Hotels isolate you from your surroundings

The sights and sounds of nature are obscured by parking lots, other buildings and traffic noise.

Camping gets you much closer to the natural wonders that you came out West to experience. Whenever possible, we choose campsites situated away from traffic in scenic areas with trees, rocks, and plenty of open space.

Our fondest campsite memories include howling wolves, crashing waves, spectacular desert sunrises, lightning bolts that split the sky, moose wading in still marshes, shimmering aurora borealis, and (just once) a bear demolishing a Subaru.

If you know what you’re doing, you can spend the night in pristine places that RVs can’t reach and the nearest hotel is miles away. This is why we still go tent camping now and then. The willingness to sleep on the ground definitely has its rewards.

In hotels someone else does the dirty work, which may be one of your primary reasons for taking a vacation. On the other hand, living out of a suitcase gets old after a few days, as does repeatedly unpacking and repacking a car. And, since you will depend on often-crowded restaurants for most of your meals, you will spend a significant amount of time foraging (and waiting) for food.

While you do have to clean up after yourself and prepare many of your meals, an RV is the ultimate in traveling convenience. Lunch takes place wherever you find a pretty place to pull over. Your clothes are always accessible in drawers and wardrobe closets. Beverages and snacks are as close as the refrigerator. An afternoon nap in air-conditioned comfort is even an option when you decide to opt out of the next foray on foot. And when you’re ready to move on, you just go.

Car camping works best when you can go to a secluded spot and stay for a while. It’s a lot of work when you’re trying to cover ground. Pitching camp and tearing it down can take 2-3 hours out of your day. We’ve done it a LOT, and with kids, it feels like a full-time job.

First-class rooms and cabins are comfortable and familiar, often with good beds and spacious bathrooms. Those with cooking facilities are nice but can be hard to find. And what to do with those leftovers…

Modern motor homes are surprisingly spacious and comfortable. After a day or two you’re settled in, and it really feels like home. Living and sleeping arrangements are comfortable for up to 5 or 6. The stocked kitchen and clean bathroom are available 24/7.

Best case with perfect weather and no bugs: Tolerable.

Worst case: “I wanna go home!”

Comfortable accommodations are available in some pretty remote places in The West these days. But it comes at a price. The better hotels near major parks cost from $150-$300+ per night.

High quality RVs aren’t cheap. But, for a group of four or more, traveling by RV can cost less than driving a car and staying in respectable hotels.

For families, the biggest savings result from: 1) avoiding the cost of a second hotel room and 2) preparing your own simple meals in the RV

(We’ll tell you when it’s worth the drive into town for a restaurant meal.)

By far, the least expensive option.

During the summer, hotels must be booked well in advance of your trip. This locks you into a very rigid itinerary, leaving no room for last-minute course changes due to weather, unforeseen delays, or an irresistible temptation to spend just one more day in a newfound paradise.

Popular campgrounds also fill up during the summer high season, but availability is more flexible and last-minute alternatives are often available to the creative camper. And then there’s boondocking…

Same as with RV.

The closest you come to getting to know your fellow guests at the Holiday Lodge is sitting at adjacent tables in the breakfast room, watching cable news and slurping Fruit Loops.

You join a little temporary community every time you pull into a campground. You will meet all sorts of interesting folks from all over the place with interesting stories to tell. It beats the heck out of sitting on a hotel bed watching TV.

We think tents are best suited to places where you can be really alone. In spite of their beautiful, rustic settings, many National Park campgrounds are busy places. An RV just feels a little more secure and offers a better night’s rest.

Easy to drive. Easy to park. You cover more ground and have better access to backroads and scenic “shortcuts”.

A motor home is about 8 feet wide and twenty or thirty-something feet long. Nevertheless, most are built on a heavy-duty van chassis (think ambulance or delivery van), which has a familiar-feeling driving position and predictable handling. You will adjust quickly. But finding a place to pull over for a quick look at an animal grazing beside the road can be tricky. Fortunately, most of the places you will visit routinely accommodate RVs and have separate areas for RV parking.

Same as with car.