RV and bus owners share the best isolated destinations they've discovered while traveling across the US
Monica Humphries
- Domestic travel is on the rise this summer, which means packed campsites and RV parks.
- But that doesn't have to be the case. Across the US, expanses of land can be explored without ever coming in contact with another human being.
- Insider spoke to couples living in converted school buses and RVs to learn the most isolated spots they've visited along their journey.
- Their lists included sandy beaches in Maryland, red mountains in Utah, and stargazing in South Dakota.
When Will and Kristin Wason reach an isolated spot in their livable school bus, they become kids in a candy shop.
The drone comes out, the grill gets lit, and their daughter and dog roam free.
But isolated takes on a new meaning as lockdown restrictions lift and people consider traveling again. The US has seen an uptick in domestic travel, and people have reported that they're more likely to take a road trip than get on a plane this summer in an effort to avoid large crowds.
Like Will and Kristin, there's a population of people already equipped for those adventures — people living on the road.
Will, Kristin, their daughter Roam, and their dog Rush form the family behind Number Juan Bus.
The couple went on a road trip across California's coast in 2014 and were set on living life on the road. In April of 2019, the family finished renovating a school bus and set out to explore the country.
Kristin and Will have traveled across the US and Canada and explored some of the continent's best destinations. Along the way, they've discovered some isolated gems.
Adam and Destiny Clayton also have a similar love for empty, expansive destinations. The couple has lived in their 180-square-foot RV for almost a year and a half. They moved into the RV with their dog Brew at the beginning of 2019 after living in a renovated school bus for a few months.
Countless destinations later, they, too, have a few favorite places for people living on the road.
"You don't realize there's so much diversity in your own backyard in the United States," Destiny told Insider.
Both couples shared with Insider some of the most remote locations they've explored.
If you're visiting sunny Florida, both couples suggested making a stop at the Ocala National Forest to enjoy the state's springs.
Kristin and Will are both from Florida, so one of their first trips was traveling up the coast to Nova Scotia, Canada.
The couple told Insider that they like to choose one big destination to travel to and stumble upon places along the way. One of their first stops on their journey to Nova Scotia was the Ocala National Forest.
The forest, located just north of Orlando, is expansive and filled with hundreds of springs, rivers, and lakes visitors can swim in.
Popular springs, like Juniper Springs or Ginnie Springs, might attract hundreds of visitors every day, but there are also some lesser-known spots that people don't even know exist, Kristin said.
Adam and Destiny Clayton also visited Ocala National Forest and ranked it high on their list of isolated destinations.
They left to escape the cold weather last winter and had the chance to see manatees in Florida.
"The springs down there are just a different experience," Destiny said.
While Sedona, Arizona, is a popular location, it's expansive enough to spread out.
"It's a well-known place, but it's another one of our favorites," Will said.
You may have heard of Sedona, Arizona, but its sweeping land provides campers with the perfect opportunity to explore alone.
The Bureau of Land Management, which manages public land across the US, is responsible for 12.2 million acres in Arizona alone.
Many of these parks have campsites, where visitors can pay a fee to stay. But if you're in an off-grid RV or don't need amenities, like public toilets, water, or electricity, visitors can do what's known as "dispersed camping," or camping away from recreational facilities for free.
Will, Kristin, Roam, and their dog spent a large chunk of lockdown living in their RV in Sedona, Arizona.
"It's just these beautiful red rocks," Kristin said. "It's one of the most beautiful places that we've ever seen in America."
Since there's so much land available, campers often won't spot many other people during their trip.
Moab, Utah, is full of hidden places to park and camp.
Destiny and Adam work as freelance photographers, so last year they headed to the bustling Arches National Park for a wedding shoot.
Along the way, they stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park.
The 5,300-acre park sits in Moab, Utah, and overlooks the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park.
Destiny said that often state parks and lesser-known parks are home to unexpected views.
"You assumed the national parks are the best of the best, but we just casually went to this state park and it ended up being our favorite spot we visited," Destiny said.
The state park has two campgrounds and two glamping sites that people can reserve. Outside of the grounds, and in nearby parks and BLM land, are other isolated destinations.
Moab also topped Kristin and Will's list of isolated destinations.
"There's a lot of cool little desert spots," Will said. "You can just go off a beaten path and drive for days."
Speculator, a small village in upstate New York, was also highly recommended.
Heading up the East Coast, Will and Kristin visited friends in Speculator, New York.
The tiny town is home to just a couple hundred people, and the couple described it as a quiet, secluded place to visit.
"It was a really cool little town where we spent two weeks in the summertime," Kristin said. "It'd be a cool place to go right now when you're not trying to be around a bunch of people."
The town has a lake and scenic mountains to explore.
Will and Kristin stayed at a friend's cabin, but the couple pointed out that there are plenty of Airbnbs in the area to rent and nearby campsites.
"It was an unexpected place that we went to and we just fell in love with it," Will said.
Wander with the wild horses on Assateague Island in Maryland.
