long trip mid May

[wiggs]

Was hoping someone can suggest routes and best roads to pull 35 ft fifth wheel on a long trip coming up. Will be my First time up in the mountains with fifth wheel.
Leaving Florida to Gilmer tx then to yellow stone and devils tower, bad lands SD area. From checking maps Looks like hwy 90w to 80W from Yellow stone to CA would be best to see big redwoods in Ca.
Then stopping in Yuba City for visit. then back to fl along the south . Also would Mid may be a good time to go north to these places?
Thanks

[hshaynes]

Wiggs, hope you have a good and safe trip. If you are coming thru Shreveport, I 20 from Bossier City thru most of Sport really sucks. I recommend I220 from Bossier and bypass most of bad roads. If you are coming up I 49 and taking 3132 to I 20, it sucks as well.

[hshaynes]

And I 20 is down to 1 lane at Tx state line

[wiggs]

Thanks for the info, will recheck my routes.

This is what I thought might get me there,
Route 10 to 12w in slidell
12 to 10 w to 49 north lafyette
49n to Shreveport to 20 w
20 w to 271 north gilmer-- then from Gilmer to
271n to 30 w 380 w to 287 n to 70 w to 25 n 85 north to 90 near spearfish

Tried mapquest , earth map to see roads. most look like no issues pulling fifthwheel, but not sure if this is a good way to go, or stay on main hwys.

[hshaynes]

49 to 20 would be my pick. I 20 will be rough for maybe 5 miles then turns to newer asphalt. Where do you plan to overnite?

[hshaynes]

I 20 in Texas is in really good condition. In fact I have not found a hwy in Tx that was not in good condition.

[CurtPutnam]

sIn the YNP mountains and all others of equal or higher elevation, there is a very good chance of running into snow in mid-May. Not sure how the 90 relates to the 80. I might consider dropping south on the 15 and the 80 w to 5 north to Redding and then the 299 over to Klamath if you want to stick to Interstates for the most part. Nose around the Jedediah Smith State Park to see some nice coastal redwoods. Klamath is one of my 1st destinations this year - but later than you.

[wiggs]

Found a place to stay near Gilmer tx , Want to drive about 300 to 350 miles when on the road , 5-6 hours per , but want to take my time so will stop for a few nights here and there , So didn't make any reservations as of yet, Still looking into where we want to stop on the way up to spearfish, Wife wants to see devils tower and bad lands custer etc! and Yellowstone, not sure if north entrance would be ok mid May. We would like to stay at a camp ground outside of Yellowstone and drive in with Pickup truck only.Possibly spend a week or more there. Also Would like to make it over to 80W as well after that , need to stop in Yuba City Ca a must , so it would be nice to see the redwoods before heading back to Florida.
SO it's kind of as we go. This is all new for me and and the only chance I'll have to make this trip.

[wiggs]

I guess picking up 49n in Lafayette la off of 12 /10w would be OK
thanks for the info
Will be staying in Chiply fl then would like to find a campground off of 10w in Baton Rouge for the night or so, its about 350 miles from Chiply , then head up 49 to shreveport to 20 to 271 then to Gilmer. Not in a rush to get there.
Thanks for everyone helping with suggestions.

[morganrc1955]

Hello from Gilmer, Tx. We are heading to the Florida gulf coast at about the same time for a week on the beach at Topsail Hill Preserve SP.
We will see y’all going the opposite direction.

[wiggs]

Coming to Florida, Great you will enjoy it at the SP.
We will decide which way to go north or south once we get to Gilmer for a few days. will check the weather up 90 way as well as 80.
Enjoy.

[frogsandhogs]

Don't be too worried about planning a campground ahead of time. We rarely make a reservation, that way if we decide to stay longer or travel further you don't have to cancel. About 2:00 we decide about how much further we want to drive, then I get on on Allstays or one of the campground apps to look ahead for a campground. First choice are ACOE, then local parks, state parks etc. If you get in a bind, there is always Walmart, Cabellas, etc. We have found some really nice small town city parks.

[Oltimer13]

I agree about 90W & 80W to CA. If you're really interested in L.A., then take I-5 to 210 to I-10. I travel CA 58 South out of Bakersfield to I-10E to avoid L.A. Can't stand it anymore.

[rsdata]

Unless I missed it, I did not see a timelength for this trip. If anything less than a month it is entirely too ambitious a trip to do all at one time. For me Badlands, all of Wyoming, and Northern CO, and Northern Utah would be about all the varied and beautiful scenery that I could possibly stand in a month's time.

Plan routes that will take you to the National Forest campgrounds which are less heavily booked then the National Parks.

I highly recommend this website and their publications for researching out-of-the-way campgrounds.

https://www.forestcamping.com/

Good travels to you!

[swampdonkey772]

If you want to see big trees go to Sequoia national park and see the giant sequoias they are a sight to be seen

[cudntherd]

Wiggs,
I suggest you look at Cajun Palms Rv Resort in Henderson, La. on I-10, it is about 20 miles East of I-49. Also just off I-20 in Canton, Tx is Mill Creek RV Resort. Both are very nice and clean. Mill Creek will be sold out during the 1st Monday Trade Day sale.

[wiggs]

Thanks for the info, this is great! still planning . Thanks again .

[Reverse_snowbird]

If one of your destinations is the Redwoods in California, you might try reversing your route. The southern route to CA should be an easy drive at this time of the year.

Some roads in Yellowstone are closed. Check current conditions here:
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm

The longer you can put off heading into that area of the country, the better your chances of getting to see the parks. It's still going to be below freezing at night for at least the next week.

You've got an ambitious agenda. Safe travels.

[DouglasReid]

When you get to the CA coast on 299 consider stopping in Eureka, CA. It is an old logging community. The logging museum is interesting.

On the island of Samoa just off Eureka there is a restaurant called the Samoa Cookhouse. It is the old dining hall for the loggers. They serve all three meals per day.

All served Family Style at tables. You will make new friends at the table because you will be seated with other people.

No menu choices, you eat what they are cooking that meal that day. ALL cooked on old HUGE wood stoves that were the original stoves. It is an eat all you want (or all you can keep down) of whatever they are serving.

It is a VERY unique and fun dining experience in a unique atmosphere.

PS, do not take Hwy 1 along the CA coast with that long camper. It is a VERY picturesque drive but many hairpin curves. Take Hwy 101 instead.

It sounds like a VERY fun trip!!

On the way back to FL if you plan on visiting New Orleans consider camping at the Bayou Segnette State Campground. It is on the West Bank but easy access to New Orleans with a MUCH lower cost and not nearly so much traffic.

[JohnD10]

There are many great campgrounds around Custer, SD, but my favorite is Big Pine's Campground...

https://www.bigpinecampground.com/

Lots of shade and close to town, so not far away from food and other stuff, not to mention real close to Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse.

Also, easy day trips from there to the Badlands, Wall Drug Store, Devil's Tower, Deadwood, Sturgis.

Was up there again last June and stayed near Rapid City at Happy Holiday RV Resort...

Nice campground with lots of amenities, although sites are a little cramped:

https://happyholidayrvresort.com/