capecod73

Without starting a "to travel or not to travel" debate (my husband is an ER nurse, he's working in the COVID tent as I type this, we aren't ignorant to risks etc) we are looking at renting an RV for 8-10 days or so in late June for a vacation focused on hiking, nature, national parks (if open) for our family of four, including two teen boys.

Does anyone have Montana road trip idea that would be round trip from Billings, or Tennessee that would be round trip from either Nashville or Atlanta? We have been to Yellowstone so I'd prefer to include Glacier if we travel Montana. We're also open to New Mexico...which I know nothing about lol.

Sorry to be so vague - I'm literally just trying to figure this out as I go and we were planning an extensive CA trip for the summer but that's not going to happen. We're comfortable with an RV rental and not hotels at this point.

Thanks in advance!!!

tomfuller

From your sign on handle, I'm guessing you live in MA. Would you consider taking the Lake Shore Limited out of Boston South station to Chicago and then the Empire Builder from Chicago to Whitefish Montana?
I'm sure that you can arrange an RV if that is what you really want to do. I would just rent a car and get a condo at the Meadow Lake Resort near Columbia Falls. Glacier NP including the Going to the Sun road may or may not be open in late June.
If you want to see several National Parks, you could go to SLC and rent a vehicle (RV or car) and go to see 2 or 3 of "The Big Five" in Utah.
Since the pandemic has continued, Amtrak has been getting much better with cleaning in their trains and stations.

capecod73

Thanks for the suggestion. We're pretty set on flying and maximizing the time we have in the area we decide to explore. We've also done Grand Canyon/Moab Area parks and Mesa Verde. I'm trying to find some other states and areas we haven't had a chance to explore

jamie99

I've only been to Santa Fe (3 visits with a couple of days in Albuquerque) and loved it, lots of stuff to do, museums, art galleries, visiting various Indian pueblos, driving to Taos, driving to Bandelier National Monument, Rancho Chimayo, Los Alamos, etc. The food is fabulous and unique to the area (teens will find something to eat, they always do).
However an RV might be a hindrance, cannot imagine driving it into the old Pueblo area or down Canyon Road to see the art galleries. Frankly I would rent a car instead of, or in conjunction with, the RV. There do appear to be some RV parks nearby.

Michael

New Mexico and southern Colorado, which would include Taos, Santa Fe, Mesa Verde, plus others.

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tomfuller

Why did you give up on California? You could fly to Reno or Sacramento and spend some time in Yosemite. If you want to come to Oregon, we have plenty of nature to explore including Crater Lake NP.

capecod73

Covid related mainly. We will hit California either 2021 or 2022. But I'd prefer to do CA with hotels and the only way I got my husband to sign off on this was either to do an RV trip or stay in the same hotel room for awhile lol. Nurses are hard to sway!!!

Trust me I'm dying to do a loop with Washington and Oregon as well. Such a beautiful country we have to explore!

oldemalloy

The ideas for New Mexico that have been given so far are great. You often can get very good deals on flights from the east coast to Albuquerque. Get a map and look for a loop to do a week. Perhaps do the city at the beginning and/or end of the trip then put in places like Tent Rocks, Santa Fe, Taos, Bandelier, Valles Caldera, Aztec Ruin, Chaco Canyon,el Moro/Inscription Rock, Accoma Pueblo, Ssndia Peak, Turquios Trail, Petroglyphs N P, etc.

Patty

I could easily spend 8-10 days hiking in Glacier and am planning to do so in June if the park opens and Montana lifts their 14 day quarantine. I'm currently holding reservations for 3 nights in West Glacier, 3 nights in St Mary and 4 nights at Many Glacier. The Going to the Sun Rd may not be open but you wouldn't be able to take an RV anyway. The length restriction starts at Avalanche on the west side and Rising Run on the east side but you can take Hwy 2 between the two sides.

I agree that an RV might be problematic within Santa Fe. I would try to rent the smallest/shortest length that you'd be comfortable in.

Michael

There are plenty of campgrounds around Santa Fe:

https://www.google.com/search?client...fi=hd:;si:;mv:[[35.9886888,-105.6715677],[35.5210417,-106.0910894]];tbs:lrf:!1m4!1u3!2m2!3m1!1e1!1m4!1u2!2m2!2m1!1e1! 2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:1

Patty

Sadly my reservation at Many Glacier was canceled by Xanterra as the east entrances of Glacier won't be reopening due to the extension of the quarantine order on the Blackfeet reservation through June 30th. I canceled my other reservations as well as I'm not interested in only visiting the west side. Montana will lift their quarantine on June 1st so I'm going back to the Tetons and Yellowstone instead. Good luck whatever you decide!

suze

I'm a little confused because you could do an RV trip in California, Oregon, or Washington.

mlgb

She already answered re California.

I agree that New Mexico is a good option. There is also some hiking east of Albuquerque in the Cibola National Forest, but some trails may have COVID closures. There are also lesser-visited historic sites such as the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, (Abo, Gran Quivira, and Quarai).

There is an RV park in Mountainair, if the Manzano Mountains State Park remains closed beyond June 19.