Looking for advice from those who have overlanded across the country/ live out west

So in about a month and a half my girlfriend and I will be relocating from Virginia to the Denver metro. We have allocated about a little over a month before we have to be in Denver for work to basically do whatever we want. We have been to Colorado, done the Grand Canyon, Moab, Canyonlands, Valley of the Gods area's before but other then that we are completely new to the West. The only places I have to go is Charleston, SC , Destin, FL and Los Angeles as we'll be visiting friends/family in those areas. Looking to do overland stuff/camp/hike as much as possible etc. But also enjoy cities and doing breweries etc. I am completely in the dark about Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada etc. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on cool off the beaten path places in these states or what you consider "can't miss stuff" or what is worth avoiding what isn't (i.e Is Yellowstone a horrid tourist trap like the grand canyon. Nothing is really set in stone yet and I'm at a loss at what to even pick lol. Especially when it comes to the California portion. Also looking to cut out Washington due to time but if someone can convince me otherwise I'm open. Any other long term overlanding advice is welcome, I've done something similar to this for about 2 weeks and learned a lot but I'm still figuring it out. This route is also completely tentative and I just used it to give me an idea time/mileage wise.

 

After you hit Portland, you can head east a little bit and start the Washington back country discovery route. You can do half of it and then head west to Seattle to hang out for a day or two before heading back south east to your final destination.

https://ridebdr.com/WABDR

CA has a a lot of breweries, but there are a ton in Portland and Seattle; definitely can do some good brewery tours there.

 

As much as a tourist trap Yosemite Valley is, I think you would be blowing it by not going. Yosemite Falls is an amazing hike, so is going to the top of Vernal Falls. When are you going to be doing this? I will say June and through half of July is going to be thick with mosquitoes. Bring deet. San Diego has a ton of Breweries and beaches that are awesome, keep in mind Socal is May grey, June Gloom. We have a marine layer that moves in and socks in most of the day through those months. I love my city though, and I wouldn't miss San diego. We are third in line for the most breweries per city behind Portland and Denver. There are 182 operational breweries here to choose from. If youre here on a thursday you can come to a Brewery meet we have everyother week. The deserts of Socal are amazing, especially when the flowers bloom, but in the summer the heat is incredibly brutal. Going up the coast on the 101 is a long drive, but worth it, and you can camp at places like Jalama in Santa Barbara and Big Sur farther north is gorgeous. You can find camping up the entire coast. It won't be remote by any means, but will be less expensive. If you drink wine, Napa and Paso Robles are awesome. Morro Bay just west of Paso is a beautiful stretch of coastline. Probably one of my favorite places to surf in CA because there are lots of remote spots around Morro Bay with majestic back drops, just not for the faint of heart. That should be enough for you to start to think of, you could spend a month exploring CA. If your gonna hit one coastline camping, Big Sur gets my vote.

 

You’ll hit Joshua Tree on your travel plans in California.

 

Crater Lake in southern Oregon. Plenty of stops along the Cascades in central Oregon if you are looking to cut out Washington. Go say hi to CVT in Bend. Eugene (Ninkasi), Corvallis (Block 15), Portland (too many to list), Bend (Deschutes)... all have great breweries. If you are going up the west coast through California I would look into driving HWY 1/101 and see the Redwoods.

 

http://www.portlandbeer.org/breweries/map

+1 on central Oregon. Bend and Sisters.

 

Stop in Albuquerque, NM lots of breweries. top 5 nationally

 

I see a lot of Highway 5 in your route....if you have time and can venture off that you can add some cool spots to your list....i.e. Death Valley, Oregon Coast etc....

 

Tough one in California! 1/101 or the 395.

 

The Grand Canyon a Horrid Tourist Trap? Really?

A Tourist Trap is something designed to attract people to solely get their money. The Grand Canyon was there long before there was such a thing.... people back then went to look in awe of what it is. There really isn't that much there designed to make money off of the tourists.... they have facilities, but nothing ridiculous. It's really an amazing place, just like I imagine Yellowstone is. Sure, there can be lots of people, but there is a reason for it.

Don't like crowds? Me either, go in the off season..... like now. I just wouldn't use "Horrid Tourist Trap" to describe such a place. It's popular for a reason.

 

Regarding travelling though California you have 3 options,

1.) Drive up the 5 (fastest route) and stop by Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings National Parks
2.) Drive up the coast on the 1/101 and experience Big Sur and the Redwood forests
3.) Drive up Highway 395 and enjoy the majestic sights of the Eastern Sierras and possibly a stop by Death Valley.

Don't forget to stop by Joshua Tree NP first though, really beautiful.

 

I see you don't have Montana on there. If you're going to be close, Glacier National Park is can't miss. You can avoid the mass crowds off the going to the sun highway (which is a must do however). It's worth a detour. I'd move it to the end of your trip however because Logan pass probably won't be passable until mid to late June due to all the snow.

 

If you’re traveling on the I10 from Florida to LA, try Big Bend National Park in Texas. Others have posted about it on here, I haven’t made it there yet

 

+1 on all the California spots mentioned above.

I'd add Pismo Beach, the only beach in CA that you can legally drive your truck on. It has a huge dunes area to test your rig.

 

There's nothing to see along the Mexico boarder....

If it was me, I'd drive up from Florida through Arkansas and Missouri. Get on Route 66 and head to Kingman, Arizona. Head up to Vegas on 99 I think. See the Hoover Damn. Go to LA. Drive up the coast to Portland, then head over to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park before you finally head towards Denver.

 

A few of my favorite spots in glacier. Not my pictures.

 

The White Mountains (eastern side off the 395) is a great place too. You can visit some of the oldest trees on the planet, head into Death Valley, or cruise along Area 51, as it’s close enough on that end. So many 4WD places to enjoy on both the eastern and western ridges off the 395. Craziness. Head further north and take the 120 if it’s open which will lead you to the 1/101 and into Oregon.

 

I thought the Grand Canyon was amazing when we went. Definitely worth seeing at least once in your life time. Looks like a movie back drop, even standing there at the edge hard to believe its real.

 

holy crap that is amazing!

 

I'd say a Tourist Trap is a pretty reasonable description. Visited last March, in what was supposed to be "off-season."

Pulling into the national park, there was a grid-lock lineup of cars just to get in, then there was literally zero parking anywhere (signs even said so), piles of people all over the roads, every single campsite packed, and every viewpoint along the road was packed, too. I literally paid the $80 (or whatever it was) fee for the year-long NP pass, drove through, found a single spot to park in to take photos (a good 10-15 min drive away from the main attractions), continued to drive through and out.

The nearby National Forest was 10x better to explore and experience.