[Malachai Constant]

You can check the Overlander app while known for boondocking sites it also has campgrounds. It is crowdsourced and user's post reviews which can be current. Last spring it told which places were open when Covid hit.

[BeardoMcGrath]

I drove cross country last summer across the northern tier (WA <-> VT) so I have some possible suggestions. If you do get a smartphone I'd recommend the iOverlander app, which has pretty good dispersed/boondocking sites on it. You can also just check out the webpage beforehand. (Edit: also see above!) Some other highlights of the western section of the trip included driving US-12 between Lewiston and Missoula, and camping near Georgetown Lake in Western MT.

[bchiker]

In Northern Illinois Starved Rock is fairly scenic. In SW Michigan the Warren Dunes are a fun place to go and would not deviate to far from path to NY

[Slugman]

Open before summer, but limited views! Typically the Beartooth highway opens the Friday before Memorial Day.

[DadFly]

https://lavahotsprings.com/

[kiliki]

[Anne Elk]

What a domestic travel brain-trust our membership is - with this latest batch of posts, I think you folks have pretty much covered every state I might drive thru except maybe Ohio, which is positioned for interstate zooming both coming and going. I'll be spending quite a few nights ahead with your ideas, my atlas, and the web. I really appreciate the granular beta for specific camp stops, and places I've never heard of that sound worthy of detours. City of Rocks?? That looks fascinating, with lots of wildlife sighting opportunity, too. I'd never heard of Beartooth Pass, either - that looks to be on par with the Going to the Sun Hwy, if not even more vertiginous. I'll probably go that way on the way home, Slugman, which I surmised even before you posted that "opening day" photo. The route lines up nicely with exploring the Bighorns, as Joey suggested. BeardoMcGrath & Ancient Ambler: you've convinced me to not just power thru the high plains. One area I stumbled on that sounds similarly beautiful and desolate is NE's Sand Hills. Who knew there were so many sand landscapes outside of the SW deserts and lake/ocean shorelines. Thanks also for the bonus tool tips: the Overlander app, and Kiliki's James Beard Restaurant list. Won't be dining in at all but hopefully eateries farther east are doing take-out as much as WA restaurants are. (Thanks again for the warning, Nancy Ann!) I'll probably take a more southerly route on the eastward trip, and northerly heading home. That said, one big blank spot in the imagination is the SE quadrant of Wyoming: Riverton-Casper to the NE border, and Lander/Rawlins/Cheyenne. Understandable, with so much interesting stuff in the northern part of the state. Thanks again everyone!

[Malachai Constant]

Main thing we avoid is the freeways around Chicago. Folks in Kansas look at us when we went into diners, but it was hardly a scene from Easy Rider. Best rout was through Canada on the North Shore of Superior upper Peninsula of Michigan is pretty also. Read Least Heat Moons Blue Highways.

[Anne Elk]

Malachi, I was planning to avoid Chicago even before BeardoMcGrath mentioned the tolls. In the distant past I've driven cross-country between Toronto and Banff. I remember the north shore of Lake Superior very well: gorgeous, not crowded. I'd love to drive part of the trip through Canada but I suspect the only people the Canucks allow in for "transit" purposes are those headed to AK from the lower 48, and probably only via BC. Even in that case, being fully vaccinated makes no difference - you have to show proof of a covid test done within 72 hrs before your entry into Canada. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/driving-canada-checklist

[grannyhiker]

