Quartzsite to Glacier National Park Boondocking

This is a 10 month trip for me because I stay 14 days at each stop. You can set your own time frame and stay 10 days at each stop or even 7 days. No reason why you can't move on when you decide its time. You just have to limit your stay at most places to no more than 14 days. If you leave the Quartzsite area in March, you can be back by December to hang out again in the LTVA. Choosing to stay 10 days instead of 14 at each stop, you will make it in about about 7 months or only spend 7 days at each stop and make it back in about 5 months. I limited the stops to an average of 200 miles between each one so the drive is easy to do in a day. Try it in a caravan with your friends.

This trip takes you by the Grand Canyon, Mount Zion, Dinosaur Park, Grant Tetons and Yellowstone. You can even take a trip into Canada while you are near to Glacier National Park. Just remember to allow enough time to return so you don't get snow bound somewhere along the way.

The Bureau of Land Management operates the Long Term Visitor Areas for Winter Camping. Quartzsite is the most popular one with hoards of people there during January. I like that area during the winter so I decided to start my trip from there. The trip starts in early spring and gets you back before winter.

Camp Verde is near the Prescott National Forest in Arizona. In 1984 the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act established the portion of the Verde River from Beasley Flat downstream to the confluence with Red Creek, as Arizona's only Wild and Scenic River. The forest offers opportunities for hang gliding, technical rock climbing and bouldering, whitewater rafting, and excellent mountain bicycling. When you are there, check out the Granite Mountain Wilderness.

From I-17 take Cottonwood/Highway 260 exit. Just after the auto dealership on the right, turn right on Thousand Trails Road. From Cottonwood go out Highway 260 toward Camp Verde (pass the Wal-Mart on your right). Approximately 5 miles from Cottonwood, turn left on Thousand Trails Road. Thousand Trails Road is approximately half way between Cottonwood and Camp Verde.

The best way to see the Grand Canyon is through the Kaibab National Forest and the North Rim. You can sit here in the dispersed camping area of Timp Point and watch the canyon appearance change from moment to moment while you relax. There is so much to do in the area from riding the train to taking a tour on a helicopter. Only your budget constrains the type of activities you can experience in the area. Take a hike, relax, or head on out to any one of a hundred tours.

For the dispersed campground, take SR 67 south at Jacob Lake for the North Rim. To get there, take FR 22 and head west out of DeMotte Park just south of the campground. Turn south at junction FR 206.Continuing south on FR 206, you pass the turnoff to Parissawampits Point, the northernmost lookout on the west side. Not long afterward the road branches again, where 206 continues south and 271 leads southwest.. Here more roads take off to the west, leading to Fence Point and Locust Point. The final junction comes where 271 splits into 271A, where 271 goes to Timp Point and 271A heads for North Timp Point.

Zion National Park receives 3 million visitors a year so it is Utah's most visited national park. It offers many trails ranging from short ones that stretch your legs to strenuous adventures. If you wish to go into the backcountry, you need to check in at the visitor center to obtain a backcountry permit. A variety of life zones and habitats makes Zion National Park an excellent location for wildflower walks in spring and brilliant leaf color in autumn. In the spring the cactus are blooming and Indian Paintbrush is visible throughout much of the summer season. You can hit the trails by walking, taking a trail ride on a horse, or signing up for one of the ATV tours.

The nearby camping area is called Mosquito Flats, and is west of Zion on Highway 9, between mile markers 23 and 24 on the south side of the road.

Capitol Reef National park comprises 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. Here you can hike, view wildlife or simply walk through the orchards. Close to the Capitol Reef National Park is the rugged but traversable, desolate yet scenic,  Bull Creek Pass Back Country Byway that follows an unforgettable route through southern Utah’s distinct terrain. You’ll  journey 68 miles on a remote, single-lane dirt road past three of the five peaks of the Henry Mountains, the last mountain range to be explored and named in the lower forty eight states.  The wildlife match its diversity. Mule Deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain lion and bison all inhabit the Henry Mountains.

