming to see and experience Maine. Is there anything like that near Bangor?

There is also much more rustic camping in northern Maine/ timber company land. As you move into the more remote areas you will find "hidden" camping spots that are far removed from civilization. You should use some degree of caution heading out in these areas because it can be easy to get lost on the old logging roads.
You can investigate that here: northmainewoods.org

[MainelyUS]

Originally Posted by GMAL

We are traveling to the Bangor area of Maine likely in the fall. Can you recommend any campgrounds. We are self contained, so we don't need hook ups, just a quiet safe place to base out of as we explore that area of Maine.
Thanks!

Best campground in the Bangor area is the Pumpkin Patch in Hermon great place to do day trips from.

[sherman12]

Gmal, it appears you are used to BLM camping out West. Some states are basically government-owned such as Nevada which I believe is 96% BLM owned, Utah is a high percentage too. In the East, there is no BLM or BLM free, or boondocking camping. What you will have is state-owned lands, most with some kind of improvement but few and far un-improved vast open lands found out West.

Though the Southeast you will find a lot of Army Corp of Engineer campgrounds, or C.O.E which are pretty close to national park type camping. As you get more to the Northeast such as New York you will have state parks or state-run State Conservation Campgrounds which are pretty primitive no hook up sites at less than $20 per night but they will have toilet/shower houses and dump stations. Even though my DW and I have traveled throughout many of the New England states and our DP certainly is self-contained too, we enjoy the comforts of a nice reasonably priced campground to use as base camp to explore the area we are in.

To the OP, any of your suggested routes will be good highways or interstates. Just use a little more caution with towing your trailer. You shouldn't have any issues as far as West Virginia hills or anything like that if you are an average or better driver with towing your rig. To save money, do as suggested in many of the replies by overnighting at rest stops, WalMarts, Lowes or just about any big box store, always go in and ask permission at the service desk, or call in advance. Two great apps to have on your phones is RVParky, free and we use all of the time, or AllStays which many love but has a small yearly fee. Both will give you places to stay overnight searching by town and state. Traveling to Mount Rushmore, SD my wife picked every overnight to and from SD by using RVParky. She would ask me how much longer I wanted to drive, and then using either road signs telling you how far the next town/city, etc. is or old school Rand McNally atlas and start looking for rest stops, WM's or campground. Returning from SD she found this municipal-owned campground in Davenport, Iowa that had full hook-ups for $20 a night. This CG has become a metaphor to us on what camping must be like being retired because we had extra days in our schedule we stayed 3 nights because the place was just about perfect!