Where are you going in 2026?

J

JohnC

Ranger
I thought I'd throw this out there to see where people may be going and perhaps to inspire others.

This morning I booked the Lower Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley for the last week of April.

From mid May through the first week of June I will be splitting time between Mammoth Campground and Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone NP and then on to Colter Bay Campground in Grand Teton NP. Depending upon how I feel I may add a stop in either Idaho or the Eastern Sierra in Calif on my way home.

Not sure yet where I will meander in the fall. My biggest problem seems to be the fact that you cannot be in different places at the same time. Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and the Eastern Sierra are all under consideration along with anything else I can come up with.

And if I can find a place while avoiding heat and people in the summertime, that could be an option as well.

I apologize to those of you still working 50 weeks a year. :-)

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You are an inspiration @JohnC !
The photography too!

Joshua Tree, Anza Borrego, Painted Desert, the Kaibab cool off in the fall. It takes a certain eye to discern the desert mystery but you have it. The North Rim burnt up earlier...after the rain the deer and elk will be out feasting on green shoots...life goes on and tourists will be gone... until the campgrounds are rebuilt.

The spring bloom in Death Valley may be epic, if the atmospheric river continues.

Ask @Jenn and @SethB about the Cascades and Olympic Peninsula, and so on...I think Sasquatch is ready for his photo op.
 
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TheSongDogHouse said:
You are an inspiration @JohnC !
The photography too!

Joshua Tree, Anza Borrego, Painted Desert, the Kaibab cool off in the fall. It takes a certain eye to discern the desert mystery but you have it. The North Rim burnt up earlier...after the rain the deer and elk will be out feasting on green shoots...life goes on and tourists will be gone... until the campgrounds are rebuilt.

The spring bloom in Death Valley may be epic, if the atmospheric river continues.

Ask @Jenn and @SethB about the Cascades and Olympic Peninsula, and so on...I think Sasquatch is ready for his photo op.
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The north rim will be evaluated in April before the government decides what may or may not open. It would be nice if the campground opened but I’m doubting it will. Pretty sure they’d need utilities to have employees on site.
 
Ya I'm thinking go in from Kanab to Jacobs Lake ...there is USFS land north of the park and dirt roads that lead west to overlooks on the Grand Canyon. 89 closed now and reopens in May, so it would be no go to go further east until then.

I was glad I visited in 2020, saw the Lodge, walked all over and down part of the trails, camped along the Arizona Trail area.

www.nps.gov

Status of the North Rim - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov www.nps.gov
 

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JohnC said:
I thought I'd throw this out there to see where people may be going and perhaps to inspire others.

This morning I booked the Lower Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley for the last week of April.

From mid May through the first week of June I will be splitting time between Mammoth Campground and Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone NP and then on to Colter Bay Campground in Grand Teton NP. Depending upon how I feel I may add a stop in either Idaho or the Eastern Sierra in Calif on my way home.

Not sure yet where I will meander in the fall. My biggest problem seems to be the fact that you cannot be in different places at the same time. Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and the Eastern Sierra are all under consideration along with anything else I can come up with.

And if I can find a place while avoiding heat and people in the summertime, that could be an option as well.

I apologize to those of you still working 50 weeks a year. :-)

i-DgqDdDm-XL.jpg


JEC5379%20Edit-2-X2.jpg


_JEC3036%201-X2.jpg


Photo%20Oct%2011%2C%203%2035%2019%20PM%202-X2.jpg
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I've been thinking about this. Thank you for the nudge. Now I'm realllly going to be thinking about it.
Early May I'm going into California via I80...visit family and then noodle north to WA. There is a road that goes up eastern CA, I think it's 385?. I've never been up that road to get north but need to look up and see what camping opportunities are.
Once I get to my camp on whidbey island I tend to not leave. There is so much to do there that mostly involves sitting around watching the animals and birds and trees and oceans that I never want to leave. There are 3 state parks to roam around, beaches to walk, ferries to ride that I dont roam farther than that.
I was thinking about getting over to the Olympic peninsula in September or October.
 
