Travel

Destination: Zion National Park and Antelope Canyon Zion National Park and Antelope Canyon are bucket list destinations for most people due to their majestic natural splendor.  And for good reason, both destinations showcase desert beauty at its finest and is not to be missed!  There’s nothing quite like an Airstream road trip to visit How to Get There Zion National Park is a total of over 11 hours from our Airstream rental garage in San Jose, so we recommend breaking up your drive over two days.  When we took this trip, we stopped off at Barstow, CA, which is a 6 hour drive from San Jose.  We stayed at Shady Lane RV Camp, which was nothing more than a gravel parking lot but was suitable for a quick overnighter.  If you are an experienced tower and don’t mind the 8 hour haul, Las Vegas is another option.  One of our favorite repeat customers Jason and Grace (who’s picture appears at the top) made the trek to Zion National Park last year and they stopped off at Las Vegas Oasis RV Resort.  From Barstow it is another 5 hours to Zion, while it is another 2.5 hours of driving from Las Vegas to Zion. Glamping at Zion National Park There are only two campgrounds within Zion that can accommodate RVs: South Campground and Watchman Campground.  Of the two,only Watchman Campground has electrical hook-ups, which we highly recommend if visiting the desert in the summer.  You can make a reservation for either campground here.  Since both are campgrounds, neither have water or sewer hook-ups.  Thus you’ll be dry-camping and will need to monitor water usage while there.  If you prefer to have the full glamping experience or if you are unable to make reservations at the campsite of your choice, Zion River Resort is another option.  This is where we stayed while visiting Zion (and Jason and Grace stayed there as well).  This RV resort is located about 20 minutes outside of the park, but comes with full hook-ups and is one of the nicest parks we’ve stayed at. What to do there Hiking hiking hiking.  Zion National Park has some of the most breathtaking hiking trails we’ve ever done.  We went hiking everyday and each trail had its own gorgeous scenery.  Most hikes can be accessed by the Zion shuttle, which we highly recommend using.  Not only do you get a bit of history on the free shuttle, but it also means you don’t have to search for parking.  Plus it keeps car pollution within the park to a minimum.     The easiest hike, and the only one that dogs are allowed on, is the Pa’rus Trail that starts from the Zion Canyon Visitor’s Center (pictured above).  This is the easiest hike they have and is paved the whole way, but there are still some spectacular views of the mountains.  During sunset, the mountains are especially orange and make for some gorgeous landscape photography. Another easy hike is the Lower Emerald Pool Trail that leaves from the Zion Lodge.  The picture above doesn’t do it justice, but the small pools of water reflect the orange mountains beautifully. For a little more effort, the Canyon Overlook trail was easily one of our favorite hikes.  You can’t take a shuttle to this trailhead but parking wasn’t too bad.  It wasn’t as crowded as some of the more popular hikes and there were some cave-like overhangs that was fun to walk through.  It wasn’t particularly difficult though there are some drop-offs (but the paths were nice and wide) and so maybe not suitable for young kids.   One of the more popular hikes in the park is The Narrows, which requires walking on a riverbed and depending on the level of the river may or may not be suitable for kids.  Jason and Grace were able to take their kids on this hike so it is doable with children.  When we went, we wanted to go as far as possible so we started out early but we also rented gear from a place in town.  The gear included shoes, wading trousers and hiking sticks.  If you’re going in the spring or fall (like we did) I would highly recommend the gear if you plan to be walking through the cold river all day.  However in the summer you could probably get away with a walking stick and shoes (like Jason and Grace).  If you’re planning just a short trip down and back you might be able to get away with gear that you already have.  Since the river stones are quite slippery, we recommend this hike for those who are partially in shape with no problems walking. Another popular hike is called Angel’s Landing, which is a moderate trail up until you have to climb the peak.  If you’re with children I recommend not doing the last bit since it’s quite dangerous and there have been people who have fallen off in the past.  There are chains to grab onto, but the pathways are narrow and especially nerve-racking when there are a lot of hikers on the same path.  I did it once, but I’m not sure I would do it again (I would probably do the Canyon Overlook hike for the similar views without the anxiety).   And finally for those wondering where Antelope Canyon fits into all this, we decided to take a day trip to Antelope Canyon (located in Arizona) while keeping our Airstream parked at Zion.  It’s about a 2.5 hour drive each way, but since Antelope Canyon was out of our way (we were heading north), we decided not to take the time to drive the trailer down for a day and then go back up.  If you do want to take some time out near Page, Arizona, there are several RV parks there where you can park your Airstream (consult our favorite RV park/campsite app AllStays).  There is an upper and lower Antelope Canyon.  Both will give you

