Where to camp to wait out the long hot summer

[Glynb]

Hey Guys and Gals,

Well i start full timing in my Astrovan starting in August, the hottest time of the year.  I have no idea where to start, but I know it has to be where it is cool.  I am assuming that the best places would be in the mountains of California, Arizona, Utah, or New Mexico.  That's the areas I would like to explore first.

Can any of y'all give me any tips on places in these locations where i can set up for a couple of weeks or longer?  I know about the free camping web site, but I was hoping for some personal experiences.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I will be leaving from Louisiana

Thanks for any info

 

[Gr8ful]

Michigan is a great state except winters. Lots to see, lighthouses, cheap camping at national forest & the Upper Penensula can't be beat.

 

[Headache]

Northern New Mexico cools off nicely at night but I haven't camped there. I did camp in Flagstaff and knew of a couple people who spent their entire summers there. Plus stuff is close by.

 

[MrNoodly]

The summer monsoons dump a lot of rain in the southwestern states. Places like Flagstaff turn into mud pits. That's why I prefer places like the mountains of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, the east side of the Sierras. However, there's a risk of forest fires. And, of course, the good summer locations are also more popular, making boondocking sites harder to get.

 

[ckelly78z]

I'll second Michigan, lots of festivals, and interesting things to see while it's warm, You don't want to be there from October to May.

 

[eDJ_]

If you look at the bottom link in my sig line (edjautoservices)  there is a graphic on the right side about following the 70 degree F weather.  At the top the months of the year display as the animated red dots move bottom to top and back toward the bottom again.  

I don't know where you live, but this shows the 70 degree band for the whole USA.

Good luck, hope you find a comfortable place that's safe.  (but there is info in that site to help you stay safe)

 

[ByeBye]

If you look at the bottom link in my sig line (edjautoservices) 

That's quite a list of helpful links you have there on your page, eDJ. Thank you

 

[skyl4rk]

The Yellowstone area is generally cooler than most places. Yellowstone NP is busy, expensive and not boondocking friendly. But if you go to the south, and take highway 26 in the direction of Dubois, WY, you will pass through an area of national forest lands (Teton, Bridger, Shoshone and others). You could boondock in this area with plenty of high altitude sites to get you through any heat wave. Dubois would be a good resupply base. You could also visit more touri$ty places like Yellowstone or Jackson, WY. It was a big relief for me to escape the tourists at Yellowstone by driving over the mountain on US 26. There is some excellent hiking in the nearby Wind River Range, do a search on the "Chinese Wall".

 

[lenny flank]

Anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon.

 

[Glynb]

Thank you for the leads and the video

 

[MrNoodly]

...this shows the 70 degree band for the whole USA...

Humidity is an issue, too, as is rainfall. That's one reason I didn't mention any of the coastlines. I think dampness is harder to deal with than heat.

 

[eDJ_]

Quite right.   Where I live here in the Ohio Valley it can hit 95 F and 90% + humidity in the summer.

 

[B and C]

It already is here near Houston and probably will be well into October. Thanksgiving before we get any real relief. So wish I could leave for at least the summer. Bummer.

 

[GreatefulNomad]

Check out the Salida, Co and Buena Vista, Co area. Last year there was camper van gathering here. They picked the spot because it's 70'ish during the days.

 

[maki2]

which direction do you want to go? due North, North East, North West, West? Pretty much anywhere but south or the south east or the lower south west.

 

[MrNoodly]

which direction do you want to go? due North, North East, North West, West?  Pretty much anywhere but south or the south east or the lower south west.

A couple of summers ago it was in the 90s and 100s all over the West, except for the highest elevations and a thin strip along the Pacific coast.

 

[highdesertranger]

in the high desert the mid 90's isn't bad. stay out of the sun during the hot part of the day. mornings and late afternoon/evenings are down right pleasant. at night it cools way down, even chilly compared with 95°. highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

The Pacific Northwest coast in Washington state stays pretty cool in the summer. Once in a while at the end of July or beginning of August it gets into the high 80s but you do have the option of going up in elevation. The marine influence is at play because the water in the Northwest rarely gets above the 60s.
Another good place to go is Brookings Oregon which is at the southern end of the state right on the Coast. You get overcast in the mornings which breaks up around lunch time to reveal the sun. That way the daytime temperature never gets truly hot. The temperature in Brookings is very similar to Seattle during the spring summer and fall and perhaps 10 degrees warmer in the winter. So if you don't want to drive all the way up the coast to Washington that is a good place to stay during the hottest months.
The winter there is fairly moderate as well but it is not truly warm during the day as it would be in Southern Arizona and California.

 

[txmnjim]

can't go wrong w the Boundary Waters Wilderness in northern Minnesota.
the 1 million acre Superior National Forest has MANY places to boondock.
just bring your Off

 

[wayne49]

Where to go depends a lot on where Gynb is at the moment.

Arrowhead of Minnesota is a heck of trek from the SW. I've done it. One passes by a few cool areas on the way to Grand Marais. ("Do you know the way to Grand Marais?" sang no one ever.)

Been to the BWCA with St Paul YMCA. Camp Widjiwagan. (That is how I know "paddle your own canoe" is harder than it is with a bow paddler and a stern paddler, with a duffer in the middle for a break.

This business of camping anywhere in a NF is BS to me. Maybe that is just me, as I was extremely paranoid when stealth camping. There has to be an existing campsite. You can't block forest roads or make a new site. You can't break trail in a NF.