http://www.ventura.org/beach-front-parks/hobson-beach-park
No camping that I know of in Santa Barbara itself; the closest is 10 miles south of that at Carpinteria State Beach; there are also Refuguio and El Capitan and Gaviota beach parks north of Santa Barbara about 20 miles.
Death Valley is pretty interesting and "sort of" on the way to Vegas. But also check out Anza-Borrego State Park east of San Diego in the desert; great wildflowers there in March and April. A couple regular campgrounds, but you are able to camp anywhere in the park for free (that's what I do).
I've only "looked" at Grand Canyon from both the North and South Rim; only hiked down into the canyon a couple miles, pretty tough for a 5 year old but they do it. The view is better from the South Rim as the sun is at your back; tons of facilities in town near the park. A favorite National Forest Campground south of the South Rim by only 10 miles is Ten X Campground.
South of Flagstaff is Oak Creek Canyon; about 4 or so campgrounds all sprinkled along the Creek. Very nice. A little further down the road is Sedona....artsy place....worth checking out.
In Vegas, there is a KOA at CircusCircus Casino. But east of Vegas about an hour is one of my favorite places, Valley Of Fire (you will feel like you are on Mars). And also Red Rock north of Vegas about 45 minutes (never camped there).
You also might enjoy things along the lower Colorado River near Parker, AZ. River Island State Park is one of my favorites in that area.
February is still cold at the higher elevations, but with an RV you should be OK. But the deserts will really be getting nice this time of year, especially since we've got a lot a rain. Yeah....save Nashville for another trip; distances are pretty vast out west and you don't want to be driving all the time.
Rich
San Diego
From: David McNeely <davmcneely40@GMAIL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Friday, February 3, 2017 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: Roadtrip advice for Southwest US trip
It all depends on what you mean by "great places to camp," and what
interests you. Regarding Santa Barbara, California has a pretty good state
park system, and Ventura County has quite a few county parks with camping,
some of which are nice (don't recall names right now, but Google has it
all). Both include sea shore locations, and there is a sea shore National
Recreation Area south of Ventura. National Forest Service has lots of
camping in the area, also.
If headed to Death Valley from Santa Barbara, both I-20 and I-40 will take
you to Mojave National Preserve. It has most of what Joshua Tree National
Park and Death Valley have, without the crowds, plus some interesting
natural history that is absent from both. At that point, you are only a
couple of hours from Vegas. Google for BLM campgrounds in the area, also.
Joshua Tree National Park is amazing, but on our visit this winter was
overwhelmed with huge crowds.
If nature is your thing, though you can't camp in them, there are several
really interesting National Wildlife Preserves in western Nevada, just
check out the maps. Ash Meadows is one of the best. You could park you
rig at a BLM campground, and day trip to one or more preserves. Ash
Meadows has a series of populations of pup fish, evolutionarily very
interesting, exhibiting one of the classic species radiations. One of them
is the famous Devil's Hole Pup Fish, with the smallest native range of any
vertebrate world wide. It lives only in a deep spring along a fault line,
a few square feet in area.
So far as how much time you need for the Grande Canyon, it depends on you.
Most visits are for a day or so, but that just makes a point about
Americans. North Rim is less crowded than South Rim, and more
interesting. If you intend to venture into the canyon, you'll need a day
minimum for the hike, and time to recover. Oops, just noticed that 5 year
old. Shorter (less elevation difference) from South Rim to the river than
from North Rim, still tough for a kid. I wouldn't attempt it with a 5 year
old. For Grande Canyon, if you want to camp in the park, make
reservations. If you are willing to boondock it outside the park on North
Rim, there are beautiful locations with views of Marble Canyon, but your
trailer might not make the roads (or it might even be restricted by the
rental company from such). You could spend a month and just get started
with Grande Canyon.
North Rim may be closed (or certainly iffy) for winter still, just noticed
your dates. Forest Service campgrounds I mentioned for Santa Barbara area
may still be snowy, or closed for the season anyway.
Death Valley and vicinity has had moisture this winter, so you may be in
luck for the wildflower bloom.
mcneely
On Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 12:43 PM, Ned Savoie <ned@harbourlight.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> My wife, 5 year old son and I are doing a road trip, and would love to get
> some advice on places to see, time needed, and any other words of wisdom.
> Unfortunately the VW's are going to have to stay home for this one.
>
> We are picking up a 25' RV in Chicago and we will have it for about 18
> days. We need to drop it off in Las Vegas. We are leaving Chicago on Feb
> 16, probably in the later afternoon, so not sure how far we will get that
> first day.
>
> My first thought was to head down to Nashville, Memphis, and then head
> towards Austin, but my wife thinks we may want to spend more time out in
> Arizona and the Grand Canyon and that those few extra days would be better
> spent further west.
>
> How long do you think we need at the Grand Canyon? Some itineraries say 10
> days. Is it going to be too cold to do a lot? What are must see
> attractions?
>
> From the GC we will head to Southern Cal to spend a few days with family.
> From there, my hope is to head north on RT 1 to Santa Barbara, and then
> head east across Death Valley (and hope our timing is right for the
> wildflower bloom). Finally, we'll head to Las Vegas to spend a day, and
> then return the truck.
>
> Any great places to camp around Santa Barbara and Las Vegas? Any advice
> will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Ned Savoie
> Creative Director
>
> Harbour Light Strategic Marketing
> Savvy Software, Inc.
> 621A Islington Street
> Portsmouth, NH 03801
>
> [Telephone] 603.427.2821 <(603)%20427-2821>
> [Facsimile] 603.427.0938 <(603)%20427-0938>
> [Mobile] 603.828.2400 <(603)%20828-2400>
>