Destination: Teton National Park and Jackson, WY When Brian and I went to our first Airstream road trip, Jackson, WY, and Grand Teton National Park was by far one of our most favorite locations to visit.  We originally had intended to drive through the small town and just do a pit stop for lunch.  But we were so taken with this charming town that we changed our plans and decided to stay overnight at Teton National Park.  Isn’t being able to do last-minute changes one of the joys of doing an Airstream road trip?  And it made for one of our most unforgettable experiences of our whole trip. How To Get There Getting out to Wyoming from California is, as you can expect, quite a trek.  We were on our 3-week road trip and had gone to Zion National Park first (read all about how to get to Zion here).  From Zion, it is still a 9 hour drive so we split it over two days by stopping at Salt Lake City, UT.  If you are going to go directly to Jackson from California, it is an 18 hour drive.  So we recommend splitting it over 3 days with a stop in Reno (a 4 hour drive), then a haul to Salt Lake City (a 7 hour drive), and then finally to Jackson (4.5 hour drive).  For recommendations on where to stay in those cities, we highly recommend consulting the app AllStays (it’s what we use when we’re traveling on the road).  And yes, that’s a lot of driving, but once you’re out there at the last frontier of the old Wild West, I promise you won’t regret it! Glamping at Grand Teton National Park Again consulting the AllStays app, there are several RV parks located within Jackson, including Jackson Hole Campground  and the Jackson Hole KOA.  If you want to camp within the Grand Teton National Park, the closest campground within the park is Gros Ventre CAmpground and is only 20 minutes north of town.  Unfortunately, this campsite is only first-come-first-serve and no reservations can be made for its 300 sites.  Also there are no hook-ups at this campground.  However, if you’re staying during off-peak season you have a good chance of snagging a spot, and this is our first choice of campgrounds. If you are going during peak season we recommend snagging a spot in a RV park that allows for reservations.  There are only two reservable RV parks in Grand Teton and both are about an hour north of Jackson Hole.  The first one, about 50 minutes away, is Colter Bay RV Park.  The wonderful thing about this RV park is that all sites have full hook-ups and you’re only a 5 minute walk from Jackson Lake.  I should also note that the Colter Bay RV Park is different from the Colter Bay Campground which is non-reservable and also doesn’t have hook-ups.  The second reservable RV park, about an hour an 15 minute north of Jackson, is Headwaters Campground at Flagg Ranch, and these sites also have full-hook-ups.  If you’re on your way up to Yellowstone National Park as part of your road trip then this RV park is halfway between the two national parks.  For a quick look at all your RV camping possibilities within Grand Teton, go here. What to do there I love charming towns in the middle of nowhere and Jackson is especially charming.  There is a rustic chic vibe all around.  But what’s even better is a charming town located right next to a breath-taking national park like Grand Teton.  Now you have the best of both worlds. The great thing about Jackson is that they have free parking for your trailer (though not overnight parking).  We went during the off season so we didn’t have any issues finding a spot but I’m not sure how busy it is during the peak season.  Thus Jackson is such a great little town to stop off in to grab something to eat or kill some time before heading into Grand Teton National Park.  We enjoyed walking into stores like MADE (which focuses on hand made items from the Wyoming Area) and Mountain Dandy.  We ate at Local, which served a fresh locally sourced menu that was really delicious.   For the more outdoorsy type, Grand Teton National Park has everything you want from fishing, boating, climbing, and horseback riding.  We spent our time there mostly hiking and doing the scenic drives.  To learn more about the hikes they offer, go here.  And for those who prefer the scenic drives, you can find out more here. Where to go next From Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park is a short 45 minute drive north and so we highly recommend seeing both national parks in one trip.  If you are driving south and had made Yellowstone your first stop, then heading down to Zion National Park is about a two days drive.  Or if you’re limited on time, you can head back to California via Salt Lake City and Reno.

