Summer road trip campsite tips

[Doff]

Hi all

I recently started a post about road trip ideas into Canada for this summer. Its sounding like there is a good chance we wont be allowed into Canada by this summer. So... I am starting to formulate a back up plan for our road trip and to stay in the US.

We are picking up our new FWC July 17. We are going to his the road July 18th and have about 2 weeks to get from California to Northern Michigan. We are going to be visiting family there for a week and then we will have another 2 weeks to get back home. My initial plan is to drive up to Oregon and then across lower Idaho, Lower Wyoming and then straight to Milwaukee to catch the ferry boat over across Lake Michigan. On the way back Im thinking we would zip back over to northern Wyoming, up through Montana, into Washington and then down the Coast to California.

I am looking for any specific campsite suggestions. If possible we prefer to stay in the National Forest or on BLM land and do "off-grid" or disperse camp...we try and avoid established campgrounds whenever possible. We like to get off the beaten path away from people so our dogs can enjoy themselves. And in a perfect world we would be near a lake or river or hot spring. Any specific campsite suggestions with GPS or google map pin would be awesome!!

THANKS!

 

[Cottonww]

If lower Wyoming you mean I-80 your best opportunities are SW of Evanston in the Uintas where both National Forest Service(NWS) and boondocking opportunities in beautiful mountainous terrain exist. Further east, not much until Laramie. NW of Laramie is the Snowy Range where boondocking sites and NFS campgrounds abound. I don't recommend staying on I-80 to Chicago which is horrid to drive through. I'd head north at North Platte to Valentine where there is free camping along a stream just north of town. Then head up to I-90.

 

[Foy]

Echoing Cottonww, if by lower Idaho and lower Wyoming are you referring to the I-84 corridor crossing the northeast corner of UT before connecting to I-80 at Echo Canyon, UT and thence across WY along the I-80 corridor? If you're interested in staying away from the Interstates, I can offer a few suggestions for the way to and from Milwaukee:

Outbound across lower Idaho from Oregon, you can consider crossing from Mountain Home, ID to Rexburg via US 20 and ID 33, passing by and through some NF and BLM lands much of the way, and passing by Craters of the Moon NM. From Rexburg, you can ramp up to Ashton and turn east to the Grassy Lake Rd and follow it to US 191 between Teton NP and Yellowstone NP. I've never done it, but I've read its around 50 miles of mostly graded gravel road with lots of disbursed sites along the way, and that fee paid entrance to either of the NPs is not required. From US 191 between the NPs, you can look at passing through Bridger-Teton and Shoshone NFs on US 26 through Dubois to Riverton and remain on 26/20 through Casper. East of Casper I'd stay on US 20 into the Nebraska Panhandle where Fort Robinson SP is an excellent place for a visit or an overnight in the cottonwood shaded campground. Staying east on US 20 to and beyond Valentine takes you through over 100 miles of the Nebraska Sand Hills, an incomparable landscape well worth seeing. There are some NF units southwest of Valentine with remote and shaded campgrounds. US 20 crosses into IA at Sioux City not far north of Onawa, where Lewis & Clark SP has a nice lakeside campground I've overnighted at a couple of times. From the Sioux City area, bushwhacking across IA and WI to Milwaukee and avoiding Chicago is possible on a number of routes.

On the return side, running the I-90 corridor through SD, northeastern WY and across southern MT (being sure to avoid the crowds at the Sturgis SD bike rally week in early August). Within the Black Hills and for the most part along all of I-90 west of, say, Billings or Big Timber, and especially west of, say, Bozeman, there are practically unlimited opportunities to duck into NF lands to disbursed camp or access primitive campgrounds. If interested in having some of that leg well away from I-90, but with WA still as the goal, I can suggest other MT routes.

Foy

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

On that Grassy Lake road between Yellowstone and Teton closer to the eastern end of the road are
several campground sites. 4 I believe with a couple sites in each CG.
Seem nice and quiet and over look the Snake river.I checked them out but not camper there.
Check out the condition of the road before you drive it. It can get rutted/muddy.But when dry it's a nice drive.

Frank

 

[Doff]

Thanks for the good ideas so far! Wanted to give this post a bump and see if anyone else has any specific camp sites theyd like to share?

 

[larryqp]

I highly recommend the Snowy Mts of Wy, south of I-80 and West of Laramie. There are primitive campgrounds, great hikes, many high mountain lakes and fishing. I don't know if Covid has increased visitation, but pre-Covid it was pretty much undiscovered, except in the winter, when it is a snow machine mecca.

 

[Doff]

I highly recommend the Snowy Mts of Wy, south of I-80 and West of Laramie. There are primitive campgrounds, great hikes, many high mountain lakes and fishing. I don't know if Covid has increased visitation, but pre-Covid it was pretty much undiscovered, except in the winter, when it is a snow machine mecca.

thanks for the great suggestion! Any specific forest road you suggest exploring down?

 

[smlobx]

I highly recommend the Snowy Mts of Wy, south of I-80 and West of Laramie. There are primitive campgrounds, great hikes, many high mountain lakes and fishing. I don't know if Covid has increased visitation, but pre-Covid it was pretty much undiscovered, except in the winter, when it is a snow machine mecca.

We had to go through the Snowy Range on our way back from Alaska last summer as this is one of my wife’s favorite places on earth. There were a surprisingly high number of people there compared to about 10 years before that. Still I would second the recommendation to check it out.