On the north side of UT-24 just west of the Capitol Reef border between mile markers 73 and 74 are two gorgeous dispersed camping spots. Look for the dirt entrances and watch for rocks. Each can hold about 5 rigs. The north side of UT-24 is National Forest in this area

Nearby is the Dinosaur National Monument where you can go to the visitor center to see the displays and ride a shuttle out to the dig. The Flaming Gorge NRA is located in the northeast corner of Utah and the southwest corner of Wyoming. It is South of I-80, between Green River and Rock Springs, Wyoming and extends into the Uintah Mountains towards Vernal, Utah. Abundant wildlife including bear, mountain lion, moose, elk, muledeer, antelope, and the recently introduced Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep roam freely throughout the land.

Dispersed camping in the forest so see your local ranger for the best spots to fit your particular RV.

Lander is near the Shoshone National Forest. The forest consists of some 2.4 million acres of varied terrain ranging from sagebrush flats to rugged mountains. The higher mountains are snow-clad most of the year. Immense areas of exposed rock are interspersed with meadows and forests. With Yellowstone National Park on its western border, the Shoshone encompasses the area from the Montana state line south to Lander, Wyoming, and includes portions of the Absaroka, Wind River, and Beartooth Mountains. The Shoshone provides habitat for grizzly and black bears, gray wolves, deer, elk, moose, pronghorn, bison, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and a host of smaller animals and birds ranging from pikas, coyotes, and river otters to Clarks' nutcrackers, blue grouse, and peregrine falcons. The Shoshone is home to more wild bighorn sheep than any other forest in the National Forest System.

Shoshone National Forest Camping Dispersed camping on loop road 131 out of lander Frye Lake is located on the eastern slope of the Wind River Mountains near the southern end of the mountain range in west central Wyoming. It can be accessed by taking the "Loop Road," State Highway 131, SW out of Lander. At the base of the mountain the road turns into a well maintained dirt road labeled Forest Road 300. Frye Lake is approximately 6 miles inside the forest line. The road is kept open only as long as it is without heavy snow pack - generally closed from around December 1 to May 1.

The Targhee National Forest is near Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. Dispersed camping here makes a good base to go exploring the two National Parks. Grand Teton's elevation  ranges from 6,400 feet on the sagebrush-dominated valley floor to 13,770 feet on the windswept granite summit of the Grand Teton. Don't forget the drive along John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway between Grand Teton and Yellowstone Park. Yellowstone was the first National Park. It is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. You will never run out of things to see while staying in this area.

Dispersed camping in the Targhee National Forest. Check with the local rangers for the best places to accommodate your RV.

Clark Canyon reservoir is a great stop over place after you leave the National Park Area but you are still close enough to drive over to Yellowstone if you haven't seen enough. Otherwise, it is a good time to just relax from all the sightseeing and hiking you just did for two weeks. Have a quiet time fishing or just enjoy a good book.

About 20 miles south of Dillon just off I-15. Seven campgrounds around the reservoir; some dispersed-style camping; some with picnic tables, fire rings and cabanas. Two on the south side are down a really bad dirt road. The others are accessed by pavement.

Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest is where you can find the primitive experience of wilderness, the freedom of driving backcountry roads and trails, or fishing high-mountain lakes and streams. You can experience some wonderful horseback riding here or go for some mountain biking. The Anaconda Pintler Wilderness is a 158,656-acre area straddling the Continental Divide . It's known for its high, rugged mountain scenery where mountain goats make their home. Elevations range from 5,100 feet in the lower reaches to 10,793 feet on West Goat Peak.

Just off of MT Highway 1 about 8 miles south of Philipsburg and about 20 miles north of Anaconda.

The Flathead National Forest is a great place to make your base camp to stay and explore Glacier National Park. Known to Native Americans as the "Shining Mountains" and the "Backbone of the World", Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rugged peaks and glacial-carved valleys in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Its diverse habitats are home to nearly 70 species of mammals including the grizzly bear, wolverine, gray wolf and lynx. Over 270 species of birds visit or reside in the park, including such varied species as harlequin ducks, dippers and golden eagles. The landscape is a hiker's paradise that is traversed by more than 750 miles of maintained trails.

Lots of camping spots for free like Red Meadow Lake and plenty of dispersed camping in the Flathead National Forest. Ask a ranger.