Destination: Rincon Parkway Campground, Ventura County With 840 miles of coastline, California has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Airstream beach destinations.  But there are only a few RV parks where you can park right next to the beach.  Most RV parks like Morro Strand State Beach Park and  Carpinteria State Beach Campground are lots adjacent to the beach which is a short walking distance away.  Others like Jalama Beach may be beach adjacent if you are able to snag the right spot.  But it’s rare to find a campground where every single spot is beach adjacent, and that’s why Rincon Parkway Campground is such a gem.  There are 127 spaces (no hook-ups) alongside the beach where each RV is parallel parked, allowing for views of the ocean from the passenger-side windows of every RV. Getting There Since Rincon Parkway is over 5 hours away from our San Jose garage, we advise splitting up the drive over two days (especially for first-time towers).  We recommend stopping over at Vines RV (or Wine Country RV) in Paso Robles.  There, you can practice your Airstream maneuvering skills, have full hook-ups in preparation for some beach dry-camping, and taste some of the best wines in California (and maybe pick up a bottle or two for the beach).  The next morning you can get up bright and early to head to Rincon Parkway, which is another 2.5 hours away.  Since there are no reservations at Rincon Parkway, we advise getting there earlier rather than later in the day.   Glamping at Rincon Parkway Campground As I said, you will need to parallel park your trailer at Rincon Parkway, which might be easy if there are several empty spaces in a row.  If the campground is on the full side, we advise using your walkie-talkies to help guide your Airstream into the space.  If you have any concerns about this, ask Brian for a mini-tutorial ahead of time on how to parallel park your Airstream.  Luckily the street that the campground is adjacent to isn’t a busy street, with mostly bikes traversing the area.  There are no hook-ups at this campground so if you plan to run the air conditioner or watch TV at night, we recommend renting on of our generators for a more comfortable stay.  The RV fees are $30/ a day and spaces are a first come first serve basis.  Pets are an additional $1/ day and leashed dogs are allowed on the beach.  Also if you’re a light sleeper I might not recommend this campground because there are train tracks that go right by the site (located on the other side of the road). What To Do There Well you came all the way out here for the beach so there’s that.  But for those who want a little more variety or for something to do at night, Santa Barbara is only a 25 minute drive north.  Here are some city guides to give you ideas of what to do in this charming California coast city: city guide from DesignSponge, city guide from Travel and Leisure, and one from Goop. Where To Go Next If you want to keep the beach camping going, Jalama Beach is about 1.5 hours along the coastline or Morro Strand State Beach and Pismo Beach is about 2 hours straight north.  If you want to change it up with some National Park camping Joshua Tree is 4 hours east and King’s Canyon/Sequioa National Park is 4 hours north-east.

Destination: Pinnacles National Park If you want to include a national park in your Airstream road trip, Pinnacles National Park is an easy check off your national park list.  It’s not as well known as the larger and more majestic national parks in California like Yosemite or Sequoia National Park, but it was recently designated as a national park for good reason and shouldn’t be missed.  It is in fact the second newest national park, designated as such by President Obama in 2013.  Pinnacles National Park is named after the narrow peaks, which were formed from volcanic activity millions of years ago, that make up its unique landscape. Getting There Pinnacles National Park is actually the closest national park to our San Jose garage, and is located about 2 hours south of us.  The majority of the drive is on major highways and thus is fairly easy.  However about 3 miles before the park entrance, you will need to turn off onto a narrow road.  We advise driving slow and cautiously down that winding road, especially if you are renting an Airstream 25′ or larger, so as not to damage the sides of the trailer.  There is only one campground in Pinnacles and it is located at the east entrance. Glamping at Pinnacles National Park Pinnacles campground is open year around and allows reservations up to 6 months in advance.  We highly recommend making reservations if you’re planning to go during the summer months or on the weekend.  The campground itself is well maintained though rather flat and open.  There are 37 sites with electrical hook-ups and 82 sites with no hook-ups.  Since generators are not allowed at the campground, we recommend reserving a site with electrical hook-ups if possible (especially in the hot summer months).  There are water stations where you can fill up your water tanks and a dump station to empty your tank if you need to do so.  Pets are allowed at the campsite.  There is no firewood sold here (at least in the off-season) so if you want to build a fire in your BBQ pit or fire ring, you will need to bring your own.  