We don't vacation all the time but every five years we gallivant across the country. The first time we headed out we travelled 10,000 miles in 59 days. When we left home our oldest was not crawling (she mastered that in San Antonio, after standing for the first time in Lexington, KY.) By the time we got home she was walking.

This year she is almost 21 and we are headed out for the entire month of July with our 4 kids (ranging in age from 12 to 20) and at least 2 friends. We will visit a number of national parks and the only time we plan to be under a roof will be for 5 days in Anaheim. Oh and the dog might come, too. But only a couple of us are happy about that (I figure better to kennel him occasionally on the road than for a full month at home. Traveling with us is better for him and our wallet!)

We are renting a 12 passenger van for the occasion and have 2 Ozark Trail 5-6 man tents. Cooking supplies will be stowed in plastic drawers at the rear of the van, a technique that has worked well for us in the past. Each person will be limited to one backpack for their personal items, so some of these teenage girls will be in for an eye opening experience. I am going to give our guests a lesson in the fine art of rolling your clothes. I figure they can bring a 3 - 5 day supply, so we will have to hit a laundry facility at least once a week.

We plan to swing south on the way out to California and work back through the parks in southern Utah before heading up to South Dakota. We have not done the national forest campgrounds before (though we got thoroughly lost trying to find one 10 years ago in the Sierra Nevada

) but we really like the idea and are looking forward to using the information we have gotten from this website.

We're open to comments and suggestions, and I will try to figure out how to keep folks updated on the adventure!

What part of the country are you launching your trip from? Sounds like it will be a blast.!

We'll be heading out from Virginia on July 1, with Hot Springs NP and Crater of Diamonds State Park as our first "official" stop.

National forest campgrounds along your projected route should be plentiful. To help plan your trip, suggest you click on one of the logos in the upper left of this page where the welcome page for the National Forest Campground Guide website will be displayed. Then, click on the "National Forests and Campgrounds" tab. Finally, click on the text link to a map of all the NFs in the U.S. That map should help you identify what NFs/grasslands are on your route. With that info., you can browse through the NF Campground Guide website for campground descriptions.

You mentioned posting information about your adventure, I think on the fly, to this BB. That's an interesting thought and although we're not Facebook/Twitter, perhaps we can accommodate the idea. Unless I misunderstood, please let us know if you'd like to pursue . . . Fred

Sounds like a great adventure to me! You mentioned several teenage girls.
Better be sure you have them mentally prepared for the lack of hot showers in the majority of NF campgrounds!
Ed

Outstanding adventure!!!

I think Disneyland has a kennel for Fido. You might want to check on that.

Going to Bryce Canyon? Check out Red Canyon cg in the Dixie. Outstanding hiking. Incredible scenery. It was Butch Cassidy's old stomping grounds so you might even find one of his old hideouts. At Zion, take the shuttle to the end (forget the stop's name). BTW: I thought the signs from St. George to Hurricane, the entrance to Zion, confusing so heads-up, guys. There is a sweet walk through the canyon to the Virgin River. Take Rt 9 east, out of the park, to US Rt 89. The tunnel is cool. I think, if you head south, you'll pass "Dogtown" as in the Animal Planet tv show. But you'll want to head north on 89 for Bryce NP. I would suggest, from Bryce continue on State Rt 12. Near Capitol Reef NP is a personal favorite cg, Singletree. The special feature of this cg is a waterfall just waiting to be discovered. (You won't believe how cold water can be in the desert until stand under this waterfall.) From there you can pick up I70 and head for Grand Junction. Grand Mesa NF is pretty amazing but mosquitoes can be a problem. And there are dozens of outstanding campgrounds throughout Colorado. But I'll stop now.

One more suggest - if you can find any Peeps (those marshmallow chicks), pick up a few boxes as a super camping treat. Get your campfire just right, stick a Peep on a stick, and roast it to a gooey puff. Yummy!!!

Now I'm done

Following up on Suzi's suggestions about southern Utah, here's another route you might consider. After going to Bryce Canyoon, Zion and Capitol Reef, you can head east toward Colorado (instead of north to I-70). You will have to dip into Arizona a few miles at Page but head for Cortez, CO.
From there you can head north over Lizard Head Pass to Telluride or you can continue east from Cortez to Durango and head north from there on the San Juan Skyway. Both of these routes have some really nice NF campgrounds along the way, both of them will have you headed the way you want to go..towards S. Dakota and they are both extremely scenic.
Some cg suggestions: Mavreeso and Cayton on the way to Telluride, Target Tree near Mancos is a really convenient spot for overnight, if it's getting late in the day. Junction creek is only about 5 miles from Durango
(which is a must-see) , Haviland Lake and South Mineral to the north.
I'll let someone else pick it up from there. Have Fun!

Ed
You can get details on all these on this NF Campground Guide.

Dont know if it is on the way but Cades Cove Campground in the Smokies is wonderful