Route planning advice from TX->VA in june

[enriquez]

Hello everybody,

I hope to be traveling from San Antonio, TX through Doswell, VA for the national. I expect to mainly camp along the route with the occasional hotel.

My route would take me across AR, TN a finally VA and I’ve allotted up to 4 days, mainly across US-79, US-4 and US-412 (According to google maps) but surely would take the interstate highways to make up some time, here or there.

I’m looking for advice on nice and clean campgrounds to crash along the way. Any suggestions?

Also, is there any must see (especially civil war historical stuff), please let me know.

Regards,
Mario

[jgoertz]

Hopefully that's a typo -- and you're either traveling through ARkansas or ALabama, not AlasKa (AK). If it's ALabama, come through Birmingham and visit the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. Sorry I can't help you with campgrounds, as those days are far in my past. Then plan your route up through N AL to Knoxville area and pickup the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Enjoy the trip and the Rally!

[enriquez]

Hopefully that's a typo -- and you're either traveling through ARkansas or ALabama, not AlasKa (AK). If it's ALabama, come through Birmingham and visit the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. Sorry I can't help you with campgrounds, as those days are far in my past. Then plan your route up through N AL to Knoxville area and pickup the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Enjoy the trip and the Rally!

Thanks jgoertz, typo was fixed.

Blue Ridge Parkway is nice, would consider. Thank you.

Regards,
Mario

[HSVPhil]

Hola Mario!

U might do some research re: camping in the MOA Anonymous Book.
Look for codes ‘c’ & ‘r’ as potential Member visits.
https://www.bmwmoa.org/page/abook

And Jack is a docent at the Vintage M/C Museum, so he’s right to consider a full day’s visit to Leeds, AL. It’s a Large facility that could use up one whole day if U can spare the time on your X-country ride!
https://www.barbermuseum.org

Also consider Googling State Parks along the route you choose.
Alabama & Tennessee have some terrific full service campgrounds.
Our club has utilized Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL for a club BBQ/picnic.
A very modest commute to/from Leeds’ museum.
https://www.alapark.com/camping

Happy Trails whenever U can - Ciao!
HSV-Karen & HSV-Phil
USN-Ret'd —--&-— USAF-Ret’d
'09 F650GS-twin - '14 K-GT
'82 R100CS ——— '75 R90S
’08 CRF230L —--— ’09 KLX250S
'16 R1200RS —-— ’05 Vespa 200L

Enjoy! president@bmwmoal.org

[Visian]

When riding distance to a rally, I stopped camping and went with hotels, mainly because of time and comfort.

However, KOAs have nice cabins for a reasonable price, and you can get a discount via your MOA membership.

The KOA in Crossville, TN is about the only one I am familiar with along your route... but I am sure there are many more.

If you want to get off the slab for some nicer riding, check out US58 east of Abington, VA off I-81. Grayson Highlands State Park is not far off the highway... it's not long on amenities, but it does have decent campgrounds.

Willville Motorcycle Campground is near Meadows of Dan, VA. Highly recommended.

From there, take the Blue Ridge Parkway north until you need to head east to the rally.

Have a great ride!

Ian

ps -> wouldn't it be cool if there were a web site like MotoCampsites.com to list all the good motocamping around the country?

pps -> which reminds me, check out apps like Campendium and iOverlander. They don't have moto-specific data, but they're good for finding campgrounds on the fly.

[enriquez]

Hola Mario!

U might do some research re: camping in the MOA Anonymous Book.
Look for codes ‘c’ & ‘r’ as potential Member visits.
https://www.bmwmoa.org/page/abook

And Jack is a docent at the Vintage M/C Museum, so he’s right to consider a full day’s visit to Leeds, AL. It’s a Large facility that could use up one whole day if U can spare the time on your X-country ride!
https://www.barbermuseum.org

Also consider Googling State Parks along the route you choose.
Alabama & Tennessee have some terrific full service campgrounds.
Our club has utilized Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL for a club BBQ/picnic.
A very modest commute to/from Leeds’ museum.
https://www.alapark.com/camping

Happy Trails whenever U can - Ciao!
HSV-Karen & HSV-Phil
USN-Ret'd —--&-— USAF-Ret’d
'09 F650GS-twin - '14 K-GT
'82 R100CS ——— '75 R90S
’08 CRF230L —--— ’09 KLX250S
'16 R1200RS —-— ’05 Vespa 200L

Enjoy! president@bmwmoal.org

Thank you for the tips Phil.. I will sure take a look at available State Parks along the way, and take a peek at the anonymous book too.

Unfortunately I won't be going through Alabama.. :-(

On the State Park subject.. is it safe to assume that one could always pitch a tent in a State Park?

Regards,
Mario

[enriquez]

When riding distance to a rally, I stopped camping and went with hotels, mainly because of time and comfort.

However, KOAs have nice cabins for a reasonable price, and you can get a discount via your MOA membership.

The KOA in Crossville, TN is about the only one I am familiar with along your route... but I am sure there are many more.

If you want to get off the slab for some nicer riding, check out US58 east of Abington, VA off I-81. Grayson Highlands State Park is not far off the highway... it's not long on amenities, but it does have decent campgrounds.

Willville Motorcycle Campground is near Meadows of Dan, VA. Highly recommended.

From there, take the Blue Ridge Parkway north until you need to head east to the rally.

Have a great ride!

Ian

ps -> wouldn't it be cool if there were a web site like MotoCampsites.com to list all the good motocamping around the country?

pps -> which reminds me, check out apps like Campendium and iOverlander. They don't have moto-specific data, but they're good for finding campgrounds on the fly.

Hey Visian, thanks for the links and resource. I forgot about iOverlander, never used it before, but I remember being metioned in other places.

Regards,
Mario