Our Top 5 Favorite RVing Spots After 17 Months on the Road

As Todd has previously explained, we are no longer full-time RVers. It’s a decision we made as a family and we’re happy. That doesn’t mean we don’t think about our RV life. We had many unforgettable experiences. After 17 months of full-time RVing, these are the five locations we would claim to be the absolute best RVing spots.

So, now that we’ve joined the weekend and summer RVing crowd (you guys are cool and we’re excited to be a part of your cult club), we (I) thought it would be fun to reminisce on what our favorite RVing spots were during our 17 months on the road.

These are the places we can not wait to get back to. The places we want you to know about. The places that should be on your RV travel bucket list!

Instead of making this post all about me and my favorite places, I decided to ask each member of our family what their favorite place was. I know, that’s super nice of me to include them.

Our Top 5 Favorite Spots to RV

We’ll start with the top pick from the oldest member of our family (aka not me) and end with my youngest son’s choice.

Glacier National Park is a Favorite

After 17 months on the road, Todd’s favorite spot is Glacier National Park in Montana.

I actually didn’t even need to ask him where his favorite RVing spot was because I already knew it. He’s been wanting to go back to Glacier since the day we set foot in Glacier. So we did. Yep, during our 17 months on the road, we visited Glacier twice, for a total of about three weeks. It’s that good.

Our first visit was in July of 2017. You can read all about our glorious week in Glacier National Park and why it was Todd’s favorite.

From the hiking, the views, the weather, and the animals it’s easy to see why he wanted to come back.

Our last visit was in September. We traveled as fast as our travel trailer could get us there from the East coast so we could beat the first snow and brutal Montana winter weather.

We had only planned about a week there, but extended to two weeks. Because guess what? September is a really great time to visit Glacier. It did get a little cold and a lot of the restaurants were shutting down, but other than that one time I got really salty because this pie place everyone was raving about was out of pie, we were so glad to be there this time of year.

Todd’s favorite part of this last visit was actually getting to watch the leaves change and literally just light up the park with reds, oranges, and golds. It was simply spectacular!

We’ll be sure to write up an article on all the reasons why early fall is the perfect time to visit Glacier NP.

Todd’s two runners-up are…

• Nova Scotia, Canada – Check out this must-do hike in Nova Scotia. The views are unreal!
• Acadia National Park in Maine – Check out these three hikes in Acadia that you can’t miss.

Banff National Park is One of the Best Places to Travel

When asked for her favorite RV spot, Julie chooses Banff National Park in Canada.

I almost didn’t allow myself to put this as my favorite RVing spot because, well, we didn’t actually RV in Banff. Say what?

Let me explain.

We left our travel trailer at the Beaver Dam Golf & RV Resort in Madden, AB and rented an Airbnb for a few days in Canmore. But, we did actually sleep at the RV resort for several days as well and it’s downright beautiful there.

The RV resort was about an hour and a half away from Banff and we wanted to spend as much time as possible exploring the park and the area. Plus, we were all feeling the need to spread out a little since five of us were traveling in a 26 foot travel trailer.

So we booked an Airbnb in Canmore and let me tell you, this was such a smart decision. It has a fantastic view (pictured above), our host left us wine (the way to my heart), and we were all able to do our own things since we were close to town and could take public transportation.

Hannah and I did some shopping.

The guys did a long hike to a remote tea house.

We also made it to Yoho National Park, which isn’t far from Banff, and saw water that was the color of blue Gatorade. It. was. stunning.

We ate at the Whitehorn Bistro at Lake Louise.

Needless to say, we all had one heck of a great time…and saw a Grizzly mom with two cubs as a bonus! It was just incredible.

So, as you can probably tell, I decided there are more than enough reasons to allow myself to select Banff as my favorite RVing spot.

Julie’s two runners-up are…

• Glacier National Park
• Prince Edward Island, Canada (apparently I’m a fan of Canada) – This is the PEI campground we stayed at and here are six fun things to do in PEI.

And if I may add another one…Colorado! We used to live there. We have family there and we’ve spent more time RVing in Colroado than any of the other places we visited. There are so many family friendly destinations in Colorado and plenty to keep everyone happy.

