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Cool off beaten path places to see for lower 48 road trip

Not a cat

By Not a cat
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Not a cat

Not a cat 5,660

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House is scheduled to sell August 11, and I'm driving my youngest off to college August 19.  After that, it's just me, 2 dogs and an RV cruising the country for a year or two.

What are some cool, less known sights you've seen on your journeys?  Hiking trails and historical stuff are mainly my thing but I'm open to all suggestions.

Here's an example  - on a trip last week I was driving through Clear Lake, Iowa, looked on my phone for a dog park to give the dogs a break and realized I was minutes from the Buddy Holly crash site.  Nothing fancy, just a small monument in a cornfield, but still glad I took the time to go there. I certainly wouldn't drive hours to see it but if I'm nearby I'll gladly stop, and I should eventually be near most of the country at some point.

And in anticipation of the first question, the RV's clearance is 9'4" @Wulaw Horn.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45,691

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Damn.  You've got a hell of an opportunity here. 

One thing I will say, unfortunately, is with 2 dogs in tow, your national park options are limited.  At least to a superficial level.  You'll be able to have them on leash on some REALLY basic trails/paved paths.  That said, there's a FUCK TON of public lands you can go to outside of the national parks.  Hell, I was just looking at the Chicago Basin in Colorado (near Durango) and not only are dogs allowed, they don't even require permits!  Shit is wild to me.

I would recommend using the AllTrails app (with the annual subscription) if you want to find random hiking trails.  There is another app called Outly that shows you places you can disperse camp in national forests and whatnot.  I haven't used it really, but seems like it's pretty legit.

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Mo Horn

Mo Horn 8,850

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Lubec, Maine is the easternmost point in the US if you're going to be in the far northeast. Tides are like 20 feet and the scenery on the coast is breathtaking.

We also did 4 corners, which is nothing but a big tourist trap, but still kinda cool.

As I think of more I'll post them. 

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shnsajax

shnsajax 3,591

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Growing up in South Texas, but living up in the PNW area now, up around McCall, Idaho is a place I recommend to a lot of my friends still down south as a nice summer escape from Texas. Even in peak summer temps might hit mid 80's but still 50's at night. Lots of national parks, hiking, camping, fishing, rafting, boating, etc and the entire city is walkable. 

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Not a cat

Not a cat 5,660

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1 hour ago, baboso said:

If you get to the Southeast and like Band of Brothers, this place is interesting and you can go hike Mount Currahee.

https://www.toccoahistory.com/#welcome

Hell yes.  Not to lessen previous suggestions, but history and hiking?  I'm in.  I might just eat a shitload of spaghetti beforehand to make it authentic 

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Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3,486

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Color me jealous.  Would love to take a chunk of time and just drive around the country seeing shit.  

 

If/when you make it out to California, check out the Eastern Sierra/Highway 395/Owens River Valley part of the state.  Most people head for LA, SF, Napa, Highway 1, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Disneyland, Yosemite, and all the other touristy areas of CA.  But the Eastern Sierra is one of my favorite places in the state.   The scenery is great, and there are several off-the-beaten-path places to explore.

Check out Bodie, which is a mining ghost town that has been preserved and is now a state park.  It's a cool place to walk around and explore.  There's Mono Lake, with its weird-looking tufas.  The area around June Lake and Mammoth Lakes is gorgeous.  Take your RV on the 203 through Mammoth Lakes and go see Devil's Postpile.  Lots of hiking in that area. 

South of Mammoth Lakes there is more great hiking, fishing, rock climbing, etc.  Stop in Bishop for a sandwich at Erick Schat's Bakery or Mahogany Smoked Meats.  Or at least some jerky at Mahagony.    

South of Bishop is Big Pine.  East of that town, up in the White Mountains, is the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.  Do the Methuselah Loop hiking trail and by the end of it you'll be able to say that you've laid eyes on the oldest known and confirmed living non-clonal organism in the world -- one of the trees on that loop is the old guy (the park and rangers won't identify the particular tree for fear that knuckleheads will vandalize it).  The road getting up to the forest is narrow and even unpaved at the end, but I seem to recall seeing RVs on it.  Check with the rangers first to make sure I wasn't imagining things.  

South of Big Pine is Independence.  Tiny little town with a big Neoclassical courthouse -- where Charlie Manson had his first prelim after getting arrested in Death Valley for possession of stolen property and vandalism after the Tate/LaBianca murders.  Across the street is a cool old hotel (the Winnedumah).

South of Independence is Manzanar NHS, where Japanese-Americans were interned during WWII.  Well worth spending a few hours there. 

South of that is Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills, where hundreds of movies have been filmed over the years.  It's easy to drive around the Hills and admire the scenery, which includes Mt. Whitney.  There's a fun little film museum in town, which of course focuses on the films that have been made in the area.  Alabama Hills Cafe is good for lunch.   

Southeast of Lone Pine -- if you head toward Death Valley NP on highways 126 and 190 -- you can see The Joshua Tree shrine just off Highway 190.  Even if you're not a fan of U2, it's kind of fun to park just off the highway, traipse about a quarter of a mile (or less) to the south and find the shrine.  U2 fans have left all kinds of stuff at the site of the joshua tree that was pictured on the 1987 album.  (The tree itself is down.)  Kind of a fun thing to do; a bit of a challenge to find, but not too hard.  I wouldn't try to do it now, though, with temps around 120-125 degrees in the afternoon in that area.  Wait until late October or November, or the spring.

