I-20W ATL to Dallas

[bevandtomH]

We are considering two routes west from Atlanta late Dec. First route would swing down to FL. Then eventually west on I-10. That route presents less problems for overnight stays.

Second route is I-20, and the one I think we will do, but not familiar with this stretch of road.
We have been using Allstays and Harvest Hosts, but not sure of the quality of the independent campgrounds shown.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks
Tom

[Gary.Jones]

Tom

I have driven I-20 from Atlanta to Shreveport many times, and I've driven Shreveport to Arizona (Quartzsite) 8 times and so I know the route well. Now, I have a suspicion that you and I might approach such travel differently. When traveling from Atlanta or further east or NorthEast to Shreveport mostly on 20, I am trying to get here comfortably in two days. Therefore, I tend not to stay in RV parks and instead boondock in certain known overnight stop overs. From Shreveport to Quartzsite AZ, I am usually trying to make that trip in 3 to 3.5 days. Again, I drive 350-400 mile days and stay overnight at boondocking establishments or rest stops rather than RV parks.

If you are a person that stays at RV parks every night, then I may not be able to help you. Coming from Atlanta to Shreveport, I have stayed in RV parks near Tuscaloosa, AL, near Meridian, MS, and near Vicksburg, MS. Nice options at all those places. There are several parks here in Shreveport right beside I-20 and ~ 10 miles short of Texas State Line. Again, there are lots of RV parks from Texas state line over through Abilene, TX. Not a problem to find them. There are some really excellent huge rest stops in mid-west Texas. Now, after you get to the western areas of Texas, things get pretty slim as there just are not many cities of any size in the western third to half of Texas.... Some nice RV parks in the big cities of New Mexico and Arizona too (Tucson, Casa Grande) and hordes of RV parks in Phoenix but too much traffic unless we cant avoid Phoenix. A very adequate and safe RV park (and underutilized) in Tonopah, AZ we always stay over to rest before Quartzsite.

Now, if you are boondocker, PM me and I will give you an idea of where we tend to lay over at night on those trips.

From Atlanta to the west coast, I would not take I-10.... too much screwing around down near the Gulf.... and winging south and north.... I-20 is the route you want to be taking, IMO

Gary

[photraveller]

We've stayed at Benchmark RV Park in Meridian, MS a number of times.

It's just north of I-20 off of Hwy-45. Nice long pull throughs, not necessarily flat, but a flat pad for the coach.

For us it's perfect for an overnight. Easy access, but quiet and clean.

Steve

[grindstone01]

Have you considered joining Passport America? It cost $44/year for membership, but you will find campgrounds for 1/2 price some with conditions so check the fine print. In our typical travels, we will use PPA for 1 or 2 nights per trip which pays for itself each trip.
https://www.passport-america.com/Cam...mpgrounds.aspx

[TXBart]

When we drove from Lawrenceville to the DFW area we spent our first night at Benchmark Coach and RV Park in Meridian, MS (327 miles). The next night we stretched to Mill Creek Ranch Resort in Canton, TX. 443 miles, longer day than we wanted but it was all decent interstate so it wasn’t bad. That way our last day was about 100 miles from home and we were able to pick our time to avoid as much of a Dallas traffic as we could. Neither park is a destination but decent for an overnight. We have stayed a Mill Creek a couple times after that.

[royals1212]

We make the drive from Dallas to Auburn AL frequently. We always break the trip up into 2 days. There are very few parks to over night in. We over night at Ameristar Casino RV Park in Vicksburg MS. There are several good resturants in our he historic downtown on the MS river. Mississippi and Louisiana have repaved most of I20. There are still a few rough spots on the route but not bad enough to drop down to I10. If you are staying in the DFW area, I recommend the Vineyards campground in the city of Grapevine. If you have specific questions about the DFW area send me a PM.

Safe travels. Herb

[bevandtomH]

Thanks for the tips.
We discussed our agenda a bit more and will by pass our trip to Austin and save that for a later trip.
So, I-20 looks like the route.
Yes, to a mix of boon docking and a park or two. 3-4 days en route sounds about right. We may spend a night in Tucson to see friends before we get to Phoenix.

Yes, we are Passport members, along with a bunch of others.
Phoenix to Dallas via I-10/20 I’ve driven. You are right about lack of options out West Texas. The oil workers have most of those parks pretty full.
Thanks
Tom

[Gary.Jones]

In much of populated west Texas, it isnt that the oilfield workers are filling the RV parks.... the RV parks were put in there by the oil service companies just to have a place for the itinerant oilfield workers to hook up. We are invading their spaces more than they are invading our spaces.... There is one really modern and big rest stop out past the oil fields.... there are three or four parallel parked RV spots next to the building where you can spend the night. There are maybe 70-100 truck spots that are pull through (but we like to get the bed slide out if possible and dont like the narrow quarters of truck lanes).

I20 is vastly improved over a couple years ago. Yes, couple of rough spots, but 90% of it is now smooth backtop. I-20 is definitely the way to go if you dont want to get to New Orleans or Houston / Austin..... all fun places but if you are trying to "get there", I20 is the way to go.

Gary

[bfridge]

Bonita Lakes in Meridian MS 287 miles from Atlanta
KOA Shreveport 317 from Meridian

Both are nice overnight parks

[Gary.Jones]

Bonita Lake is nothing special... flat field with FHU, but certainly an adequate place to stop over night for low park cost. People are nice. Stayed there several nights when we want full hookups.

Gary

[edgray]

be sure you take the by-passes around both Birmingham and Shreveport/Bossier City on your I-20 route. Going straight thru those towns on I-20 is a BIG mistake.

[Isaac-1]

I just got home to western Louisiana from a 3,200 mile loop across Texas, NM, southern UT and AZ, with stops in Amarillo, Santa Fe, Aztec, Mexican Hat, Page, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, then back across SW NM, Las Cruces, and across Texas, part way on I-10 then cross country through the hill country, and back to west central Louisiana. I had no issues getting a place to stay in Texas without advanced reservations going out along I-20 west of Dallas, or in Amarillo on I-40, or even multiple places near the oil patch on the way back (El Paso, Fort Stockton, and Llano (in the hill country)) Sure there were oil field workers in the last 2 rv parks, but there were still spaces for people passing through, and prices were not bad at the overnight stops I used ranging from $18 (passport america rate), up to $36 for the Good Sam rate in Fort Stockton, etc.


Ike

[Craneboy302]

I’m doing this About Feb but wasn’t sure to go up to 40 because we will end up in Yuma.
Thought there as a lot of mts that far north in NM?? You come out on the east side of Phoenix.

[Isaac-1]

There is nothing that I would call significant mountains along I40 in northern NM or AZ, though ice / snow may be an issue in places in Feb as much of the route is at 6,500 - 7,000 feet (lots of high desert around the route).