Hannah’s Top Pick Is…

Nova Scotia, Canada

Our daughter Hannah is in college and was only with us during her breaks. So she didn’t get to see all 36 states like the rest of us, but she did see a lot of both the west and east coast, as well as the five Canadian provinces we visited.

She’s been talking about visiting Canada for as long as I can remember. So when we hit the road in May of 2017 during her summer break, we booked it to Canada.

And then some friends of ours asked if we wanted  travel to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia for two weeks in the summer of 2018 and we jumped at the chance to see another part of Canada.

And are ever glad we did. It’s some of the most beautiful countrysides we’ve ever seen and was well worth the drive.

This was the view from the Cape Split hike we went on. This 8-mile hike was Hannah’s longest hike yet and she felt pretty dang good after accomplishing it.

Why did she choose Nova Scotia as her favorite RVing spot? Well, take one look at where our RV park was located and you’ll see why.

Right on the water AND we were right around the corner from the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. This is the view from King Neptune Campground. An RV park we highly recommend!

The other reason she loved it, was because of Halifax. Hannah loves spending time in the mountains and at the beach, but she also likes to be near a city with plenty of things to do. And in Halifax, there are plenty of things to do.

She got to hang out and have drinks with the girls, take pictures in front of their amazing murals in the city, and we were there during the Busker Festival so there were street performers everywhere. A very fun city indeed.

Hannah’s two runners-up are…

• New York – We did some urban RVing there and we had an absolute blast. Here’s a guide to RVing near New York City.
• Acadia National Park in Maine

Josiah’s Top Pick Is…

Grand Teton National Park

This is a National Park we all agree should be on everyone’s bucket list. It’s hard to put into words everything this place has to offer, but Josiah did a great job in his article titled ‘The Most Mountain-y Mountains: Grand Teton National Park.‘

He said:

The main road that takes you through the Grand Teton National Park is nothing special, but the views during said drive are nothing short of stunning. One thing that struck me as unique about this range was the lack of foothills. After growing up right outside the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I came to expect that every mountain range was prefaced by increasingly large hills, slowly but surely leading up to the main display of rock giants. No such thing exists with the Teton Range. One second you’re driving on flat plains, and the next you’re face to face with a 13,776 foot behemoth.

The landscape truly is remarkable.

Just like we booked it over to Glacier National Park again as fast as we could, we headed to the Tetons afterward. It was another National Park we knew was worth a second visit.

After having visited in the summer, it was incredible to see what this place looked like in the fall. It did not disappoint.

Visiting the Tetons in the fall is a must. Here are five reasons why.

For more stunning shots of this area (and our travels), be sure to check out Josiah’s Instagram. He captures the scenery perfectly, making you feel like you’re standing right there.

Josiah’s two runners-up are…

• Yosemite National Park
• Banff National Park
  

Aaron’s Top Pick Is…

Yosemite National Park

In 2016, we took a family spring break trip to Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. It was the most we had spent on a family vacation ever, between flights and food and lodging and car rental, so to say we were hoping it was a trip everyone would love was an understatement.

How did it go?

Better than we could have imagined.

Our cabin was perfect and was located in the park. Which meant spotty and usually non-existent cell service. And you know what? That’s a big part of why Aaron remembers this place so fondly.

Instead of burying our heads in our electronic devices, we played cards as a family. We sat in silence soaking in the beauty. We talked and talked some more. The week was filled with these special quiet moments that we all still talk about to this day.

Add on top of those special moments the beauty of Yosemite and you have a trip everyone will remember for a very long time.

We did go back for a second visit during our 17-month road trip and loved it just as much. We hiked, we snapped hundreds of photos and also spent more time in San Francisco than during our spring break trip.

If you’re looking for a family vacation that includes both nature and the city, we highly recommend this area.

Aaron’s two runners-up are…

• Sedona, Arizona – We did some incredible hiking in Sedona, which you can read about here.
• Banff National Park
  

I hope by reading about our top 5 favorite RVing spots, you got some great ideas for your next family adventure!

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