USA West-Coast Recommendations

@Little Lion Backing up a bit, since land access may be different in the US than Canada, let me provide a quick overview. Ignore if you know this. National Parks and Bureau of Land Management terrain are managed by the Dept of Interior, and National Forests by the Dept of Agriculture. If you intend to go to more than a few National Parks, it’s worth getting a Federal Recreation Pass which gives free admission to all fee areas both under Interior and Ag. Since many National Forests in the PNW and SoCal require a daily “Adventure Pass” even just to park at a trailhead this is a really good deal. Other than the fee pass, Forests, BLM and Parks all vary a lot in policy. Most Forests and BLM lands allow motor vehicles off pavement (on designated roads) and dispersed camping away from a few designated recreation areas, but most Parks don’t, though Death Valley and Canyonlands are two big exceptions.

In California, other than State OHV parks (SVRA’s), as far as I know the only State Park that allows vehicles off pavement is Anza Borrego. California only has a few State Forests and they are primarily for forestry research and firefighter training, and at best only allow non-motorized recreation. Other states have more open State land but my recommendation for exploring and light four-wheeling is to go for National Forests and BLM land. Some Forest and BLM roads are pretty challenging; the Rubicon Trail in California is actually a mix of County and Nat’l Forest roads. And again speaking for California only, I’d avoid “OHV Areas” which are typically open riding areas jammed with SxS and dirt bikes, along with toy haulers.

 

If you go to crater lake the coolest thing by far is the boat tour. You usually have to book ahead of time but you spend a few hours cruising around with a park ranger explaining all the geology. You do the hike down into the crater to get to the boat dock and there's also a great little cliff for jumping off into the lake. By far the best way to experience it, otherwise you just kinda drive around the loop road and say "there it is".

 

awesome thank you! what are fishing laws like down there? In Canada we just need a federal permit for lakes, one for ocean, and special rules apply for national parks...

 

Plenty of dispersed camping found in Los Padres National Forest, just to add to your list.

Some trails accessible on the 101 side and some by 1.

 

that is very helpful thank you, have been trying to comprehend how it works down in the US as it looks like each state operates quite independently unlike up here. I will have to re-read this a few times to get that to stick to my memory... Basically, buy a park pass that I can use in all states, lookup BLM land for camping outside of California, dont expect OHV areas to be suitable for Taco, good stuff!

 

thank you sir! saved to the route options

 

fantastic thank you, that would be an awesome way to break up the driving / hiking routine!

 

There are some closures there from time to time, so just look up said forest and you'll find the latest on the .gov site

You'll also easily find rules on fires and whatnot, as well as obtaining your permit to burn. Consists of a short safety course done online and the permit is good for the calender year; completely free.

 

is that permit a state thing or national?
Thank you again!

 

Oops sorry, state of CA.

 

Got it!
Thank you

Is that a common thing to have to do for each state?

 

That's totally a California thing. I had to do a double take because I was like WTF is a burn permit. Everywhere else it's fair game as long as there isn't a fire ban which is easy to check online.

EDIT: Everywhere except national parks, they have stricter rules varying park to park but it's easy to ask a ranger at the entrance gate or visitor center. Alot of the time they only allow them in designated campsites and stuff like that. But you still don't need a permit.

 

I live in Portland, so I may be a little biased, but I have to politely push back a little on this one. Definitely some rough parts of town, but as a fun stop on a road trip, Portland has a lot to offer. If you're looking for a town to stop and have a good beer at brewery, eat an amazing meal, or go to a Vegan strip club, you should stop here. Great Notion Brewery on Alberta Street is my recommendation.

Also, as many have already said, the Oregon coast is awesome. Astoria is a cool, historic town that's fun to visit, and Fort Stevens State Park has a great beach that you can drive on, and is usually less crowded than the tourist trap spots like Cannon Beach.

I would also recommend the Cascade Lakes scenic byway, southwest of Bend Oregon. Absolutely beautiful piece of the country, lots of public land and campgrounds, and lots of places to hike and fish in the summer.

 

Actually many of my favorite places in California _are_ BLM land, so what I meant was that BLM and Nat’l Forest in all the states are less likely to be crowded and have more off pavement and dispersed camping (aka boondocking) than Nat’l Parks. And unless you want to see something very specific in a California State Park, I’d avoid them too (except Anza Borrego, though it’s pretty hot there in summer). And +1 on getting a California fire permit, takes 5 minutes online, though based on my experience the last two summers it’s irrelevant because fires will be banned after June or July, permit or not. Last year fires were prohibited even in some developed campgrounds … and even campstoves outside campgrounds except in vehicles.

 

Awesome. Very thankful you chimed in thank you

 

As a native Oregonian my vote would be a drive through central Oregon as my first choice, the coast second and I-5 third. There’s a lot to do and see for one and two, less so for three. Oregon’s major population centers are along I-5. Just to throw in something else to consider is eastern Oregon, there’s some awesome places over there like the Steens mountains, and the Alvord desert.

 

That east side of Oregon does sound amazing!

 

Yosemite NP. You will not regret it.

 

Yup, trees even grow out of rocks!

 

Pin 7's best offering is big bear where there is hundreds of miles of offroad trails and some designated camping areas. San Diego has Anza Borrego which has camping and/or koa's (camp ground of america), and ocotillo wells which has camping. Just passed Nevada in Utah is a city called Toquerville which has a trail called Toquerville falls that is fun and has camping. From there you can go to Zion or Bryce canyon for hiking. After that would be Moab in Utah which is basically a city dedicated to offroading/outdoors.

Toquerville falls