Hi Dave,

I'll let others chime in on WY, MT and UT since we did those with a much smaller rig in our part time RV days.

Idaho, however, well, we've spent a bit of time there in the last few years. A beautiful drive up to SandPoint is Hwy 95, just be aware it's not a fast drive, very scenic, but lots of ups, downs, curves, etc. We came down it last summer and loved the scenery.

Places to see:
Sawtooth Mountains - specifically the Red Fish lake area, absolutely gorgeous, we camped in three different National Forest campgrounds between Stanley and Ketchum, wouldn't fit in all the spaces, but never had trouble finding at least one spot where our 30 ft TT and Toyota Tundra fit and we saw several rigs bigger than what we had at the time. Lots of hiking opportunities, fishing, boating, etc. One note, the stretch of ID 21 coming back into Boise is full of a LOT of hairpin turns, if we had to do it over again, we would have gone through Garden Valley back over to Hwy 95. We did see snow in September on the pass in the middle of the National Recreation area, so watch the weather, driving over the pass with about 3 inches of snow on the ground was unexpected and not fun.

As you continue north on 95, McCall ID is definitely worth a stop. Close to the Hells Canyon area if you want to do some rafting, lots of hiking, your rig will definitely fit into several spots in the state park, I think it's called Ponderosa state park, right on the edge of McCall. The big lodge on the lake serves a wonderful breakfast, weather permitting you can eat outside and soak in the scenery. June should be wildflower season, so should be lovely. McCall has become one of our most favorite spots in Idaho, we make a point of going there even if it's out of our way.

Lewistown is a nice stop, again with a state park right beside the town that you should have no trouble finding a place for your rig. I can't remember if you are bicyclist, we enjoyed bicycling from ID into WA and back into ID again as Lewiston and Clarkston seem like one continuous small town. There's a really, really good BBQ place in Clarkston run by a guy from TX, all you can eat ribs one night a week will leave you waddling away. Just know that there is a long, steep grade on Hwy 95 north of Lewiston, that will take extra time and care to go up or down it, we've done both, take your time and enjoy the scenery.

We love Couer d'Alene and Sandpoint, lots of bicycling, Sandpoint is more of a mountain bike area, where in CDA you can follow the Trail of the Couer d'Alenes or the Centennial Trail for some nice, long bike rides. Heyburn State Park is near the south end of the lake and had plenty of sites that could accommodate your MH and the bike trail passes through the park. There's an Irish pub in downtown Sandpoint that is worth spending some time in and enjoying a meal.

One other not to be missed opportunity in my mind is the Trail of the Hiawathas on the ID/MT border, you actually leave from the MT side of the border, 6 tunnels, 8 high trestles, converted rails to trail bike ride that is absolutely magnificent with the scenery.

Will definitely be following your blog, we hope to be in the Couer d'Alene area the first couple weeks of June before we have to head to Seattle for art shows, maybe our paths will cross!! There's a brewery in Couer d'Alene that might be a fun meeting place!!

Sorry Red,,, I will try to watch my mouth from now on LOL!!

And thank you Dale & Ruth for the ideas, and the possibility of catching up in Coeur d'Alene sounds like a great plan!!

We have riden the Chief Joseph scenic highway a number of years ago FOSJ, and you are right,, great roads!! Thanks for the reminder.

Deadwood SD is in that neighborhood and it's a fun town. That's where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hitch...... is buried. Gunfight reenactments in the saloons and streets.

If you go SE from Billings MT you can see the Battle of Little Bighorn, Custer's last stand. They have markers in the ground where the soldiers and indians fell/died.

Even though we don't have a "set" plan I don't think we will go over into the Dakota's this year because we really want to spend as much time in Utah as we can. But next year we plan to expand the loop to include North and South Dakota and Colorado but you just never know what turns we will make.
We do pull a Jeep Rubicon with us so doing some of the trails is certainly on our list of to do's.

We toured the area mentioned in the OP many times. In addition to the suggestions in the previous posts, which I would all have given myself, here are two must-sees off the beaten path:

1. UT 128 from I70 to Moab. The road is winding with the Colorado river all the way to Moab, and the vistas are simply breathtaking. It is narrow and winding, but I drove it with my 36' 5th wheel without any problems; it's a slow drive, of course, but that's why you are there, right? There are a number of quiet and lonesome BLM campgrounds at the river banks as you get closer to Moab, and some very scenic hikes near by.
Instead if taking US191 all the way from Teton to Moab, you would "detour" in Vernal UT, taking US40 and CO139 to hit I70 west of Grand Junction. Then west to exit 214, and you are in for one of the most spectacular drives in the entire Southwest.

2. Kodachrome Basin state park, also in Utah. It's a little east of Bryce Canyon NP, and you would bypass it when taking UT12 from Capitol Reef NP to Bryce Canyon NP (which you should consider doing, as UT12 is rated as a scenic byway, and for a reason!). In the state park's campground, there are only a few sites with hookups and being large enough for your rig, so you should make reservation well ahead if you want them; the rest of the CG is dry camping. There are a number of easy hikes off the CG, all of them offering spectacular vistas, and off the throngs that you'll see in Bryce Canyon.

Dave - one other area I forgot to mention as you're traveling through Idaho, Lake Cascade State Park. Plenty of sites where your rig will fit, they have several different camping areas, everything from dry camping to full hook ups depending on which unit of the state park. Nice lake to paddle on and it's one of those places we love to sit outside at night and star gaze. You're far away from any populated areas that the stars really pop!! Just thought of it as we're planning the trip from Couer d'Alene to Boise between a couple of art shows and decided we just had to stop here for a couple of nights in early September.

Yup, lots of good info,, thanks again. We have taken notes and sort of loosely picked a squiggly line that we will call a route this summer that looks good I think.

Thanks for that info Steve & Dianne. I'll put a pin on the map for that area. It looks pretty interesting.

DebbieM wrote:

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Dave & Diane,

Looks like we'll be in the same areas about the same time.  Perhaps we'll cross?  Glad to re-read Ruth's suggestions. (just spent the day with Ruth and Dale today!)  We'll be in ID/MT/WY July & Aug.  Then spending time in UT ending up in AZ the first 2 weeks of November also.  Since we'll be squeezed for time, we are saving Colorado for next summer too

Hey, it would be great running into & meeting you guys!! Looking forward to it and hope it happens. 

 

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We just finished six weeks of wandering Southern Utah. We visited the "Big 5" national parks as well as many national monuments, state parks and BLM land. Six weeks was not enough to see the millions of acres of public lands in that area.

In the end our ratings of our visit was:

1. Bryce Canyon National Park - "Shock & Awe" would be the best description. You can't be prepared for what you will see.

2. Zion National Park - A hikers paradise. It will take several days, if not a week.

3. Escalante National Monument - Awesomely beautiful and huge. 1,700,000 acres. Amazing slot canyons.

4. Arches National Park - Scenery to die for. Enough hiking to last for many days.

I blogged almost every day, so if you need a detailed description you can read about our adventures during six great weeks.

Hey Dale & Ruth!  What's the name of that brewery in CDA?  We will be there next week, and my husband Al is a big beer fan!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Mel (of Melnal and http://wheresphoebe.com)

Many thanks hdrider!  It's important that I keep my husband happy, and any kind of beer/brewery is certainly helpful!