There is also a small market at the Pinnacles visitor center, located at the entrance of the campground, where you can purchase ice, beverages, camping gear, and any other items you have forgotten to pack.  And last but not least, there is no cell service in the park.  If you need reception, you will need to drive about 5 miles out towards the main road to get service. What to do there Rock climbing is a popular activity at Pinnacles, with a lot of designated climbing spots on the face of the volcanic rocks.  For those who rather keep their feet on the ground, there are a 30 miles of hiking trails within the park.  And what makes hiking at Pinnacles especially fun are the two trails that wind through caves formed when large boulders fell between narrow canyons.   The Bear Gulch Cave Trail is the closer of the two cave trails and is located just south of Pinnacles campground (in fact if you wanted to add 0.3 miles to your hike, you could just walk to the trailhead).  The Bear Gulch Trail is a little over 2 miles roundtrip and is one big loop that goes through Bear Gulch Cave and passes by Bear Gulch Reservoir.   We highly recommend this moderate hike for some fun cave “spelunking” and beautiful views of the unique rock formations.  We advise going through the caves first and then going around to the Rim Trail to get back instead of going in the other direction.  Rangers advise carrying a flashlight when going through the cave, though our phone lights worked fine.  Also pack a light lunch with you so that you can enjoy it at the reservoir, but just watch out for some fairly assertive squirrels that are very used to humans.  Also while you’re there, see if you can spot the face that guards the reservoir.   The other cave, called the Balconies Cave, is located by the west entrance of the park.  Since there are no roads that connect the east and west entrances, you will need to hike there to see it.  It’s about a 9.5 mile hike from the Pinnacles Visitor Center. If you’re a fan of flora and fauna, wildflowers bloom from mid-February to early June making that a popular time at the park.  Bird watching is also another popular past time with a plethora of birds calling the park home.  Pinnacles is also the home of the endangered California Condor, and it’s a special thrill to see one of the largest birds in North America. Where to go next Pinnacles National Park is a great first stop on your Airstream road trip because it is located in central California.  From here, there are a variety of options of where to go next.  If you are done with camping, head to Vines RV Resort in Paso Robles, about 1.5 hours away, for full hook-ups and some great food and wine.  Or if you want to camp amongst redwoods (and still have full hook-ups) we recommend Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort, also about 1.5 hours away from Pinnacles.  If instead you want to camp by some California coastline we recommend Morro Strand State Beach Park.  And last but not least, if you want to keep the California National Parks tour going, head to King’s Canyon National Park (3.5 hours away) to see some sequoia trees or Yosemite National Park (south entrance is 3.5 hours away) to see some granite cliffs.

Destination: Morro Strand State Beach Park   California has a lot to offer an adventurous Airstream-er so places like the Central Coast often are overshadowed by the more glamorous Northern California spots (Napa, San Francisco) and Southern California locales (Los Angeles, San Diego).  But we really enjoy the Central Coast because of it’s beauty and the fact that it’s usually less populated than other California coastal areas.   About 3 hours south of our San Jose Airstream garage off the 101 is the small town of Morro Bay, so named because of the large Morro Rock island that sits just off-shore.  There are several RV parks to chose from in Morro Bay, but we went with Morro Strand State Beach Park because of it’s location right next to the beach.  Unlike most state beach parks, Morro Strand has sites with full hook-ups (water, sewer, power), which makes it one of the best beach parks we’ve stayed at.  To get to this one (and don’t mistake it with Morro Bay State Park), take the Yerba Buena Street entrance.  And when leaving Morro Strand State Beach Park we recommend not going on Old Creek Road (if Google/Apple maps decides to route you that way) because it is an old, bumpy and twisty road.   We chose a standard (non hook-up) site since we were only there for a couple days and we wanted the primo spot where the beach access path comes right up to your front door.  Also these premium dry-camping spots are a bit easier to reverse into since it’s just a matter of parallel parking your trailer (which is great for newbie Airstream renters).  The standard sites also come with fire rings while the hook-up sites do not.   If you want to spend some quality time with a beautiful California beach, this state park is a must. There’s miles and miles of uninterrupted beach estate, which is great for beach jogs, fishing, and surfing.  Unfortunately dogs are not allowed on the beach because it is also a bird sanctuary (but dogs are allowed within the beach park).   