West Coast Road Trip Itinerary
We set out this summer on a massive 4-week long RV road trip. Our travels took us through 11 different US states and we had the opportunity to see many awesome sights and attractions during our trip. During our drive, we relied on our Magellan RoadMate RV9365T-LMB GPS we received to review to get us to our destinations and to help us find different things we needed while we drove. This is their latest GPS made specifically for RV’ers to bring you all the things you need for a road trip easy to access.
There are options that let you find campgrounds, dump stations, rest areas, nearby gas and food options, tourism spots and many other points of interest. You can start your search for something like fuel and the limit the results to show only those along your route, near a city, near your current position, or near your destination or address.
This feature was so helpful when we were trying to get from one city to our next stop without going out of the way for gas or food. We could easily look up to see how far the next gas services would be if we didn’t fill up in the upcoming city and know if we had enough fuel to keep going or need to stop.
The RoadMate has a huge screen at 7” wide which makes it easy to see the screen and know what steps we have next on our path. On the screen it’s easy to see the next turn you need to make across the top banner with a big clear arrow showing your turn direction. Right below that, there is another indicator showing you which direction the following turn will be.
I am a pretty timid driver, especially away from home. Being able to see which direction I would need to turn for the following turn let me know which lane to be in and made it so much easier to navigate my way through towns I wasn’t very familiar with.
Another feature I used frequently is the OneTouch feature that lets you set up preset address that you visit frequently. Then, you just tap the OneTouch button, click the stored address and the GPS will calculate your path and you’ll be on your way.
A lot of times, we would have a path already set and would add in a stop somewhere along our route. A simple click to “optimize” your trip would rearrange our new itinerary in the most efficient order or we can use the arrow keys to rearrange our stops as needed. Finally, you can sync your phone using the Bluetooth settings to be able to accept hands free calls while you drive. Best of all, the GPS comes with lifetime map updates.
Overall, the Magellan RoadMate RV9365T-LMB GPS is easy to use, loaded with features, and the large screen makes it much easier to see and follow the directions. It made our road trip a breeze and simplified our route with the on screen features to add destinations as we traveled such as gas, food, dump stations and rest stops. I couldn’t imagine trying to manage directions during our recent eleven state RV road trip without having this GPS on board.
West Coast Road Trip Itinerary
Here is the basic itinerary we followed on our road trip this summer. You can use our itinerary as a starting plan and customize it to meet the stops and starting locations based on your needs. Hopefully, this can inspire some of your own fun travels to come!
- Our Start was: Phoenix, AZ
- Las Vegas, NV – Take a walk down the strip or stop to see a show
- Reno, NV – Stop here for a night en route and see the city. Be sure to make a stop on your way out of Reno and on to Oregon in California to mark another state as a visit.
- Bend, OR – Spend a few days or a week here. Bend is a beautiful city with lots of things to do no matter the season or the weather.
- Portland, OR – Stop here for a night en route and see the city
- Seattle, WA – We stayed a bit north of Seattle. There are so many awesome things to see in do, I love this city! Visit Pike Street Market, Space Needle, Tillicum Village or the Experience Music Project. If you want to head a bit north, you can visit the sound and the islands or cross just over the Canadian border and hop on a ferry to Vancouver Island.
- Athol, ID – Stay for a day, if you love roller coasters, and go to Silverwood Theme park. They have both a water park and a roller coaster park connected for one admission price.
- Whitefish, MT – Head up to Whitefish mountain and enjoy a quiet day outdoors. Ride on the gondola and alpine slides or go for a bigger adventure with a zipline tour.
- Lewis & Clark Caverns – Head towards Bozeman and stop for a few hour tour through the caverns. The caverns are awesome and educational, too. There are campgrounds here or you can get a bit further on your trip and stop in Bozeman for the night.
- Yellowstone, WY – Plan a few days in Yellowstone to explore the geyser basins and check out the wildlife.
- Salt Lake City, UT – Visit Temple Square, one of the many trampoline parks, or try the Ancient Life Museum.
- Arches, UT – Pick a hike or two that range for easy to difficult and see the amazing natural arch formations.
- Four Corners Monument at the corner of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Stop and take your pictures being in four places at once.