I did a cross-country loop back in 2005, with the primary goal of attending son #2's graduation from the George Washington University law school. On the way there, I took I-70 from Denver east and really enjoyed the rolling hills of Kansas and Missouri (far pleasanter than the flat Platte River valley along I-80). On the way back, I spent a week at son #1's place in SW Ohio (high school graduation of grandson #1). From there, I was sightseeing! I first went north to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which I do not recommend in June because it's black fly season, which kinda spoils the scenery, especially with my dog going berserk from massive fly attacks (if you go, take a headnet, long sleeves and legs; repellent doesn't work). From there I drove to Duluth and then across Minnesota, again on secondary roads, to Fargo, ND. Then west to Bismark, where I detoured to see the Lewis and Clark wintering site. Then south along the Missouri to Pierre, SD and west on the Interstate to the Badlands and the Black Hills. Then across northern Wyoming (I highly recommend the Big Horns as described above) and to the northern reaches of Yellowstone. I didn't do Beartooth because bad weather was coming in (the Yellowstone campground I almost stopped in got 6" of snow that night). Then north into Montana, visiting Judith Basin, the Missouri Breaks, Great Falls, and Gates of the Mountains, with a side trip to Glacier, then back to the Portland area on the Lewis and Clark route (US 12 and I-84). I recommend any part of the trip I did, except for the UP black flies. Too bad you're not going later, because otherwise the south shore of Lake Superior is well worth following (Pictured Rocks and the Porcupine Mts. being the scenic highlights). I camped mostly in USFS or NPS campgrounds, generally the secondary kind which were more primitive,but stayed in dog-friendly motels every 3rd night or when the weather went really bad. Warning that several of the campgrounds I stayed in had no potable water, so have a couple of gallons with you. If you're interested in Lewis and Clark, I found the interpretive center at Great Falls, MT to be the most outstanding. The winter camp site in ND was exactly the same as Fort Clatsop here in OR, except for a monumental wooden statue, purportedly of Lewis' Newfoundland dog Seaman, which more closely resembled Clifford the Big Red Dog. Thanks to Malachi Constant for recommending my very favorite travel book, William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways! If you get stuck in Ohio, do head for SE Ohio where you'll find the very beautiful Hocking Hills State Park with hiking trails and lots of waterfalls. There is scenery in Ohio, but you have to look for it! You mentioned the area east of Riverton, WY; you are on (or close to) the Oregon Trail route there. Lots of sites including the famous Independence Rock. Scottsbluff, NE, still on the Oregon Trail, is quite scenic (southern end of the Black Hills).

[olderthanIusedtobe]

It's second hand, but my brother really enjoyed a visit to Black Elk Peak (used to be called Harney), the high point in South Dakota. It's very close to Mt. Rushmore. Not sure if it would fall along a reasonable route, but Hocking Hills State Park in SE Ohio is very cool, I have been there. Quite surprising. Like a slice of Utah got transported east.

[grannyhiker]

You might want to research National Scenic Byways. I forgot about these until I saw this article a few minutes ago.

[Anne Elk]

Thanks, Grannyhiker and olderthaniusedtobe, for these latest suggestions. Hocking Hills State Park looks really interesting, great pics on the Wikipedia page that are very reminiscent of photos that GaliWalker posts from Pennsylvania, et al. I've seen similar spots in NY. They must all have been formed by similar processes, considering that they're all more or less on the Allegheny Plateau. Checking scenic byway designations is a good idea, too.

[GaliWalker]

Hocking Hills is great! It's a tiny bit like Utah, but the arches/caves/natural bridges are nestled in tree-choked gorges. If you search my Trip Reports, you'll see quite a few that I've put up.

Rock House

Ash Cave

Old Man's Cave

Whispering Cave

Rockbridge

Ceder Falls

Cantwell Cliffs

[ale_capone]

Straight west across Us to 2 through the upper peninsula of Michigan' and the pictured rocks scenic shore on lake superior. Taquamenomfalls. ... Into Canada at the soo locks, then along the shore of lakehuron, down to niagra falls. Best bang for your buck, and you would avoid Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. I think you would like the UP. 2 lane vrs interstate. It has a very Scandinavian vibe, cool towns, and the us ski hall of fame. Be sure to grab some pasties for the road. If you had the time, you could go up to isle royal for the day. Going north side of superior is cool at first, but its nothing but woods and lakes with little inbetween.