I love planning trips. I like to read about new places and activities. It’s exciting to start with a blank slate and create an itinerary full of fun, new adventures. I’ve spent a lot of time ironing out the details of our trips over the years. Below are 5 tips for planning your next trip. If any of these photos catch your eye, simply click on one to read more about that destination.
1. Start Early
Now, more than ever, it is important to start planning out your trip in advance. We started mapping out our Glacier/Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Parks trip about 10 months in advance. This may sound a bit excessive, but if you are planning to visit a major national park, I’d recommend planning at least six months in advance.
Reservations open six months in advance for many national park campgrounds. This was the case with Theodore Roosevelt, Glacier, and Grand Teton National Parks (all places we camped). We knew the exact date and time that reservations would be released for each of the campgrounds where we hoped to stay. We were sure to be on the Recreation.gov app, ready to jump on a reservation right at that time.
For many places, lodging opens earlier than six months. Several state parks release reservations for campsites 11-12 months in advance. Some lodges in or around parks open their reservations more than six months in advance also. The earlier you can set your dates and book your reservation, the better.
If you do book early and your plans change, be sure to cancel your reservations, so the campsite/cabin/rental can be enjoyed by someone else. Often, the earlier you cancel, the more money you can get back.
2. Do Your Research
You’ll want to know the answer to questions like… Do you need to have bear spray on your hike? Do you know when the trailhead parking lot usually fills up? Does your paddle board need to be inspected before you get in the water? Do your research ahead of time, so you can plan accordingly.
Particularly if you’re heading to a new destination, do your research early. Know what you want to do at your destination and approximately how much time each activity will take. Allow for extra time between activities. Whether it’s due to traffic/crowds or too many amazing photo ops, I’ve found that the activities you’ve planned usually take longer than you expect.
I also like to research additional activities as “backups” in case your first choices don’t work out. I will often pick out too many hikes for our national park visits and then rank them based on level of interest and what I believe will fit into our time-frame. If, for some reason, we are not able to do some of the higher-ranked hikes, we have backups already in mind and can quickly pivot. In addition to outdoor activities, it’s great to have a few indoor options in mind in case of a rainy day. Museums, cave tours, or even visiting some local stores for some shopping are great options.
3. Start Following Your Destination on Social Media
This technically falls under “do your research”, but it’s been so helpful that it gets its own point. Once a destination has landed on my “maybe” list for a future trip, I start following it on social media. This is a convenient way to learn about current/future events happening at the destination, changes to any current policies (e.g. reservation requirements in national parks), useful resources (e.g. text alerts for area closures inside the park), and what areas may be of most interest to you.
I followed Glacier National Park on Facebook and learned several important points that were helpful to know for our trip:
- The Going to the Sun Road was opening unusually late in the Summer of 2022 due to the amount of snow on the road.
- The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park would require reservations in 2022. However, having a campground reservation along the road would exempt you from the required reservation. It pointed me to the park website for more information.
- I signed up to receive text alerts when areas of the park closed due to crowds or bear activity. There was nothing I could do about the bear activity, but I could learn patterns of the crowds. For example, I received a text every morning about the Many Glacier area reaching capacity and closing. I could gauge roughly what time we had to be in the Many Glacier area before it reached capacity and they closed it. (Remember to adjust for time differences, if necessary.)
- They posted lots of pictures and information about areas within the park, which helped guide me in picking out what locations were of most importance to us.
4. Know Your Limits… But Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Things
I’m so happy we’ve tried new things on our trips. We’ve had new experiences like whitewater rafting, horseback riding in the mountains, and kayaking on the Great Lakes. We did our research ahead of time and assessed our level of preparedness and level of comfort with each activity.
In many cases, a guided outing is a great option. This could be going on a first camping trip with a friend who has camping experience, or it could be going on a professionally led whitewater rafting trip. Whatever you decide, do your research ahead of time and be honest about your initial skill-level to get the most out of the experience. Be reasonable with your expectations, especially if it’s something you’ve never tried before.
Sometimes these “new things” are less physical in nature. Trying new food is a great example, especially if it is considered a local specialty. In Glacier National Park, we tried huckleberry cobbler because huckleberries are very popular in that area. In an area of Northern Georgia known for its apples, we went to a Cidery and ordered a flight of cider.
5. Use Google Maps… and Don’t Use Google Maps
Google Maps can be really useful. We use it to get an idea of general directions and travel time estimates based on traffic and other factors. If we’re mainly sticking to the interstates, we’re not too concerned about using Google Maps for directions. However, we hesitate to completely rely on Google Maps. Occasionally, you’ll see a note on a destination’s website that specifically says not to use Google for directions. They will have their own directions listed instead. I try to make note of this and print them or take a screen shot, so we have them handy even if we don’t have cell service while we’re on the road. At times, I’ve found that these directions match Google, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
Sometimes Google Maps directions take you down some very narrow, winding roads that we may not want to travel while towing our camper. These may be mountainous roads or narrow, unpaved country roads. There are apps/websites that allow you to enter your RV information and find RV-safe routes. They usually require a fee/subscription to use.
A key use for Google Maps on our trips is satellite mode (an aerial photo) to get a feel for whether our camper can comfortably fit into an area. For example, we were driving through Yellowstone with our truck and travel trailer. We wanted to pull off to see Grand Prismatic Spring from the overlook. I researched parking areas ahead of time and determined that there would not be over-sized parking available at the closest trailhead to the overlook trail. Instead, I looked further up the road and found a parking lot that clearly had over-sized vehicle parking at another trailhead that connected to the overlook trail and allowed bikes. We were able to bike a few miles on this beautiful, scenic trail to the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of things to think about when planning a trip. It can feel like a lot to coordinate at times, but things usually have a way of falling into place. As a final “bonus tip”, I have learned over the years to plan for some downtime. Allow for some free time for unexpected activities or time to just relax. Your schedule will probably fill up faster than you think.
If you need help deciding where to go, check out some of these amazing places we’ve visited! Click a photo below to read more about the destination or visit the home page for an interactive map of our travels.