- Explore the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, or Sedona on the return trip to Phoenix if you haven’t seen any of these beautiful locations, yet.
I received product samples and/or compensation in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed above are my own. Any claims should be verified on the sponsor’s site.
I want to take a road trip to Chicago. My favorite feature is the free lifetime traffic alerts.
id love to travel to the florida keys and my fav feature on this is the free lifetime traffic alerts thats cool – heather
I would love to head towards Myrtle Beach. We start out in NY. I like one touch feature.
I would love to travel the east coast of the USA, especially the New England states. I like that this offers Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts – give you up-to-date traffic information for the road ahead.
I would love for my family and I to travel to visit the ocean since we have never seen the ocean. I heard the water is really pretty in FL, so that would be my destination. My favorite feature is how big the screen is, but also having the arrow pointing the direction you need to go. I think that feature is awesome, because I get so nervous traveling to new places, and usually go so slow because I’m afraid I’m going to miss a turn!
Ideal destination: Key West, FL I love the Speed Limit Warnings feature.
I’d like to take a road trip to the Grand Canyon. The feature I like most is the the Safety navigation.
traveling the east coast. love the free map updates
My ideal destination would be gulf shores Alabama and my favorite feature is the speed limit warnings it would help me out a lot.
Our ideal roadtrip would be to travel from where we are on the east coast to the west coast and hit up Seattle, LA, Grand Canyon, and come back through and see the Colorado Rockies. I love next turn feature. I really need that in my life 🙂
[email protected]
I like the onetouch feature, and I’d love to take a road trip to Chicago. I’ve been there many of times, but I could never get tired of it. It’s my favorite place
Destination: WDW, florida and favorite feature would be the Customizable Routes and map updates
I would love to go to maine and i like the lifetime map updates feature
I like the Free Lifetime Map Updates and I would love to take a road trip to the
Grand Canyon.
rounder9834 @yahoo.com
My ideal roadtrip destination would be san Fransisco! I like the hands free calling feature
My ideal vacation spot would be Yellowstone and I like the Safety Navigation feature
Nicole Carter on rafflecopter
Ever since becoming a fan of the TV show Grimm we have been dying to see Portland, Oregon, traveling via the California coast would be awesome! Favorite feature: Lifetime Maps
I would love to roadtrip all the way across the country on Interstate 40 starting in Wilmington, NC! I love the FREE map updates. So many other GPS companies want to charge you for updating your GPS maps!
I would love to take my kids to New Mexico. So pretty and I grew up there. It would be fun driving from Ohio to there. I like the traffic alerts.
Great GPS for my family road trips. I like the Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts
Free Lifetime Map Updates
I want to take a road trip to California to visit my family! I love that you get Free Lifetime Map Updates and Traffic Alerts!
I would love to visit Mt Rushmore, and I would love to use the landmark guidance.
My ideal road trip would be a trip to Florida to Disney,,an my favorite feature is finding gas places an prices
My ideal road trip is driving the Pacific Coast Highway and stopping at the scenic turnoffs, Hearst Castle and diner in Big Sur, etc
abfantom at yahoo dot com
I would like to take a road trip to the east coast. My favorite feature is the lifetime map updates.
Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts. an disneyland
We visit my mom in ALABAMA. We also do a lot of site seeing. I like the lifetime map updates
vmkids3 at msn dot com
I’d like to visit Florida, because our family friends just moved there :(. I like the free lifetime traffic alerts, because the last time we used a gps app, there was a traffic issue that we were aware of, but the app took us totally out of the way, like 40 minutes. We didn’t figure it out until we were waaaayy out of the way.
I like the free life time traffic alerts!!! [email protected]
This trip looks awesome!
and I would go to the beach!
on my last trip to Florida i rented this gps unit with my rental car sure makes a trip much easier
I’d like to take a road trip down the CA coast. I like that it has free Lifetime Map Updates.
I would love to travel to Missouri to see one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesites. I like the fact that this GPS has lifetime traffic updates!
I would love to visit Vegas, and I love that it has landmark guidance! very useful
I would love to go to huntington beach and I love the Safety Navigation features include – Landmark Guidance, Lane Assist, Speed Limit Warnings, and more.
