Originally Posted by thinkviv

Hi everyone,

I'm currently on day 3 of a coast-to-coast road trip with no time limits and very few plans. I started in South Florida and I am currently in Atlanta, Georgia. My first stop was a stargazing park in Central Florida followed by Ocala National Forest, camped out overnight in both places and hoping to find more nice free camping spots along the way. I've had an opportunity to swim in the crystal clear springs around Ocala National Forest and have seen 4 black bears in the wild (was in my car both times, one was a mama bear crossing the road with 2 large cubs, other was a small one near my campsite), and that was just in 2 days.

I've been slowly preparing supplies and equipment for a road trip like this, however I never really took any time to plan out a route, all I knew was that I wanted to see more of this country. I am sleeping in my rooftop tent and have a fridge along with cooking equipment, although I have mostly gone for fast food since I've been tired after all the driving. The plan was to make it to Washington state before snow sets in, or weather gets too cold for me to handle, while visiting as many National Parks , Forests, and other natural areas as possible. Having spent my life in South Florida, I don't do well in the cold, but I think I am prepared for temparatures as low as 30*. Ideally I would spend 3-4 hours driving per day and then find a nice place to explore with a quiet place to camp out, but it looks like I may have to have longer driving days to make it to the Northwest before it gets too cold for me.

If anyone has any ideas for cool places to visit along the way, I open for any and all suggestions, looking for some hidden gems that are off the tourist paths. My 5th gen is mostly stock and I am a complete newbie when it comes to driving offroad, so I would be hesitant to take anything but some nice easy scenic trails. Also open to meeting up with anyone and going wheeling or grabbing a beer if its along the way or not too far out.

Currently on the list is:
Badlands NP, SD
Yellowstone NP, WY
Redwood NP, CA
Yosemite NP, CA
Joshua Tree NP, CA
Pretified Forest NP, AZ