Lolo's Extreme is a place for adventurous families to explore ideas for their own RV road trip travels across the USA and Canada. Do it now, before the kids don't want to travel with you anymore!

Cross Country RV Road Trip Planner - Plan Your Route!!

During a 3 ½ week trip each summer with our two boys we've...

  • Crossed the country 8 times in 10 years, covering 73,800 miles in our Lazy Daze motorhome
  • Traveled through 49 states and 10 Canadian Provinces
  • Visited 61 National Parks and 36 State Parks
  • Hiked, mountain biked, fished, and rafted in some of the most beautiful places in North America
  • Made enough memories to last 4 lifetimes!

Contents of this 400 + page site include...

How much trip planning is enough?

There is a bit of irony in the question - especially when I’m asking it while Lolo has done the entirety of the trip planning for the past 12 years.

Nevertheless, it seems to be a concern for many readers of this website, and even myself as I prepare for another mostly solo medicinal trip down to the Florida Everglades.

Last Feb/March I spent 6 weeks in Florida in what turned out to be a successful effort to cure a chronic case of sinusitis and bronchitis. As such, the trip planning was virtually non-existent, and consisted mostly of Lolo calling me with suggested campsites as she tracked my progress down Route 95 on Google Latitude.

While the “completely freestyle” mode of travel does have the advantages of:

  • No time pressures to be somewhere at some point in time
  • Ability to change plans dependent upon weather or other local conditions

The disadvantages however include:

  • Near impossibility of getting into premiere campgrounds/campsites without prior reservations.
  • With limited knowledge, it’s easy to miss some great opportunities and settle for what’s easily available

The exact balance between "not enough planning" and "too much trip planning" is one that I’m still wrestling with after 12 years of travels.

For this trip, I’m picking a departure date, and then doing whatever planning I can get done before that date. Still probably not optimal, but at least I’ll get out on the road. And between Lolo’s advice and an internet enabled cell phone and I fully expect to fill any missing pieces to have another successful road trip.
1/28/2012 - Herb

I continue to be negligent in updating the videos, but for now the list of my favorites remains unchanged at:

On a personal note... something that this website has given our entire family that was not part of the original goal, is an awareness of how documenting one's travels will both preserve and enhance your appreciation of the experience, for years after the trip was taken. I am regularly amazed about how little of our previous travels we can recall, unless they were preserved with photos, videos, and hopefully a compelling narrative. While it might initially seem a bit of bother to pose the family photos or stage a video shoot, the value of these moments seems to grow exponentially with the passage of time. This is especially true when the subjects include children that rapidly evolve into adolescents and adults with the passing of every year.

Finally, if anyone is reading this, we would love to hear from you, especially if you are planning your own road trip adventure. Comments from experienced travelers on each of the stops are also greatly appreciated. We plan on revisiting many of our favorite locations, and if you could add a bit of local knowledge beyond that which we have already included, it would help us to continue our explorations.

Also consider AARP RV insurance when planning your trip. Your should always be prepared for the unexpected on cross country trips.

A word of warning

This mode of travel is not for everyone. Some of the daily mileages are well above what many would consider recreational, and the pace of activities could be described as frenetic, so you might want to add a few days or remove a few stops to make your trip more relaxing. Still if you like..

  • Exploring natural wonders
  • Being physically active - hiking, biking, swimming, etc.
  • Getting away from the crowds
  • Bonding with your offspring or significant other

then you might find something of use in this site. Check out the routes we traveled by hovering your mouse over the year links on the map, and then select one that might be of interest. From that trip's itinerary, select a place of interest.

Go to About to learn more about our setup and who we are.

Thanks for visiting!

Herb