The island is home to a diverse range of ecosystems, from sandy beaches to salt marshes and maritime forests.
The Assateague Island National Seashore is also home to wild animals. When Will and Kristin visited the island, they had to share their campsite. Not with people, but with wild horses.
"We parked on the beach and they're all just running around," Will said.
The couple said the state park was a great place to stay for peace and quiet. If you're looking for places to explore, nearby towns are home to delicious restaurants and family-owned stores.
Badlands National Park in South Dakota topped Adam and Destiny's list of isolated destinations.
Beyond the benefit of not seeing or interacting with others, isolated destinations are often prime stargazing spots.
This was the case when Destiny and Adam visited Badlands National Park and its surrounding BLM land.
"The stars were just phenomenal," Destiny said.
The 244,000-acre national park is home to a lodge, two campgrounds, and back-country camping. Visitors can camp anywhere in the park as long as it's half a mile from a road or trail.
"That was by far the most isolated we've been," Adam said. "It was unreal."
For animals and wildlife, head to the Black Hills in South Dakota.
Kristin and Will described South and North Dakota as teeming with wildlife.
Among their favorite areas in South Dakota are the Black Hills, which includes destinations like Badlands, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore.
However, it's much more than just the aforementioned spots. The Black Hills encompass five million acres of forest and mountain lands, which means plenty of remote spots to explore.
"You could do a whole road trip just around the Black Hills," Kristin said.
The couple explored the region for an entire month and never ran out of empty campsites and destinations to see.
Custer State Park was one of their favorite spots in the Black Hills, and Kristin easily listed five other isolated places in the state, like Wind Cave National Park and Spearfish Canyon.
If going on a road trip, the park's site lists some of its most scenic drives and range of accommodations.
Will and Kristin always suggest visiting Bear Lake Reserve in North Carolina
It sits about an hour outside of Asheville, North Carolina, and Bear Lake Reserve is surrounded by cabins, hiking trails, and waterfalls.
The reserve has 20 miles of hiking trails where visitors can explore rock domes, creeks, valleys, and waterfalls.
Outside of the reserve are cute little towns to explore, the couple said.
"It's definitely a hidden gem," Will said. "We've sent so many people there and they fall in love instantly."
Visit the tiny town of Medora when you're in North Dakota.
"We're not the best planners," Kristin told Insider. A day or two before heading to their next spot, Kristin and Will will scout out a new location to park their RV.
By not planning far in advance, it allows to couple to stumble upon locations they might have never visited, like Medora, North Dakota.
The town isn't deserted, but it's a lot quieter than nearby cities, the couple explained. In 2018, only 138 people lived in the town, according to the US Census Bureau.
The couple described it as a family-friendly town. Ziplines, restaurants, and ice-cream shops sprinkle the city. Just outside the city is Little Missouri National Grassland and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
"It's just beautiful, beautiful places everywhere you look," Will said.
The couple also explored the natural areas surrounding the town and stumbled upon one of their most isolated places yet: a mountain overlooking Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
"Nobody could even be by our side because it just drops off on each side," Will explained.
Will and Kristin hardly saw another living thing when staying at Toadstool Geological Park in Nebraska.
When visiting Toadstool Geological Park, expect nature, and lots of it.
"There's not much there besides nature," Kristin said.
The park is located in the Oglala National Grassland in northwest Nebraska. The terrain is otherworldly and named after toadstools, a type of mushroom.
Kristin and Will camped in Toadstool for a week and hardly saw any other people, they said.
The couple said that it's really a camping and RV destination since there aren't any hotels, cabins, or buildings nearby. But the camping is affordable and costs just $15 a day.
The sandy beaches of St. George Island in Florida were surprisingly remote.
Kristin and Will visited the island in February and said it was completely deserted.
"There was barely anybody in this little beach town," Kristin said.
They both were shocked that they had never heard about this Panhandle city, even though the couple is from Florida.
The couple said the sandy beaches and beautiful water helped make it a favorite destination.
"It's just a different part of Florida we've never seen," Will said.
The state park is nearly 2,000 acres, and campers can choose between staying at a campsite or camping primitively by walking to a more remote destination on the island.
Nova Scotia topped WIll and Kristin's list of destinations to visit.
While Canda's borders are still closed to US citizens, Will and Kristin urged people to visit the Canadian province once travel between countries is reopened.
Without hesitation, the couple named Nova Scotia as their favorite spot.
"If we could pick anywhere that's our favorite spot, it would still be Nova Scotia," Will said.
The couple explored the Cabot Trail, which is a five-hour loop that vehicles can explore. The province sits on the coast, and from the trail, visitors experience mountains, valleys, and coastal landscapes.
Will and Kristin were in no rush to complete the trail. They took two weeks to finish because they kept exploring the beauty of the land. The nearby Cape Breton Highlands National Park offers camping, and the province is home to an abundance of hiking trails.
"It's just unreal," Will said. "There are no buildings, nothing. It's just total nature."
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