The picture below is a view of Morro Rock from the Morro Strand State Beach Park. Another wonderful thing about Morro Bay, a small town with a still active fishing industry, is all the delicious fresh seafood available!  There are a lot of great restaurants to choose from but one of our favorites was Giovanni’s Fish Market.  They are known for their fish and chips served from their side window, which can get quite popular during peak times.  Luckily we were there on a weekday and there was no wait (but if you’re looking at an hour+ wait I’m not sure the fish and chips are that worth it).  Their fresh local oysters were also delicious!  And one of the best parts was enjoying our meal while watching all the boats go in and out of the harbor and around Morro Rock.   If you don’t feel like waiting for food at the takeout window, still take the time to go inside their fish market where they sell fresh seafood along with in-house smoked fish, which was really delicious and affordable.   There’s also a lot of other highly rated seafood restaurants including The Galley Seafood Bar & Grill and Tognazzini’s Dockside Too.  The town itself doesn’t have a lot of things to do, but there are places you can rent boats or kayaks.   Also if you are interested, Hearst Castle at San Simeon is only a 30 minute drive away.  Since landslides on HWY 1 have blocked access to Hearst Castle from the north it is only accessible from the south (like Morro Bay).  We didn’t have a chance to visit, though I have it on my agenda for next time.   So if you’re looking for a beautiful beach spot that’s an easy drive from San Jose, I can’t recommend Morro Strand State Beach Park enough.  Morro Bay is a wonderful little beach/fishing town with a lot to offer!

Destination: Malibu, California Malibu Beach RV Park has got to be one of the prettiest full hook-up RV parks that’s near a major city.  It’s definitely one of our favorites, not only for the ocean views but also for it’s location within the exclusive and upscale town of Malibu.  It’s also only 30 minutes away from West LA and about an hour from downtown LA, making day trips into LA an easy reality (as long as you can avoid rush hour as much as possible).  If you’re looking for some beach time R&R but still want to experience a bit of city life, than this is a must-stay RV park! Getting There From our San Jose garage, Malibu Beach RV Park is about a 5.5 hour drive and thus drivable in one day (though I recommend requesting an early pick-up of noon when making your reservation to ensure you make it to Malibu before sunset).  However, if you want to break up the drive, Morro Bay or Pismo Beach are great locations to stop at the first night. Glamping at Malibu Beach RV Park This year around RV park has full hook-ups so you are truly glamping in all sense of the word.  If you want to save some dollars and don’t mind dumping at the end of your trip at their conveniently located dump station, then you can “rough it” with just a water and electrical hook-up.  Or if you want the full “small apartment living” lifestyle then you can pay the premium for a full hook-up with ocean views.  Rates range from $90-$220 during peak weekend summer season and less for weekdays or during the off-season.  See all rates here.  We definitely recommend making reservations well in advance since this is quite a popular destination. What to do there Well first thing’s first, you have to go to the beach!  It’s Malibu! There’s one that’s within walking distance from the RV park and can be seen by the ocean view RV spots.  If you don’t mind driving a bit, there are also other breathtaking state beach parks like Point Dume State Beach Reserve and El Matador State Beach. But after you tire of the sun, sand and waves there’s still a lot to do in Malibu.  We checked out the Malibu pier at sunset and had a great time taking in views, watching the fishermen, looking into the shops and ogling the menu at Malibu Farms.  I would also recommend making reservations to visit the Getty Villa to take in some ancient artifacts, art and some gorgeous architecture. If you prefer hiking there’s Topanga State Park and Malibu Creek State Park. Like I mentioned earlier, Santa Monica and Venice Beach are about a 30 minute drive south.  There are plenty of places to eat and shop there including the 4th Street Promenade in Santa Monica, or the Venice boardwalk or Abbot Kinney in Venice.  For our own trip we decided to make a day trip into downtown LA since it’s been awhile since we’ve been there.  We stopped by the Broad Museum (free entry!) and ate our way through the Grand Central Market.  We also love stopping by K-town and eating some of the best Korean food this country has to offer.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to LA! Where to go next Malibu RV Beach Park is the best stop for those doing the California Coastal tour.  Go further south to San Diego (a 2.5 hour drive) or head north to Santa Barbara (1.5 hours), where we loved staying at Rincon Parkway and Jalama Beach.  If you’re done with the beach scene then head east to Joshua Tree (3 hours) for some desert scenes.  Or head northeast to Paso Robles (3.5 hours) for some great wine tasting.

