How to plan for your 2023 National Park RV Trips

Abroad, this season was filled with incredible National Park experiences, views, camping, and lifelong memories. Each season we like to do a recap to break down what we learned so you can have an even more enjoyable experience. If you choose to follow in our footsteps, you can visit Yellowstone. Yosemite Zion in this episode we will provide a summary of our route, the

national

park

s we visited, the campgrounds we stayed at, the hidden gems so you don't miss useful resources and apps when visiting

national

park

s and we will answer questions from kyd Facebook page as limitation of size of recreational vehicles and some of the tips for traveling to national parks with doctors no matter how beautiful it has been this time business time on the beach is business time this season's route the Blitz national park included Zion Mesa Verde Capitol Reef Mount Rainier Olympic North Cascades Glacier Devils Tower Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave before we dive in here's a little inspiration to hit the road and visit some of our stunning national parks.

Well, is there any inspiring talk that won't be thrown around by the jealous waves of the sea I'm not as strong as I look look at this this is so cool you could do Yellowstone Yosemite Zion how many one two three four five six seven eight nine 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21. alien The teenager finds his satellite and takes it out of the back of the truck 11. 12 11 or 14 14. That's amazing, it's not that cool, it's a little paradise. I know, is there anything better than a park ranger? They are spectacular. most of us, I mean, there have been a couple, we really have to bring it.

I just heard the request. Oh, you're not even going to try it first. I know GoPro takes a picture, we have a first class seat available now, man we have a free one. Premium upgrade, well depending on how many miles you accumulate, you can upgrade without cars, at no cost. I'm really excited, yes a lot of people have commented how much they enjoyed the music this season so we put together a free playlist for you on Spotify, all you need is a Spotify account and to make it easier just pause the screen and use the QR code here or use the link in the description below.

These are great tracks for

your

next road trip. Now let's get started. Talking about campgrounds staying within the national parks really adds to the experience if you can get a reservation or if you fit in, and we'll talk about that in more detail shortly. There are some campgrounds in national parks that deserve a little recognition from Kyd, including Mesa Verde not only because it can accommodate larger RVs, but being in open spaces is very quiet, not to mention the perfect location for Starlink, although We didn't stay at Fruita Campground inside Capitol Reef, we wish we had, yes this is as nice as I can.

I don't think we've ever seen this wow the castle oh there's the castle that's the castle that's the spectacular castle okay we've got a stamp we've got a scenic drive we're going for a scenic drive come on we're visiting Capitol Reef at the end of August and We thought we would need full hookups to run the air conditioning for Charlie, but this was before we knew Capitol Reef was at 5,400 feet and during our stay the weather was good, the campsite was nestled among the rocks and surrounded by apple orchards just outside the You're sure to take a scenic drive, of course, it can be hot here, so you'll want to check the temperatures before arriving abroad.

Now let's travel up the west coast to Mount Rainier. We have found ourselves in another situation without Internet. I feel like I need stamps a little difficult to register Beauty you're talking buy here Mark Tyler Nice to meet you Hello friend, how are you? Nice to meet you Chickens Goats Zucchini Mountain biking Road cycling Skiing I mean, there's not much else. Need to Know Mount Rainier turned out to be a highlight for us this season, not only for the stunning views, great company, and epic writing, but being able to stay at Cougar Rock Campground certainly added to the experience located within the park and halfway from the park entrance to the summit at Paradise Inn We visited Mount Rainier in late September and only two Loops were open, both were dry camping only and one was generator friendly.

Keep this in mind when making

your

reservation, not far from Rainier is one of the largest national parks in the United States. as well as one of the least visited Olympic National Parks, look at that trail, something else, isn't it? We met so many wonderful people today. Yes, one amazing camping story after another. I only have 15 moves to make until here. We were lucky to get a site at Soul Duck Campground near the hot springs. This campsite will remind you of the enchanted forest with variations of moss growing on almost everything you see. There is a Village campground, so to speak, that includes water and electricity, but it does have solar power. or a generator like us, we highly recommend that you stay on the dry camping loop.

You may be wondering if national parks or national park campgrounds allow large trucks and what size is considered a large truck. Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to any of the questions. There is an unspoken rule that most national parks allow up to 35 feet inside the park. 35 is what they call Mac, yes I think it's 50 feet and there is an acoustic one, they also have a group camping area but this depends on the location and has more to do with the owner's ability to not block traffic or damage vegetation, so for the purpose of this conversation let's say a large truck is longer than 35 feet;

In fact, there are many national parks that allow RVs over 35 feet, but they can be hard to find and we only have a few sites available because the Airstream is only 30 feet. We have discovered that we can fit almost anywhere. In some cases, it takes more effort to reach a harder level than I thought because I can't. I can't turn this way or I'll end up in this ditch here, okay, taking a less broad approach to the whole perfect thing, but I'm level, look at that, yeah, what's up with the front nine inches and nine inches?

