Planning a trip from Denver to Seattle

[Patrick]

Howdy folks, it has been a while.   Not sure what forum to post this in.  The wife and I and our little dog are planning a drive from Denver to Seattle.  Planning of driving five ours a day, and camping so a three day trip.  Looking for ideas on where to camp, how to reserve, ect.

We will be taking this trip in June, so I want to get the research done, reservations made, and get the trip in my head and I figure today is a good day to start.  

We well be in a G20 Chevy Van, set up for overnight sleeping.  Looks like our first let puts us around Buffalo Wyoming and the Big Horn National forest.  I'm a Veteran and think I might need to get a pass of some sort.

Thanks to the community for helping us out plan this trip.
Cheers to the Mods

 

[Freelander]

I believe National Parks are now free for Vets.

 

[Patrick]

I believe National Parks are now free for Vets.

I thought you had to buy some sort of a pass?  I read about it a few months ago but did not make the purchase, always putting things off.

Found this, looks like I have the credentials

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veterans-and-gold-star-families-free-access.htm

 

[MrNoodly]

Too bad you'e in such a rush. It took me about a month this past summer to get from Denver to Buffalo (by way of SD, ND and MT).

What you'll find in the Bighorns is that a crapload of locals haul their travel trailers up there, use them for the weekend, then leave them during the week, come back the next weekend, then swap places with friends, and repeat the process all summer. That means it's hard to find choice boondocking spots. But since you're in a van you can squeeze down roads with low overhangs and fit into smaller nooks in the forest.

 

[MrNoodly]

I thought you had to buy some sort of a pass?

There's no need to get them in advance, except to speed your entry into National Parks. Otherwise, you just get them at the first NP you enter.

But I guess if you're going to use a pay campground run by the Forest Service of BLM before getting to, say, Yellowstone, and you want the discount, then, yeah, get your passes before you leave.

 

[Patrick]

There's no need to get them in advance, except to speed your entry into National Parks. Otherwise, you just get them at the first NP you enter.

But I guess if you're going to use a pay campground run by the Forest Service of BLM before getting to, say, Yellowstone, and you want the discount, then, yeah, get your passes before you leave.

I printed one out,
Buffalo is just the first stop, haven got past that yet, I appreciate your knowledge of the area.  What is 5 hours ahead, have not worked that yet, just imagining the first stop so far, gonna do some geocaching while there.

 

[maki2]

There are a number of options for routes from Denver to Seattle. Pick out the things between that you most want to see and then get into the specifics of where to stay for the night. It will all depend on what route upu take and how long of a time you want to stop at the various places.

Also because on past trips from Colorado to Seattle there have been a lot of long stretches of highway work going on with many long areas moving at a crawl over one way traffic on torn up pavement. So you need to do your research closer to your travel time to try and avoid some of that if you can. The various state DOT sites may have some advance wsrning regarding upcoming roadwork plans.

 

[MrNoodly]

...long stretches of highway work...

Yeah, I tend to follow the pleasant seasons which, unfortunately, is also the roadwork seasons. Summer roadwork in the north, winter roadwork in the south.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Patrick we are planning the same kind of trip!

What I do is first search for all the sites I want to see, mostly national parks and national historical sites since my access pass gets me into these sites for free (disabled vet). We then make copies of a map of each state we will be traveling through. Then we highlight the route with a yellow marker. Then using google earth or even the road map itself, we walk our way along the line of travel and search for things we might be interested along the way. I then use mapquest to determine how far we can go to get 4-5 hours of travel time a day and still leave enough time to see anything along the way. Once we decide where we will be at the end of that leg of travel, we start looking for free sites or sites for under $15 using the websites posted here before. We always look at 2-3 sites just in case some are full or to creepy. They are not always available so then we look for military bases along the way, they are cheaper then all motels, but if nothing else pops up......we will look at hotels and make reservations.

 

[MrNoodly]

...sites I want to see, mostly national parks...

Yeah, between Buffalo and Seattle there's Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, Mt. Rainier and North Cascades National Parks. The idea of making the trip in only three days (with almost half the daylight hours spent driving), or even with an additional three days coming back, seems like such a missed opportunity.

 

[nature lover]

Hello friend, I have no right to criticize your itinerary precisely because it is YOUR itinerary. But my days of traveling to get somewhere are over. I would rather travel to be somewhere. To me your itinerary sounds like you are passing the huge buffet line, Full of wonderful goodies, in order to get a piece of gum at the end. But don’t take offense it’s your itinerary I’m just making a comment about how I feel about traveling now. I sincerely hope you get what you’re looking for.

 

[Tony's Dream]

My trip takes 7 days, so you will really be pushing it.....but enjoy.

 

[vanbrat]

If all you are looking for, at night, is a place to sleep, maybe you can find in quiet spots, not real urban areas, in a rest area. If you are looking to spend more time sight seeing, this is not for you. We have done the rest area a few times and not had much trouble. But would NEVER try sleeping in areas around any big city. Some folks might not have trouble there but ....

 

[shadowmoss]

Use freecampsites.net and campedium.com.  put in your trip in the trip planner.  It will route you through the areas with the most free or low cost campsites.  That should help you see the possibilities and options.  I tend to use both and read the reviews of sites I'm interested in on both.  Sometimes one will have places that the other doesn't.  That is a place to start.