Camping on the TransAm and start date ?'s

[ward&sallie]

My wife and I will be riding the TransAm route this summer. We are planning to start June 1. Is this to early? Also, we will be camping most of the time. Are full campgrounds a problem. Advice is appreciated.

[John Nelson]

Depends. Are you going East to West, or West to East? How long do you plan to take for the crossing?

[ward&sallie]

We will be travelling west to east, and planning to take 90 days.

[John Nelson]

June 1 is a bit early but it will probably work okay. Check the state of the passes before you start and maybe delay a bit if necessary--it sounds as if you won't be in a big hurry. Take some extra warm clothing for the first half of the trip and plan to send them home from Pueblo.

Full campgrounds are normally not a problem, but they can be. Many campgrounds will "make room" for bicycle tourists because they don't have a car. Even if the campground is full, the campground host may help you find a solution. Another camper may be willing to share their spot, or the host may allow you to camp outside a dedicated spot. Wild camping can also be used in a pinch.

[dubovsmj]

a nice handful of campgrounds, esp out west, have the hiker-biker sites at cheaper prices.

in the midwest, camping in the town's park is totally fine.  a lot of times the parks have a community pool whcih means a shower room is not far. 

a lot of times, if you're in a bind and aren't comfortable pitching tent in a ditch, just asking some locals can lead to unthought of places (one time in kentucky a cop gave me permission to camp under a bridge next side a beautiful river).

hope this helps a bit.

[staehpj1]

My wife and I will be riding the TransAm route this summer. We are planning to start June 1. Is this to early? Also, we will be camping most of the time. Are full campgrounds a problem. Advice is appreciated.

That is definitely on the early side for a W-E, but if you have to go then you will probably be OK.  It varies a lot from year to year though.

If you have the option, I'd push it back a couple weeks.  There is a pretty good chance that McKenzie Pass will be closed, but if it is you can probably take Santiam Pass as an alternate.  Also McKenzie opens for bikes before it opens for cars most years.  If you can ride it before it is open to cars it is pretty cool.

In 2007 we started on June 11th and were fine, but like I said it varies from year to year.

[staehpj1]

My wife and I will be riding the TransAm route this summer. We are planning to start June 1. Is this to early? Also, we will be camping most of the time. Are full campgrounds a problem. Advice is appreciated.

I forgot to answer about camping.  We had no trouble finding places to camp when we started June 11th in the west.  Many places guaranteed a spot for cyclists.  About half of the time we stayed for free in town parks, at churches, schools, or with hosts.  A lot of the time we found inexpensive sites.  Only a few times did we resort to a $20 or more camp site.  Asking around always yielded a place to stay whether there was a campground or not.

[dubovsmj]

to touch on what staehpj1 mentioned about mckenzie pass....when i climbed up the gate was closed for cars and i assumed for cyclists too....i backtracked 11 some miles back down and took santiam pass....i found out a few days later that the road was in fact clear and the road crews hadn't been up yet to open gate.

so take heed and by all means....hop the gate.