I know we're going to be able to do this, we'll just have to move our pillow. Many people wonder if this includes just the RV or their tow vehicle. The maximum length applies only to your RV, not your combination tow vehicle. and a trailer or tow vehicle and a motorized recreational vehicle, but at some campgrounds you will need to park your tow vehicle elsewhere. There is still another campground we discovered this season that is worth mentioning when visiting Devils Tower National Monument. By the way, you will love the first national monument in the United States. Belle Fourche River Campground located just below Devil's Tower and if you can visit during the fall the weather will be perfect and the Aspens will shine talking about weather, when is the best time to visit a national park in the west and how to do it.

You avoid the crowds, the answer is the same for both questions, visit during the shoulder season although you run the risk that it may start snowing here, but the shoulder season has been amazing. I think the weather has been excellent, it has been hot during the day, cool at night. We have extended our time here an additional two nights, which we would never be able to do in the middle of this summer. Simply getting a reservation is quite difficult. Shoulder season means just before or after peak season, which tends to be summer, but not in In all cases, when visiting Colorado, you're not the only one who wants to see the vibrant aspen trees change color in the fall, for so the high season could be extended a little later by visiting the parks a little earlier or a little later than the others.

Not only will you avoid the crowds, but you'll also be able to have a little more flexibility in your trip

plan

ning if you can only visit during peak season, no problem, just start

plan

ning six months or a year in advance, that's it. right now, by the way, and it's good to have some backup plans, like harvest hosts or boondockers, welcomed with some dry camping options to fill in the gaps. I like being on a farm, productivity increases by 38 percent just when we camp on a farm, hey, you know what I wish we needed. some chickens we need some chickens when I walk around this farm and I look around this is this is what I'm thinking yes yes I want this is what I want a lot of people ask about how to avoid crowds in general and it's easier than you think , go early.

It's surprising how few people get up to see the sunrise and you'll be surprised, even during peak season, to have some of the best views to yourself, unless you're taking a photo at Mesa Arch. in Canyonlands, then bring your gloves boxing, secrecy is fine, there are so many people here, but everyone here is like legit photographers and I'm there setting up a GoPro, we have National Geographic behind us, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. I have to go grill here, get out of the way. The Recreation.gov app has been a great resource this season, not only for up-to-date information about the park, but also to have everything in one place for our park admission reservation.

When tours and even campsites need to be booked, just remember to take a screenshot of your reservations in case there is no cell phone coverage when you arrive, after all, it is a national park, cell phone coverage is limited and, sometimes nonexistent there is no cell phone coverage in the park we are actually using Starlink wonderfully it's amazing ok but if you don't have cell phone coverage what I was going to say is take your ticket for the tour and take a screenshot because when the guide said, see you at Come through the door and check your tickets.

There was a sort of collective groan. A little panic. Thank you. Do you have a national parks pass? Its caduced. Can we get a new one? Yes, no, the pass is worth 80 until the end of next August. Thank you. You may already have a National Park entrance pass, but if not, it's worth researching which America the Beautiful pass is right for you. There are deep discounts for some and even free options for federal military service volunteers, and if you're in fourth grade, here's a chart to find out more with a link below, but consider each option carefully as there are benefits you may not even know. even know, like 50 off some campground reservations.

We usually make reservations for campsites in the National Park in advance, but we prefer the flexibility of not having reservations in All of this works for our lifestyle, but could be complicated if you have a particular date that you need to come and go so we can keep our flexibility. We use Harvest hosts and welcome boondockers so we can land in an area and then make plans especially for overnight stays where we prefer not to disconnect or camp. This not only provides a unique camping experience. We've been to a lot of vineyards, yes, but I've never been next to a corn warehouse like this one and Caleb.

Here's the deal, okay, if any baseball players come out of there tonight. I want you to tell me when we can find a host to serve dinner when we are a little ahead of schedule and need a place to stay during a busy weekend or I need a place for longer than just one night, we are usually looking for food, doctors are welcome, this is phenomenal, we are literally in someone's backyard, there are roosters behind us, there is an alert dog, they are just there to warn and, um, the owner of the house is not home right now, but It's just a beautiful property, but yeah, gosh, beautiful, yeah, isn't it great?