 

 

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royiv

royiv 9,326

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24 minutes ago, miguelito said:

Check out some minor league baseball along the way.

That's a great suggestion. In a previous work life, I traveled a lot to small markets in the PNW/ID/MT, etc. I've had a lot of fun at minor league games in random small towns/cities and while most were affiliated teams, some were unaffiliated where the players are likely staying in the spare bedroom of a host family and playing because they love the game.

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Firemans4Horn

Firemans4Horn 18,110

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Just go to as many national parks in the shoulder season as you can. The best of America without the traffic.
 

I’d check out small college towns if I were slow traveling; quality craft beer places, good food, and local arts and music. 

Edited by Firemans4Horn
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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4,738

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While all the little unknown places can be cool, some of our national parks are there for a reason and you’ll have time to explore them.

I’d certainly spend time at Mount St Helen’s, Yellowstone, Yosemite. Big Sur, western Colorado, and park it and go to the San Juan islands. You can also explore Canada and Alaska.

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horn4life

horn4life 3,764

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First thing you do is buy a National Park Pass, so you have free admission to any of the National Parks.  I am also immediately trying to put a loose itinerary together most likely centered around the ability to book reservations in National Parks.  I am also immediately looking ahead to book in the Spring and Summer preferred RV spaces that fill up completely during the late Spring and all Summer.

Pick something you like and use it as your guide!  If you are a foodie, I might look for places visited on "Diners Drive Ins and Dives" to visit for example.  Or Places where movies were shot or homes of actors if I was into entertainment.  I might be looking at small music venues around the country as I like live music. Or the best dive bar in each state?

Sounds like you most important criteria may be to find places that are dog friendly since you are gonna have two furry friends with you. 

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Not a cat

Not a cat 5,660

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Yeah, I'm getting an America the Beautiful pass for parks, it's just those 2 bastards are gonna limit a lot of where I can go in there.  I lived in Colorado for a decade with a dog and always found something to hike with him, so it's doable.

I foresee a mixture of dog friendly hikes, historical stuff, random giant balls of twine and college football games.

First game on my schedule is isu/Iowa September 9 in Ames with my son, though I'm leaving at the end of the third quarter because there's a certain game that evening I don't want to miss.  I'll even buy @Al_4_ISU a beer or two while I'm there, though full disclosure my son is a matriculating Hawkeye.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12,469

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36 minutes ago, Not a cat said:

Yeah, I'm getting an America the Beautiful pass for parks, it's just those 2 bastards are gonna limit a lot of where I can go in there.  I lived in Colorado for a decade with a dog and always found something to hike with him, so it's doable.

I foresee a mixture of dog friendly hikes, historical stuff, random giant balls of twine and college football games.

First game on my schedule is isu/Iowa September 9 in Ames with my son, though I'm leaving at the end of the third quarter because there's a certain game that evening I don't want to miss.  I'll even buy @Al_4_ISU a beer or two while I'm there, though full disclosure my son is a matriculating Hawkeye.

Appreciate the offer, but I'll probably be cutting beans that day (farm stuff).  Enjoy the shit show!

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Not a cat

Not a cat 5,660

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24 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Appreciate the offer, but I'll probably be cutting beans that day (farm stuff).  Enjoy the shit show!

Laugh, easily the most Iowa excuse for missing a game I've ever heard.  I'll swing by in November for our last trip to Trice, too.  

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12,469

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1 minute ago, Not a cat said:

Laugh, easily the most Iowa excuse for missing a game I've ever heard.  I'll swing by in November for our last trip to Trice, too.  

There are parts of my life that are as laughably Iowa stereotype as it gets.

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horn4life

horn4life 3,764

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59 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Just make sure your sex tent will pass inspection and try not to hit any overpasses and you should be good to go.

My dog yelped and ran to the other room after I read that to her. Probably because I read to her who was traveling in the RV on this trip... 😉

 

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Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3,486

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1 hour ago, The Ace of Aces said:

And the dark sky area of West Virginia is fucking surreal. 

Someday I will make it to the Cosmic Campground in western New Mexico during a no moon/new moon phase to check out one of the darkest night skies in the lower 48.  Oh, yes I will.

https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/sanctuaries/cosmiccampground/

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gila/recarea/?recid=82479

 

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USCATX

USCATX 1,078

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On 7/19/2023 at 12:16 AM, shnsajax said:

Growing up in South Texas, but living up in the PNW area now, up around McCall, Idaho is a place I recommend to a lot of my friends still down south as a nice summer escape from Texas. Even in peak summer temps might hit mid 80's but still 50's at night. Lots of national parks, hiking, camping, fishing, rafting, boating, etc and the entire city is walkable. 

I drove up 95 through Idaho two summers ago and loved it, especially Riggins.  There are approximately zero people, the climate is amazing and the scenery is great.  Stayed at a couple shady Motels with my boy and then watched USC smoke Wazzu on the Palouse.  Highly recommend. 

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