TOP TEN WONDERS OF THE WESTERN U.S.

As soon as summer is over, we start thinking about where we’d like to go in our next season of RV travel. . . . the next time we can break free and hit the RVing road again. A few weeks ago we watched a documentary on the Travel Channel entitled Travel Channels Top Ten Wonders of the West. This program, which highlighted the majesty of several nature wonders in the western U.S, and was inspiring. With each commentary –we knew we had to visit these places. And there isn’t a better way to see the country than to pack up some food, hitch up the trailer and take to the road on a new RV adventure.

Denver is in the heart of the West, and realistically, if you took them one by one, all of these parks are within one to three days drive from our home base. But when we dream, we dream big, and can imagine hitting several of these locations in one trip. Planning and early reservations requests will be necessary. For example, my initial discovery of traveling to the Grand Canyon, camping reservations must be made at least six months in advance – and there is only one RV park near the Canyon with full-hooks up. If the Grand Canyon is one of our stops next year, we’ll need to clear time on the calendars and start laying out the trip now. Reservations will need to be made before the end of the year. We’ll explore all the options – and share all the results. We’ll take you through the whole adventure with us - one step at a time – and look forward to sharing our RV travels to each destination. Join us for the Top Ten!!

Here’s the list of the Ten Wonders of the West, with mileage from Denver.

Arches National Park, Utah (349 miles
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico (584 miles)
Channel Islands National Park, California (1,079 miles)
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon (1,212 miles)
Death Valley, California (869 miles)
Mount Hood, Oregon (1,209 miles)
Redwoods National Park (1,230 miles) and Yosemite National Park, California(1,585 miles)
The Grand Canyon, Arizona and Nevada (677 to 856 miles, depending upon North or South Rim)
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (593 miles)

One of the recommended first steps for any RV adventure across several states . . . get all the info you can in advance. A great source of information about traveling in any state, is the Department of Tourism. Request the States’ tourism packages and guides, and sign up on their websites to receive event information and travel updates. These publications are free and the information extremely valuable. Many States offer coupons to major attractions and detailed maps. Follow the link and order the FREE State Tourism packages for each State.

A good friend of mine lives in the great State of Utah and is an outdoor adventurer as well. If you are into RVing and ATV riding, check out Utah ATV Trails for a complete list of ATV trail reviews in Utah.

RV Adventurers, please email us at rvweekenderreview@gmail.com/"; we’d love to hear your comments/suggestions for any of the “Top Ten” you have visited.