How do I take a vacation out West to see the National Parks?

Hopefully after reading our blog posts, you are asking yourself the question above. If so, I have a couple of suggestions assuming you don’t have 2 months and/or your own camper to devote to the trip.

The first suggestion is this….rent a motorhome. One of the things that Missy and I were continually surprised by was the number of rental motorhomes we saw at campgrounds near, and in, the National Parks. If you have never thought about renting an RV here are a couple of facts to consider:

1. All of the National Parks out west have parking and accommodations for RV’s. We saw hundreds of Motorhomes driving around inside Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Arches, Mt. Rushmore and all the other parks we went to. Several times we took our camper into one of the parks. When planning our trip, I had no idea if the National Parks would have someplace for me to park my truck with the camper attached to the back. It was not a problem as all of the National Parks are used to dealing with people with Motorhomes and campers.
2. The larger RV rental places allow you to pick-up your Motorhome and drop if off in a different city. So if you wanted to see Yellowstone and then go down to the Grand Canyon you could pick-up you RV in Boise and return it in Phoenix.
3. Remember when considering the cost of renting an RV, you are not only renting a vehicle, but also a Hotel room and a kitchen. It is very easy to throw together a quick breakfast and lunch in the Motorhome. This saves a lot of money on food since you don’t have to eat out every meal. Plus since the dining options inside the National Parks are very expensive, being able to hop in the RV, drive to a scenic spot, and make your own hot lunch is very handy.
4. Camping in the National Parks is cheap. $25.00 per night seems to be the current going rate. Even if you want the amenities of a private campground (swimming pool, playground, camp store, restaurant) it is still usually less than $40.00 per night.
   

My next suggestion is to plan what you want to do in the parks beforehand. If you want to go fishing in Yellowstone, you can buy a license and rent fishing equipment ahead of time. If you want to go rafting in Yosemite, you can arrange that before arriving. Bike rentals, overnight hiking permits, tour groups, and more are easier to arrange before you leave than while at the parks.

And lastly, unless you are going to use your own RV, fly out west…don’t drive. The drive through the Plains States is long and horrible. There is just nothing to see in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Save yourself the pain and fly to the biggest city near the Park you want to visit and pick-up your RV there.

The names of the Large RV rental companies that I am familiar with are the following (from largest to smaller) http://www.cruiseamerica.com/ http://www.roadbearrv.com/ http://www.apollorv.com/ www.campingworld.com/rvrentals/ http://www.elmonterv.com/ There are other of course, but these are the ones we saw most often while traveling.

You are welcome to post a question if there is anything you want more information on.