RVing Across America: RV Road Trip Bucket List

#1. San Diego, California

San Diego is one of our favorite places to be in January, February, and March. We spent two weeks at the San Diego KOA in 2021 and enjoyed it so much that we went back for a 7-week stretch in 2022.

The San Diego KOA is a resort-style RV park in Chula Vista, about 15 minutes from downtown San Diego and Coronado beach. The park includes tons of amenities including swimming pools, a cafe, bicycle rentals, playgrounds, a camp store, and a variety of cabins, glamping tents, and RV camping spaces. No one is "roughing it" in this park.

It's a clean, well-maintained park, with helpful staff and great energy. It's quiet during the week, packed with vacationing families on the weekends, and everyone is just so happy to be there.

It's not cheap, but we've felt that every dollar spent there was worth it.

Having said that, our recommendation is for San Diego itself, especially in the winter, not the KOA specifically. I know there are other RV park options in the area, so find whichever park works for you.

For our top recommendations for things to do in San Diego, check out Let's Get Lost, January 2022 and Let's Get Lost, February 2022.

#2. Nehalem Bay State Park, Nehalem Oregon

Nehalem Bay State Park is one of our favorite state parks!

The park is situated on a peninsula of land with the Pacific Ocean on one side and Nehalem Bay on the other. The park includes ocean beaches, sand dunes, a forested area with a 1.8-mile bike and walking path, and the calm waters of Nehalem Bay.

The campground itself sits among shore pines and is just a short walk to the ocean beach. With the ocean on one side, the bay on the other side, and a forest in between, there is no shortage of things to do. Kayaking, crabbing, fishing, clamming, biking, and walking on the beach are popular activities.

The park is clean and well-maintained, with spacious campsites. Nehalem Bay is close to Tillamook State Forest, many other gorgeous Oregon beaches, and the seaside towns of Seaside, Oceanside, and Bay City. We enjoyed our stay here so much, we're heading back in 2024!

#3. Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell, Washington

If you're planning an RV trip to the Seattle Area, Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell, Washington is a fantastic place to stay.

We spent a couple of weeks at Lake Pleasant in May and June of 2021 and then stayed for 5 months in 2023!

Bothell is a suburb of Seattle located about 30 minutes from downtown, and Lake Pleasant is a haven in the middle of suburban sprawl.

Even though the park sits in the middle of Bothell, it includes a wildlife habitat and a small lake filled with fish and waterfowl. There is a gorgeous walking path through the wooded area of the park that makes you feel like you are deep in the woods even though you're literally yards away from the restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and big box stores you'd expect in a suburban city.

#4. Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport, Washington

If we absolutely had to choose our favorite RV park so far, Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport, Washington just might be it.

We spent 3 weeks here in June of 2021 and loved it so much that we went back in July of 2023. The park is in Northern Washington, near the Northern Cascade Mountains, and situated next to the Skagit river. The 150-mile river flows from southwestern British Columbia through northwestern Washington, draining into Puget Sound.

The area in and around the Northern Cascade Mountains is incredible and the Skagit river is where we fell in love with kayaking. During the weeks we spent there in 2021, you could find us kayaking on the river nearly every single night.

The campground itself is clean and well maintained, the camp hosts are kind and helpful, and the campground is filled with friendly people who are happy to be there.

Plus, I always love a camping spot with a view of the water from our windows.

#5. Glacier National Park, Montana

It almost goes without saying that if you're into camping or RVing, Glacier National Park needs to be on your bucket list.

We spent all of August 2021 at Montana Base Camp in Kalispell, Montana, which is about 45 minutes outside Glacier National Park.

We would have loved to stay closer to Glacier National Park, but the campgrounds in and near the park didn't have strong enough cell service for us to be able to work while we were there. Having said that, Montana Base Camp was clean, well-maintained, and central to most everything we wanted to do in the area.

Glacier National Park is the kind of place in which you could spend months and not run out of things to do. Highlights for us included kayaking in St. Mary's Lake and riding Going-to-the-Sun-Road on the motorcycle.

#6. Moab, Utah including Arches, Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point

Moab is a busy place for a reason. The town is surrounded by rivers, forests, and all the hiking, biking, kayaking, and rock climbing opportunities you could wish for. Moab is also central to other attractions including:

• It's just 5 miles from Arches National Park
• 30 miles from Canyonlands National Park
• 33 miles from Dead Horse Point State Park

There are a wide variety of options for where to stay including full-hookup RV parks, State Parks, and options for dry camping and boondocking.

If you're able to snag a spot, which we haven't managed to do yet, it's hard to beat Devil's Garden Campground within Arches National Park.

We've stayed in several different locations in and around Moab but our two favorites are:

• Dead Horse Point State Park
• Ken's Lake Campground

For more about our experience at Dead Horse Point State Park and Arches National Park, check out the November 2021 issue of Let's Get Lost.

#7. The Wedge Overlook at The Little Grand Canyon, Utah

As you might imagine, camping on the edge of a canyon is an experience that's hard to beat.

