Road Trip the World – Our Epic Summer Road Trip

This summer, our family is embarking on our biggest adventure yet- a 3 month epic summer road trip camping across the United States and Canada. I can’t tell you how excited I am! Sophie’s leaving for college this fall and this is the best way we know how to send her off. We have been on a mission since she was just a little thing to take our kids to all of the U.S. National Parks in the lower 48 states and this trip will just about complete that goal since we will only have Dry Tortugas left to visit on a future trip we are planning for 2017. It’s hard to believe we will be finishing up this goal that we have been working towards for so long.

This trip is going to be epic and I’ve been busy applying for wilderness permits, booking campsites, and ironing out our itinerary. Not to mention working overtime to help fund it. We are definitely budget travelers, so we have the further challenge of planning an itinerary that doesn’t break the bank.

Our Epic Summer Road Trip

Throughout the next few months, I will be posting more details of our epic summer road trip. But for now, I will share with you the big picture itinerary and the major locations where we will be stopping. We will be traveling about 11,000 miles, through 16 states and 5 Canadian provinces, 18 U.S. National Parks, 6 Canadian National Parks, several National Monuments and numerous state and provincial parks throughout North America. 

And while planning has been super fun, it is also a challenge. I will be sharing how we plan our budget for such a long trip and how we put together our itinerary. A helpful tool that I have found to be exceedingly useful for planning our epic summer road trip is the Road Trip Budget Planner I put together which has helped keep me organized. So check that out to use for your upcoming travels.

Since we will be camping and backpacking throughout our trip, that’s right- NO hotels, packing well is crazy important and I am a list-making kind of girl since it helps me stay organized. You may find the packing list that I use for backpacking and camping to be helpful as well when planning a camping adventure.

We’ve road tripped a lot, but this trip itinerary still gives me the chills and I am giddy with excitement to go.

And one of the best parts? We will be camping each night along the way in a used 15 passenger van that Dave is transforming into our very own Adventure Van. Stay tuned for upcoming posts which will detail this awesome project!

Throughout the trip, I will be regularly updating the blog and you can also follow along on Instagram and Twitter. We may even start posting some videos on Youtube. And from the plains of South Dakota to the beaches of southern California all the way to the Canadian Rockies, we will be seeing vastly diverse landscapes that I can’t wait to share with you.

Have you been busy making summer travel plans? I’d love to hear where you are headed! Happy Travels!