# Good campsites in Washington and Montana



## steveormston (May 16, 2010)

We are going for 2 weeks in Aug. and am looking for some help on good campsites to stay at along the way. Click the link for the route map.

We will leave from vancouver and drive to Nehalem State park in Oregon for the first few nights, then leave from there and head to Calgary Alberta. This is where i need your help! Can you tell me about any good places to stop along the way that is not too far off our route. We only want to drive 4-6.5 hrs between stops as our son will only be 1 1/2 years old and as everyone with kids can relate driving long distances can be draining. We have our first few night sorted out and then from calgary back home but the 6 to 8 nights in-between are yet to be found. Any advice or places to stay would be good.

Thanks Steve

Check the link for the route

120 St to 64 Ave - Google Maps


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

My best advice is to spend just a few dollars and purchase a software program meant to do this like Microsoft's Streets and Trips, or Delorme's Map-n-Go. For RV travel & camping there's also Trailer Life's Directory Campground Navigator. They are much easier to use and plan with because they include databases for campgrounds, restaurants and other important things travelers would need.

With these software programs you can plot the route you desire and with a few options & selections, then you can pick whatever it is you need and quickly add it as a waypoint for your trip. You have a significant route and ambitious plan. You are gonna be using up a lot of time setting up and breaking down. Balancing enough time at a stop and getting back on the road a lot means you spend most of your time looking at the world from inside your vehicle.

Suggesting a specific campground depends on exactly where you want to stop, how far off the route you want, what you want for facilities and activities for the kids. There are really too many to mention. Are you looking for primitive sites, some hookups, large campground, stores, showers on site, etc.? Again, the number of campgrounds is too numerous to list.

I hope you are able to get a software program and plan your trip that way. Good luck to you.

More advice from someone who's been there! Raised two kids that way. I learned that a longer stay at a base camp was better as they got older. But an infant limits your activities and maybe a casual long drive can be better. Find a way to TAKE YOUR TIME and preserve patience and have lots of flexibility. This will help make the trip enjoyable for everyone. If there are too many bad things that happen, these will be remembered more than the good times, so make sure the good times greatly outnumber any bad ones. THEN learn how to work with bad ones (weather, things break, etc.) so that you can call them learning experiences not problems.

So much more I can say, but I don't want to scare you, bore you, or overwhelm you. I'm guessing you probably already know most of this anyway. But our kids (35 & 31) still talk about the positive moments they had.


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