Jenn said:
I've been thinking about this. Thank you for the nudge. Now I'm realllly going to be thinking about it.
Early May I'm going into California via I80...visit family and then noodle north to WA. There is a road that goes up eastern CA, I think it's 385?. I've never been up that road to get north but need to look up and see what camping opportunities are.
Once I get to my camp on whidbey island I tend to not leave. There is so much to do there that mostly involves sitting around watching the animals and birds and trees and oceans that I never want to leave. There are 3 state parks to roam around, beaches to walk, ferries to ride that I dont roam farther than that.
I was thinking about getting over to the Olympic peninsula in September or October.
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395 runs up and down the Eastern Sierra with all kinds of great places to see and camp depending on your preference and time of year. But if you’re entering California from I80 aren’t you already going south to get to CA?

I can give you details along 395 if you decide to spend some time there. Just let me know.

Also, if you’re going up or down CA along the west coast the Redwoods are a great place to stop and visit. I’ve been there a few times as well.
 
TheSongDogHouse said:
Ya I'm thinking go in from Kanab to Jacobs Lake ...there is USFS land north of the park and dirt roads that lead west to overlooks on the Grand Canyon. 89 closed now and reopens in May, so it would be no go to go further east until then.

I was glad I visited in 2020, saw the Lodge, walked all over and down part of the trails, camped along the Arizona Trail area.

www.nps.gov

Status of the North Rim - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov www.nps.gov
Click to expand...
I was there in 2016. I think 89 is the only way in and out. And until they have gas in the park again I think Jacob’s lake is the nearest gas to the campgrounds. Just another reason I’m doubtful they will open it up to habitation next summer.
 
I wish I could say something exciting! I'd LIKE to go back to the Badlands and see the progress on Crazy Horse - I hear it is significant. Of course, a stop at the KOA on the foot of Devils Tower this time. Last time we had a class A and it wasn't economical to make that trip. I love my teardrop!

I anticipate a trip to Texas - Thats more work than vacation though, and a trip to the gulf coast probably about the time kids go back to school.
 
JohnC said:
I thought I'd throw this out there to see where people may be going and perhaps to inspire others.

This morning I booked the Lower Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley for the last week of April.

From mid May through the first week of June I will be splitting time between Mammoth Campground and Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone NP and then on to Colter Bay Campground in Grand Teton NP. Depending upon how I feel I may add a stop in either Idaho or the Eastern Sierra in Calif on my way home.

Not sure yet where I will meander in the fall. My biggest problem seems to be the fact that you cannot be in different places at the same time. Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and the Eastern Sierra are all under consideration along with anything else I can come up with.

And if I can find a place while avoiding heat and people in the summertime, that could be an option as well.

I apologize to those of you still working 50 weeks a year. :-)

i-DgqDdDm-XL.jpg


JEC5379%20Edit-2-X2.jpg


_JEC3036%201-X2.jpg


Photo%20Oct%2011%2C%203%2035%2019%20PM%202-X2.jpg
Click to expand...
Sounds like a lot of fun. Your photos are spectacular. Checkout the NFS campgrounds in Paradise Valley just north of Yellowstone.
 
I'm thinking of running up to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari (28 Mar - 5 Apr). It's earlier this year than last (due to the date of Easter) so it may be a bit colder. Moab is only 500 miles away from my home in the Phoenix area. There are several scenic different routes to travel between the two points.

Then in June-July timeframe I would like to go to Kaslo BC. Nestled along Kootenay Lake between the Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges this is a fairly unknown area. Of the 333 nights (10+ years) I've camped in my 560 Raindrop, 62 nights have been in British Columbia (more than half along Kootenay Lake). The last time I went to Canada was 2019, and health permitting I will go this summer. Sometimes I feel younger than my 79 years, but other times, not so much.
 
Old_Prospector said:
I'm thinking of running up to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari (28 Mar - 5 Apr). It's earlier this year than last (due to the date of Easter) so it may be a bit colder. Moab is only 500 miles away from my home in the Phoenix area. There are several scenic different routes to travel between the two points.