The Wedge Overlook is a section of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land in Utah that's along the edge of the Little Grand Canyon in the San Rafael Swell. The rough, rocky roads are better suited for smaller rigs than our 43-foot toy hauler, but we were able to score a spot near the entrance with views that could not be beat. A little tight getting in and out, but undeniably WORTH IT.

As with most boondocking spaces, camping spots are primitive, first-come-first-serve, and free. We stayed for 2 weeks and hated to leave.

You can explore the area in a vehicle or on one of the many hiking and biking trails. One of the most spectacular trails weaves along the Canyon's rim.

Also don't miss the Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel. Buckhorn Wash is near the northwestern corner of the San Rafael Swell. Along one section of rock cliffs are a series of Pictographs (painted art) and Petroglyphs (art that's been pecked into the rock with stones).

Read more about our experience camping at The Wedge Overlook in the October 2021 issue of Let's Get Lost.

#8. Jug Hollow Dispersed Camping, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Utah

The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in Wyoming and Utah includes over 207,000 acres of land surrounding the 91-mile-long Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

There are more than 40 campgrounds in the area and several dispersed camping options, including an area called Jug Hollow on the Utah side. We camped here for a week in late March/ early April of 2021. While I have heard that the area gets quite busy during the summer months, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

The road getting into Jug Hollow is quite rough and we had to go very, very slowly. But this was our reward.

#9. Palisade, Colorado

Palisade is located on Colorado's Western Slope, near Grand Junction. The area is well known across the state for its peach orchards and vineyards.

The town of Palisade includes fabulous shops and restaurants, farmer's markets, and endless opportunities to visit local wineries. The area surrounding Palisade is also a popular destination for mountain biking, hiking, rafting, kayaking, jeeping, and rock climbing.

There are two drives near Palisade that are just spectacular.

• The first is through Grand Mesa, the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. It's a gorgeous place any time of the year, but especially when the leaves are changing in the fall.
• The other incredible drive is through Colorado National Monument. Rim Rock Drive spans about 25 miles and winds around the rim of red canyons with sheer-walled cliffs and incredible views.

We've spent a total of 6 weeks in Palisade over the past 2 years and each time we stayed at Palisade Basecamp.

Fun fact: At some point during our 2021 stay at Palisade Basecamp, they took some aerial photos of the park, and you'll see our rig in the homepage photo. We are on the right side, near the vineyard, fourth from the top.

For more about our experience in Palisade and the surrounding area, check out the October 2021 issue of Let's Get Lost.

#10. Duck Creek RV Resort, Muskegon, Michigan

Duck Creek RV Resort in Muskegon, Michigan is one of the best resort-style RV parks we've stayed at. The park is clean and well-maintained, the sites are large and well-spaced, there's a cafe on site with great pizza and even better ice cream, a lake with a swim beach, a pool, and other activities like putt-putt golf.

There are a lot of great things to do in Muskegon including beaches, bike trails, shops and restaurants, a submarine museum and boat tours.

The town is right on Lake Michigan and central to a lot of other great places to visit including:

• 41 miles to Grand Rapids
• 14 miles to Grand Haven
• 60 miles to Ludington State Park, Michigan's most popular state park

For more about our experience in Muskegon, check out the June 2022 issue of Let's Get Lost.

#11. Indiana Dunes State Park

Indian Dunes is a State Park along the southern coast of Lake Michigan. The park itself is a worthwhile destination that includes miles of shoreline, beautiful campsites, and plenty of hiking and biking trails.

But, the main reason why we've included it on this list is because of its proximity to Chicago. Indiana Dunes is just 45 miles from downtown Chicago. AND, there is a Chicago South Shore Train station just a mile from the park.

For us, this was ideal. We were able to camp in a quiet campground tucked into the woods but also close to the beach and hop on the train and ride into Chicago any time we wished without ever having to deal with traffic or parking.

For more about our experience at Indiana Dunes State Park, including the days we spent in Chicago, check out the June 2022 issue of Let's Get Lost.

#12. Northern Michigan

In 2022, we spent the month of July in Petoskey, Michigan. We stayed at Sun Outdoors Petoskey RV Resort, which is a nice park, but there are plenty of other good options in northern Michigan. So, find the park that works for you.

Petoskey is located on the coast of Lake Michigan and is a fantastic "home base" for exploring all of northern Michigan. There's plenty to do within the town itself, but it's also only...

• 17 miles to Charlevoix
• 60 miles to Traverse City
• 35 miles to Mackinaw City where you can catch the ferry to Mackinac Island or cross the Mackinac Bridge and head into Michigan's Upper Peninsula

We did so many fun things across Northern Michigan that we wrote a whole post about it - Things to Do in Northern Michigan.

#13. Dillon Reservoir, Colorado

If spending some time in a mountain campground near several charming mountain towns with easy access to hiking and biking trails and water sports sounds like your kind of heaven, it's hard to beat Dillon Reservoir in Colorado.

Dillon Reservoir is a large lake in the Colorado mountains bordering the towns of Silverthorne, Frisco, and Dillon.

There are 5 campgrounds surrounding Dillon Reservoir. Weather permitting, the campgrounds usually open on Memorial Day weekend and close in early September.

Reserve your space early. This is a popular place to camp in the summer months.