Destination: Lake Nacimiento When you say “lake destination” a lot of people in Northern California automatically think of Lake Tahoe.  And true, there are a lot of great campgrounds at Lake Tahoe to take your rented Airstream (we featured some here and one here).  But if you’re heading south towards Paso Robles or to the beaches near Santa Barbara, then you can still enjoy a bit of lake time at Lake Nacimiento.  Though Lake Nacimiento isn’t large, the resort located there has all the fixings needed for a fun summer lake experience!   This 18-mile long lake is located in about two hours south of San Jose.  This campground is also the site of the music/spiritual festival Lightning in a Bottle, and we have had a client rent an Airstream to dry camp there for that festival.  But we ended up visiting it during the off-season so we had the lake and campsite to ourselves, which was such a pleasure! Getting to Lake Nacimiento This lake is about a 2.5-hour drive south from our Airstream garage in San Jose, and thus is doable in one day.  It’s a straight shot on Hwy 101. Glamping at Lake Nacimiento Campground The campground here is quite large with several different campsites.  Oak Knoll is the only campground with full hook-ups and requires reservations.  It’s located near the entrance of the campground and higher up on the mountain (not lakeside).  We chose to go further down towards the lake, and camped at Pine Knoll (which had no hook-ups).  Since we were the only ones at the park (we went mid-week), we were able to choose a site that was just steps away from the lake edge.  We especially loved this lakeside campground for all the wildlife, and we saw plenty of deer and birds around our campsite.   There is a general store on-site in case you need to purchase any last-minute items.  And starting summer 2018, they are re-opening the Dragon Lake Grill, the only restaurant located within the resort.   What To Do There Since we went on a cold late autumn day we weren’t able to enjoy the number one attraction of this lake: water sports!  They have boats and water sport equipment for rental so you can enjoy such things as kayaking, waterskiing, flyboard, wakeboarding, wake surfing, paddle boarding, tubing, and jet skiing.  If fishing is more your thing, then you’re in luck!  Lake Nacimiento has a large variety of fish and plenty of fishing opportunities for the experienced fisherman.  Even newbies can enjoy themselves with a purchase of a fishing permit and supplies at the resort’s general store.  And if you’re the only one in the family not a lake-lover, there are still a multitude of hiking trails and even a 5k dog path.   Even if you’re not an outdoorsy person, this campsite is great because you also have the option of visiting several Central Coast wineries in the area.  The famous Justin Vineyard and Winery is located 20 minutes away.  Their grounds are gorgeous and they also have a restaurant serving delicious meals paired with their wines.  Kiamie Wine Cellars and several small wineries are also located nearby.  If you’re looking to grab a quick and easy meal near the campground then we highly recommend Naga café (it’s located right outside the campground). Where to go next This is a great first stop on your trip south. If you’re looking for some beach destinations, we recommend Rincon Parkway Campground, Morro Bay, or Jalama Beach.  If you want to visit some of California’s National Parks then Pinnacles is located 1.5 hours away and Sequoia National Park is 3 hours away.  Or you could head back up north and visit the Santa Cruz/Monterey KOA or Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort, both 2 hours north of Lake Nacimiento.