Oh yeah. I'll take two and now that locations are built into the Harvest host app, it's even easier for us to use, of course, another resource available to you. In our blog this season, we created an RV travel guide for each of the national parks mentioned in this video. You can find them at keepyourdaydream.com and then on the blog we include everything you need to know when planning your RV trip to these national parks while Join our email list to stay up to date with special announcements, events and other kyd news. When we ask questions on the kyd Facebook page, the most frequently asked question was about dogs and, rightly so, we hear that 68 percent of our viewers travel with their dog.

There are some pet-friendly national parks, such as Shenandoah Olympic or the Grand Canyon, where you can take your dog anywhere in Above the Rim or even Acadia National Park, where dogs are allowed on many trails. He's a hiker now, Charlie, okay, let's go this way, guys, I'm not going to look at you, IWe're doing good, boy, Charlie, but there are other parks like Zion that are known not to allow pets and that's probably because. Depending on how much traffic the park has or how steep the hikes are, all national parks allow your dog to come into the park to camp with you, so our approach is to take Charlie no matter where we go and discover the restrictions.

When we get there, if Charlie can't come out on the trails and explore with us. We'll dry camp when the weather is nice or find an RV park on the outskirts with full hookups so we can leave the air conditioning on while we're away. We made an Everything Amazon Lives About Traveling with Pets that you can check out and will include the exact link in the description below. Okay, wait, you can't just do it the other way around. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, but look, look, there it works. but mostly it doesn't spill, so when the travel trailer goes back and forth like this, it goes up one side and back in.

During that livestream we talked about some of the products we use to monitor temperatures and how to keep Charlie safe, come on, come on, look at this, come on, come on, Charlie, come on, you know you want it. A lot of people asked about taking dogs on the trails and the best resource we've found for that is all the trails this app isn't. It's only great for finding the perfect hike, but it will tell you if a trail is dog-friendly. This is our go-to app when we arrive at almost any destination, as we love exploring nature through trails.

A good tip if you are hiking with a dog in the southwest, be sure to bring a small tooth comb to remove the stickers. Thorns or if they have an encounter with strange cacti, that mouse doesn't want to play with that mouse right now. Fear for his life. I know you just want to play with him, but Charlie, you need to leave that Mouse alone. Charlie, come here, Charlie, Charlie, come here, come on, you can't eat that Mouse, okay, Hidden Gems have earned their name for a reason, after all. You're hidden, putting a little extra effort into discovering something is what makes it worth it.

The excitement is in finding one. Yes, you have an Earth satellite. The situation rises and then sit here. I think bring um, maybe some snacks, oh yeah, leave no trace, yeah, but. bring some things to sit here for a while and just listen to the water and that's exactly why you came here, you probably won't find a hidden gem on the internet by the time you get there, there won't be anything hidden in it, but if you're a bit of an extrovert, Talk to your neighbors, other guests, and campground hosts who want you to have the same experience as them and will usually tell you exactly where to go and what to look for, but we'll be happy to share a few things.

You shouldn't miss it, especially when visiting Capitol Reef. Make sure you stop by and buy the pie, but go in the morning because after lunch they'll probably be gone. Oh you did, oh what time do they usually sell out today? Okay, when you visit the Glacier, head to the McDonald Lodge and join in on happy hour while enjoying the sunset and lake view. Unfortunately, this is another experience we missed by just one day. Well, we came here to have some drinks we brought. charcuterie board mm-hmm um but there's a sign that says close to season but we still have a view and great friends so we could just hang out and enjoy visiting Mount Rushmore it's a classic road trip from the USA, but experiencing it at night is Even better, here we also missed that ceremony by only five days, so traveling in the shoulder season has its advantages, but don't push it or you could miss all the activities.

Don't miss these activities. This is amazing, isn't it? look at this tunnel which is something else it feels narrower than it is but this truck is pretty big and i think i missed six inches to a foot on each side oh of course one of the most hidden gems they are overlooked. Be the person you are with your friends and family, you can take a regular trip to the next level when you have time together in a place like a national park, you will have the opportunity to connect during hikes, cook dinner, share stories around the campfire . of peaks and dips you've experienced along the way and definitely a good game or two and then aim, okay, see what happens, join us next week for the first part of the travel miniseries as Mark Caleb and our friend Bill travel from Michigan to Florida. while I had my hands busy doing all the RV stuff, okay wait I'm going to spin this wheel okay did we find this season recap video helpful or at least you have a good idea, like it and tell us that we love being a little one. part of your story and share our experiences to help you as always, we are glad you are here and we look forward to spending some time with you next Sunday.

I came back to a place that's long gone foreign foreign right? I once thought about you, but I would say that you came back again.