I would pick niagra falls.
I like the free lifetime map updates feature and road trip from California to Vancouver would be nice to plan!’
mrsshukra
I love the huge screen! My ideal road trip would be to take route 66 with my family stopping at all the cheesy road side attractions and having apple pie in all the great little american towns.
San Diego. Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts.
My ideal road trip destination would be my stepsister’s home in Virginia. I haven’t seen her in over five years and I haven’t yet met my niece who just turned two this summer. My favorite feature is that the gps is Back-up Camera and Rear View Camera Compatible.
My ideal road trip would be to visit the Northwest stopping at Mt. Rushmore. I really like the Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts.
I have always wanted to drive to the west coast. We live in New Jersey.
The Catskill mountains and I like that it updates regularly – I have an old one that requires so much $$$$$$$$$$$ to upgrade…
My ideal trip would be to explore areas in Colorado, Utah and Arizona that I haven’t visited before. Love the free lifetime map updates and also the speed limit warnings.
My ideal road trip would be from California to New England! I would also love to drive from Florida up to Maryland because I would love to visit all of the historical sights.
My ideal road trip would be to go to the mountains without the youngest two crying after twenty minutes of riding! Love the Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts. Sonya Morris
Lol! A portable DVD player can be a lifesaver as can some good snacks.
Ideal road trip would be up to North and South Dakota – the built in safety features are my favorite feature of the GPS.
My ideal road trip would be to california. Never been there and have wanted to visit for years now. My favorite feature is the larger screen.
Thanks so much.
My ideal road trip would be to travel back to my hometown of Boston. I have been back there is 8 years. My favorite feature is the Customizable Routes.
I would LOVE to visit Boston, too! I haven’t been there yet but it’s on my “to-see” list for someday.
It’s definitely a great place to visit and I do need to take a road trip back. It’s just been too long. I live in MD now. But it’s not the same. I want to take my son through the streets where I use to live. Show him where I went to school. You know the old neighborhood where I grew up. LOL. Take my memories and make more. : )
I love that it has a OneTouch feature for addresses you visit frequently!
I’d love to go to Maine or Massachusetts. I love the free lifetime maps updates!
My favorite is the
Customizable RV Route Settings – Navigate your route based on your vehicle’s dimension, type and additional preference which include unpaved road, No U-Turn and more. My destination would be Bradenton Florida to see my sisters
My ideal trip would be up to Minneapolis, and this GPS would help SO much because of the 5″ screen. I have a hard time seeing the smaller screens!
I’d like to go to Yellowstone, WY and I like the lifetime free map updates feature.
Denise S.
Yellowstone is a blast, we loved our visit there!
my favourite road trip is to Maine to visit with my family, what I love about it..everything and I also love that I will never have to ask for directions again if I get lost or be patient with my husband as he drives on and on and one..knowing quite well that he has no clue where he is going! lol
I like that it lets you customize your route to your RV’s dimensions and profile. One of our favorite road trips is to the natural hot pool at Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
i would love to take a road trip to the grand canyon!! and I love the lifetime free map updates!
I have done so many road trips – they’re just the best! My ideal road trip right now is to go to Niagara Falls then over to Maine and back to New York. A lot of places I want to hit along the way.
That area is totally where I want to go the next time we do a long road trip. I want to start over by new york and do Niagara falls and then head west following the pioneers trail!
we bring out GPS every vacation. Will bring it soon to Florida. I like the speed limit feature
mine would be to north carolina and a peacefull one with no o no we went the wrong way and spend an hour to get back on track Landmark Guidance is a feature i like
I like that it has free lifetime map updates it gets costly to update each year..
my ideal trip would be to napa valley
An ideal roadtrip destination, for me, would be to my moms house! I haven’t seen her for over ten years and it would be amazing to be able to go back and finally get to visit 🙂
I hope you get to soon!
I like that the Magellan has Free Lifetime Traffic Alerts and Free Lifetime Map Updates. I would love to travel across the West to see all the sites!
I would love to do a cross-country tour of the US with the kids someday. My favorite feature would be the one that shows upcoming restaurants, rest stops, gas stations, etc.
I like that it has campgrounds preloaded and my ideal road trip destination would be Disney World.