Destination: Joshua Tree National Park If Yosemite National Park is the park to go to in Northern California, then Joshua Tree National Park is the must see park in Southern California.  True, it has some competition from Death Valley National Park, but Joshua Tree has a landscape and beauty that’s all its own.  Plus you don’t want to miss the very unique Joshua Tree for which the park is named. Getting There Since Joshua Tree National park is an almost 8-hour drive from our shop in San Jose, we suggest splitting the drive across 2 days with a pit stop on the first day at Bakersfield.  Bakersfield is about a 4 hour drive from San Jose, and that is probably the max amount of hours you want to tow, especially if it’s your first time towing an Airstream.  We stayed at Bakersfield River Run RV park, which is your standard suburban RV park with full hook-ups.  Nothing particularly exciting about this RV park, but at least you can take long hot showers, send some last minute emails, unhitch to get gas in the truck, and organize your Airstream in preparation for some dry-camping at Joshua Tree. From Bakersfield to Joshua Tree it’s another 4 hours or so.  We recommend not taking I-5 that goes through LA since driving a trailer through LA traffic is not fun and either routes through Victorville or Barstow would probably be better. Glamping at Joshua Tree There are multiple campgrounds at Joshua Tree, with 4 of them available for reservations.  We highly recommend making reservations ahead of time since the number of RV spots are limited per campground and that’s especially true if you are renting one of our larger Airstreams (25′ or longer).  Joshua Tree is also a very popular national park and thus reservations and camping spots will fill up fast.  Only two of the campgrounds, Black Rock and Cottonwood, have dumping stations and water refill stations, which is convenient if you plan to stay for awhile or end up not rationing your water well.  However, if you’re feeling confident in your water conservation skills then Jumbo Rocks (pictured below) is also a great campground and quite unique too due to the massive boulders that provide shade around the campsite.  But you can’t go wrong with any of the campgrounds at Joshua tree!    There are also multiple private RV parks outside of the national park if you can’t get a reservation or rather have some hook-ups.  And lastly, boondocking or dispersed camping is a possibility on BLM land outside of the national park, however we highly advise against doing it since you risk damaging the Airstream by driving over the unpaved and rugged land.  If you are an experienced tower and would like to try it, just please let us know ahead of time so that we may advise you on the best way to boondock. What to do there Like every national park, there are a multitude of things to do at Joshua Tree.  Our favorite activity is hiking, and there are a plethora of hikes available in this large national park.  One of our favorites was Cottonwood Springs (pictured below), where the palms in this desert oasis reach gargantuan heights. We also visited Skull Rock and Jumbo Rocks campground.  And we also drove up to Keys View to take in the sights (pictured below). There are so many things to do and places to visit within Joshua Tree, unique because it is the meeting point of 2 distinct desert biomes.  And it really is the perfect place to take the Airstream road trip you’ve been dreaming of!

Destination: Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley National Park On my last post I talked about Yosemite, but this week we’re looking at a very different kind of national park, Death Valley.  Death Valley is hottest, driest and lowest national park in the U.S. and sounds grim and uninviting.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, Death Valley National Park is probably one of my top favorite national parks because of the beautiful desert landscapes as well as all the historical exhibits of the Old West that can be found there.  In fact, there’s so much to do and see there that I would love to take another Airstream road trip out there some day. Getting There From our garage in San Jose, Death Valley National Park is about an 8 hour drive.  So we suggest splitting the drive across 2 days with a pit stop on the first day at Bakersfield, which is what we did.  Bakersfield is about 4 hour drive from San Jose, and that is probably the max amount of hours you want to tow, especially if it’s your first time towing an Airstream.  We stayed at Bakersfield River Run RV park, which is your standard suburban RV park with full hook-ups.  Nothing particularly exciting about this RV park, but at least you can take long hot showers, send some last minute emails, unhitch to get gas in the truck, and organize your Airstream in preparation for some dry-camping at Death Valley.   From Bakersfield to Death Valley is another 4 hour drive, and we suggest taking the CA-58 to the US 395N and then down the 190E.  We recommend avoiding the 178E route from Bakersfield because the 190E west of Panamint Springs is very narrow and windy with a steep grade going down hill.  This is the link to our recommended route.   Glamping at Death Valley Death Valley has a lot of campsite options for RV’ers though most of the campsites cannot be reserved.  Here are all the campgrounds at Death Valley.  As you can see most campgrounds are only open Fall to Spring so as to avoid the the hottest times of the year.  We happened to go in October, and so we stayed at Furnace Creek, which is one of the few year-around campgrounds.  