Then in June-July timeframe I would like to go to Kaslo BC. Nestled along Kootenay Lake between the Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges this is a fairly unknown area. Of the 333 nights (10+ years) I've camped in my 560 Raindrop, 62 nights have been in British Columbia (more than half along Kootenay Lake). The last time I went to Canada was 2019, and health permitting I will go this summer. Sometimes I feel younger than my 79 years, but other times, not so much.
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I've been to Moab a few times but always stayed in a hotel. I've been wanting to go back for a while now but haven't yet. The parks in that area are just beautiful.
 
TheSongDogHouse said:
You are an inspiration @JohnC !
The photography too!

Joshua Tree, Anza Borrego, Painted Desert, the Kaibab cool off in the fall. It takes a certain eye to discern the desert mystery but you have it. The North Rim burnt up earlier...after the rain the deer and elk will be out feasting on green shoots...life goes on and tourists will be gone... until the campgrounds are rebuilt.

The spring bloom in Death Valley may be epic, if the atmospheric river continues.

Ask @Jenn and @SethB about the Cascades and Olympic Peninsula, and so on...I think Sasquatch is ready for his photo op.
Click to expand...
 
Old_Prospector said:
I'm thinking of running up to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari (28 Mar - 5 Apr). It's earlier this year than last (due to the date of Easter) so it may be a bit colder. Moab is only 500 miles away from my home in the Phoenix area. There are several scenic different routes to travel between the two points.

Then in June-July timeframe I would like to go to Kaslo BC. Nestled along Kootenay Lake between the Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges this is a fairly unknown area. Of the 333 nights (10+ years) I've camped in my 560 Raindrop, 62 nights have been in British Columbia (more than half along Kootenay Lake). The last time I went to Canada was 2019, and health permitting I will go this summer. Sometimes I feel younger than my 79 years, but other times, not so much.
Click to expand...
That sounds like an epic trip in BC.
And the way up through Red Rock country has so many neat areas- "Dinosaur Highway"
How can one not turn off at a sign like that and see where it goes?

www.visitutah.com

Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway

Discover dinosaurs in Utah. The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway is one of the best places to see dinosaurs in Utah.
www.visitutah.com www.visitutah.com
 
We camped in both Bridge Bay & Colter Bay in 2015. Nice, just big and with Bridge Bay you had to go somewhere else for showers & laundry. We liked Tower Falls in Yellowstone once moved there.

We liked the Fruita campground in Capitol Reef because the park was not crowded. The pie from the Gifford House was a bonus.

At the North Rim we camped out at Jacob’s Lake.

For us this year, we’ll probably stick to the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, & Tennessee this year after running out to New Mexico last summer. Hoping to go West in either 2027 or 2028. Both of us may be retired by ‘28 from teaching and we’ll be able to travel further from home more easily & outside the summer months by then. Although, this double dipping we are both doing is going to be hard to give up.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
We camped in both Bridge Bay & Colter Bay in 2015. Nice, just big and with Bridge Bay you had to go somewhere else for showers & laundry. We liked Tower Falls in Yellowstone once moved there.

We liked the Fruita campground in Capitol Reef because the park was not crowded. The pie from the Gifford House was a bonus.

At the North Rim we camped out at Jacob’s Lake.

For us this year, we’ll probably stick to the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, & Tennessee this year after running out to New Mexico last summer. Hoping to go West in either 2027 or 2028. Both of us may be retired by ‘28 from teaching and we’ll be able to travel further from home more easily & outside the summer months by then. Although, this double dipping we are both doing is going to be hard to give up.
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On my trips to Yellowstone and Grand Teton I always bring enough clothes to only need to do laundry once. I like doing laundry at Colter Bay. But I actually prefer driving to Signal Mountain for their showers. They are much bigger than Colter Bay and are completely private with a lockable door. I highly recommend them.

I was only at Capital Reef once and that was just to drive there for a day. Fruita looked like a nice campground but it's pretty hard to book from what I understand.
 
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