Solo road trip, East Coast to West Coast. Looking for ideas/cool things to do

[Jivewalker]

A few places I've been and enjoyed on my western trips...

Sedona,AZ (hike the west fork trail)
Bryce Canyon
Grand Canyon
Zion
Moab
Antelope slot Canyon tour
dinosaur footprints in Tuba City AZ
horseshoe bend
Winslow AZ
meteor crater
Grand Teton / jackson hole
Yellowstone
Glacier (though a lot will be closed for snow, maybe do some fly fishing)
Polebridge MT (good luck getting there in winter)

 

[Ron Burgandy]

Spam Museum, Austin MN


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[ysasi]

Devil's Tower, WY and Black Hills, SD. Both are relatively close to Badlands.

 

[mteolus]

A little late but Redfish Lake Lodge and Stanley, Idaho. Sawtooth Range is awesome, it's the less crowded and better Grand Tetons.

From Idaho Falls go to Arco, ID up to Chilly, ID, then highway 208 to Sun Valley, and then up to Stanley with a stop at Redfish Lake just before Stanley. Amazing place.

 

[flyrv9]

A couple more spots for you:
US Air Force Museum - Dayton Ohio
Pima Air Museum - Tucson AZ
Muir Woods - North of San Francisco (redwood forrest)
Carlsbad Cavern - Carlsbad New Mexico

 

[ElectroBoy]

Got Beer?

Geez, after all that driving and touring the country’s finest scenery you’ll need some refreshment. If you’re traveling north from San Francisco toward Oregon on route 101 you NEED to stop in Petaluma at the Lagunitas Brewing Company. Arrange for a Brewery Tasting/Walking tour. It’s a blast. Great beer, food, and schwag. You can reserve a spot on their website calendar:
Petaluma - Lagunitas

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

Grand Canyon, Horseshoe bend, antelope canyon. If time permits (def worth it) hike to Havasu falls and spend one night.

Utah - Zion (go rappelling, angels landing, and narrows).
Moab (do a bit of offroading)

CA - (other than mentioned) Drive route 1 from San Diego - San Francisco. Camp at Big Sur. Check out Sierras (Go to Monache Meadows). Drive North, check out Shasta. Then go to WA. Mt. Rainier is awesome...

I thought the Havasu falls required reservations, which are nearly unobtainable? I tried a few years ago, kept calling to a busy line and then when I got through all the passes for the year were taken. Has this changed?

 

[thinkviv]

I really must thank you all for the awesome suggestions. I haven't had time to really stop and plan things out because I feel like I'm trying to get to the north before the snow scares me away. I know the 4runner can probably handle most obstacles but having virtually no experience driving in snow or snowy conditions makes me a bit apprehensive.

I've finally figured out how to lower the filesize of my photos so I can attach them. These are some photos from Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky. The world's longest cave system with 412 miles explored so far.

 

[thinkviv]

Attached are:
Camp setup
Orange moon rising over Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State park
My view of the sunrise at Kissimmee Prairie

 

[OffKamber]

I thought the Havasu falls required reservations, which are nearly unobtainable? I tried a few years ago, kept calling to a busy line and then when I got through all the passes for the year were taken. Has this changed?

I've been there twice (for a single overnight). Once 14 years ago and once 3 years ago. Both times around summer. I walked down there and paid a fee (first time was like $5, last time was about 50ish). First time no one asked for a permit (there was an employee in the parking lot... he didn't say anything and so didn't I). Second time I started around noon in summer... no employee was in parking lot.

Not sure if they got stricter now?

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

I've been there twice (for a single overnight). Once 14 years ago and once 3 years ago. Both times around summer. I walked down there and paid a fee (first time was like $5, last time was about 50ish). First time no one asked for a permit (there was an employee in the parking lot... he didn't say anything and so didn't I). Second time I started around noon in summer... no employee was in parking lot.

Not sure if they got stricter now?

We were in AZ 2 years ago. Because I couldn't get a permit ahead of our trip, we just scheduled it out of the 10 days. The other option was a guided tour, which is thousands of dollars for a 2-3 day trip. I'm disappointed we missed the falls because they look amazing, but AZ offers so much that I don't think we walked away feeling our trip was inadequate.

 

[cjdewese]

GooseNecks State Park

If you are in Utah and going to AZ or AZ to Utah I would highly recommend Goosenecks state park. A really cool place to watch a sunset or sunrise and neat to see the river snake its way through a flat valley.

Goosenecks State Park | Utah State Parks

 

[thinkviv]

Weather the past couple of nights was too cold for me to camp, spent last night in Custer, South Dakota where temps got to mid 20's. Went to Mt Rushmore and Crazy horse memorial this morning and I am currently in Gardiner, MT hoping to go to Yellowstone tomorrow before the snow comes in on Saturday.

 

[Jivewalker]

A beer you have to try, assuming you drink beer. Cold Smoke. Haven't seen it anywhere else bu WY and MT. Good stuff. Watch out for those bison if driving at night.

 

[mteolus]

Never been to SD, is it worth a visit?

 

[thinkviv]

[MENTION=171879]mteolus[/MENTION] I only got to see a small portion of South Dakota since I was visiting a friend in Ft. Morgan, CO then drove up the panhandle of Nebraska into the Black Hills. I really enjoyed seeing the terrain changing, and the drive through Black Hills was incredible, I would recommend driving through that area if you have a chance.

Visited Yellowstone yesterday and I am in love with that place, it was gorgeous and it wasn't very crowded when I went. Some of the smaller roads were closed due to the snow/ice but I don't want to imagine the park when it's crowded, when I come back it will likely be in the same time of year and I will spend at least 3 days instead of the 5 hours I got to spend.

Decided to head to Twin Falls, Idaho after and saw this beauty in the parking lot of the hotel I got, also some photos at Yellowstone and then the scenic view from Twin Falls.

 

[GX4SEVEND]

What’s the next stop?


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[thinkviv]

[MENTION=28692]GX4SEVEND[/MENTION] next stop will be in Oregon, I'm going to follow i84 up, probably stop in Baker City for the night and then continue up to Seattle which will be the point where I start the loop down south.

 

[GX4SEVEND]

Not a lot out in eastern Oregon but it’s beautiful. There’s some cool stops along the when heading south. Depending on your time allotment I’m sure I can recommend some

Crater Lake taken by a friend of a friend of a friend


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[thinkviv]

That's an amazing photo. It looks like Crater Lake will be a good stop on the way South, and is surrounded by national forest so I can camp out. Thanks for the suggestion! No time allotments or plans, I'm just taking it as I go.

The goal was to get from one corner of the country to the other while seeing and exploring as much of the natural beauty as I could. I'm treating this as a scouting trip so I have a better idea of places I want to see more in depth later on.