Furnace Creek is also the only campground with partial hook-ups with electric and water sources, but there are only 18 sites with hook-ups.  Furnace Creek is also the only campground that takes reservations.   However, there are so many other campsites that Death Valley is rarely booked to capacity so you will probably be fine on a first-come-first-serve basis.  It is also important to note that Texas Springs is the only campground that prohibits generators (and believe me you will probably want to rent one of our generators when glamping at Death Valley because it gets H-O-T!).  The main campgrounds also all have a dumping station (with access to water to refill your fresh water tanks), which you will want to take advantage of if Death Valley is just one of your stops on your Airstream road trip (if you’re only staying at Death Valley and coming back, then you don’t have to worry about it since dumping tanks is included in the trip price). What to do there     Pictures above are of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America.  From the parking lot, if you look up about 300 ft, you can see where they marked where sea level is on the rock face.  Badwater Basin itself is a salt flat that you can walk on and feel as if you’re on another planet.   Other spectacular sites are Zabriskie Point (pictured at the very top of the post and right below) where you can do a short hike and great for sunrises and sunsets, Dante’s View where you can see both the highest and lowest points of North America in one spot (on a clear day), and Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes where you feel like you’re somewhere in the Sahara.   Dante’s View: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes: I also enjoyed the historical exhibits at Death Valley including the still running Furnace Creek Inn, built in 1927, which has that old-timey glamour.  I also enjoyed exploring the Harmony Borax Works, famous for the 20-mule team used to transport the borax.      We also took a 45 minute drive (from Furnace Creek campground) to Rhyolite, a ghost town just across the Cali-Nevada border.  I love a good Wild West ghost town and old Union Pacific Rail cars, so this trip was especially fun for me.      Things that we missed and are on our list for our next visit include Devil’s Gold Course and Artist’s Drive.  See the full list of must-see places here. Where to go next from Death Valley If you’re planning for an Airstream trip for about 4-5 days I recommend spending that time solely for Death Valley.  But if you plan to do a longer road trip then I recommend either going up the US-395 (which is gorgeous) and spending time at Alabama Hills, June Lake, going to Yosemite (through the east entrance, summer time only), or going up to Lake Tahoe (we loved Silver Lake) and cutting back through the mountains to come back to San Jose.  If you have another 4 days and want to see a very different but equally stunning national park, then Zion National Park is 4.5 hours away.  Or if you want to come back through Barstow, you can hit up King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park and Yosemite (through the west entrance) before heading back to San Jose.

Destination: Dimond-O Campground, Yosemite National Park   After our first Airstream trip to Yosemite Park, where we did some field research of the various RV parks and campgrounds off of Hwy 120 (read that post here), we decided that for our second visit to Yosemite we wanted to stay at Dimond-O campground.  We liked the fact that Dimond-O is the closest campsite outside of the national park and the campground itself feels well-space and not overly populated . Also we like to camp outside of the park, even though it takes about 45 minutes to drive from Dimond-O to the valley floor because we prefer not to take the Airstream down the narrow and winding roads within the park.  Not to say that getting to Dimond-O is a walk in the park.  There are spots where HWY 120 winds along a mountain edge but take it slow and easy and know those roads are meant for trailers and even big-rigs (just don’t go up the shortcut at Old Priest’s Grade, but rather stay on the 120).     Dimond-O campground also has some narrow spots and are surrounded by trees flanking the campground road so we advise all Airstream renters to be careful when driving around the campsite and to avoid as many tree branches as possible.  If you rent a 23′ Airstream or smaller it will be a tad easier since they are slightly narrower than the larger Airstreams.  But for a little bit of work, you get a beautiful glamping spot surrounded by trees with easy access to one of the most beautiful national parks in the U.S.   We parked our 28′ Airstream in campsite 23 (see the campsite map here).  If you are able to nab sites 19, 20, 21, 23, 24 or 25 your campsite will have access to the Tuolumne River, which is quite beautiful and tranquil (sorry the photo doesn’t do it justice).   The campground is very well-maintained with a fire ring, bench and bear bins.  There is no cell reception within the campground, however you can get cell signal at the near-by Rush Creek Lodge (which also has great indoor and outdoor lounge areas if you need to get some work done).  The lodge also has a small gift shop/market area if you are in need of some last minute provisions or if you would like to buy some ready-made sandwiches for your day trip to Yosemite.   So if you’re looking for a great campsite near Yosemite to dry-camp at, we can’t recommend Dimond-O enough!