My partner and I are far from the first to make this journey from the Gorge to the Rockies, and I’m certain we won’t be the last, either. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide for you: so you can hop on this classic nomad circuit with confidence.

We’ll tell you what we did to get all the way to Colorado, and then fill you in on some other ways to make the trip. Let’s get to it.

Our Itinerary

Day 1: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri

We planned this first stretch of the journey to be the longest; it took us about eight hours. If you have black and grey water tanks that you need to dump, you can do so about an hour in at the Flying J Travel Center off of exit 43.

We soundtracked our final hours in Kentucky with the local artists I highlight in our early February jam jar.

We exited Kentucky through Louisville, traversed long stretches of cornfields and swathes of dense, verdant forest, and waved at the faint, fogged outline of the Gateway Arch as we crossed the Mississippi.

Night 1: Columbia, MO

Columbia is a bustling, fairly safe college city smack in the middle of Missouri. We slept at Cottonwoods RV Park in the northern part of the city, which only adds thirteen minutes to the adventure.

Cottonwoods is super familiar with nomads passing through on their way to Colorado, and they’ll be stoked to see you there. You’re journeying down a well-traveled and well-loved path.

If you have any energy left after your long drive, check out the basketball court or terrorize the jungle gym and swings.

Day 2: Eastern Missouri and Western Kansas

This is where the plains begin, interrupted only by the sprawl of Kansas City, which we passed through around noon. I highly recommend calling in a brunch order at Whole Harvest Kitchen, the only fully vegan place around, if you feel like treating yourself at your journey’s halfway point. We feasted.

From this point on, it’s decadent rolling green hills, gentle bovine herds, and gusty wind for several hours.

As you approach your next campsite, the hills begin to flatten out, and some shadowy buildings appear from time to time on either side of the road. This part of Kansas can brew dangerous weather, so keep an eye on the radar. We took a sharp turn into Hays to ride out a severe thunder and hail storm warning (large hail can damage your windshield, especially if you’re driving fast). When we arrived at last at our destination for the night, our site neighbors told us that the wind on the interstate had ripped their awning clean off!

Night 2: Ellis, KS

There are several great spots to park for the night a little more than halfway through Kansas. You’ll see a few rest stops and a bounty of roadside signs advertising RV camping, so if you’re more of a free spirit, you can spontaneously pull over at any of these. I’ll talk more about that later.

Hays is one of the more popular spots. The camping there is a bit more expensive, though, so we set our sights on the small town of Ellis twenty minutes down the road.

Ellis has its own town-run RV park by a little river, which is where we ended up crashing for the night. This park is first-come-first-serve, but is rarely full and has a decent amount of spots. You’ll find full hook-ups and nice large sites here for twenty five dollars a night, or car and tent spots for just fifteen dollars (just be prepared to pay cash!). It’s right off the interstate and only adds a few minutes of travel time.

This spot ended up being my favorite site of the journey. My only complaint is that the bathrooms are a bit eerie, but certainly nothing that you, brave traveler, can’t handle.

If you care to know, there was great birdwatching here, too–especially for us East-Coasters. We spotted our first Mississippi Kite and Red Headed Woodpecker.

Day 3: Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado

I can only imagine that this is the part of Kansas that gives the state its flat-as-a-pancake reputation. The cow-dotted hills level off into infinite agriculture, as far as the eye can see. The only comparison I can offer for the vastness of this landscape is the Atlantic Ocean.

My specific path might differ from yours at this point. If you’re trekking right to Denver, you’ll be on I-70 for this entire day. Since our destination was Colorado Springs, we hopped onto 40 West for much of this stretch. This two-lane road weaves through endless prairie and is spotted with little towns.

If you’re on 40 West and traveling with a buddy, don’t miss the Colorado state line like we did! There’s a van-sized pulloff right near the sign where you can easily switch drivers or stretch your legs if you wish.

At this point, you’ll catch your first, fleeting glimpse of the Rockies at any moment. Scrutinize the horizon as you crest each rolling hill.

Puffy clouds huddled around Pike’s Peak

Night 3: You did it!

Wherever your exact destination might be, it’s now time to rest and enjoy. Check the weather, plan your hiking and climbing days, and crack open your favorite beverage.

Alternative routes

Breaking it up

There are many ways you could break this drive up. I truly can’t recommend doing it all in one day, but it’s possible. The ride from Miguel’s Pizza in Kentucky to Denver, Colorado is somewhere around nineteen hours total, potentially more depending on your whip’s maximum speed. However, with some grit, overnight traveling, and ideally several drivers to switch off with, it can be done.

You can also split the journey into two ten-ish hour days, staying near Kansas City for the night. This is probably your speediest reasonable option.

As you now know, Tomo and I took the journey at a leisurely pace of three days and two nights, overnighting at camping spots in Missouri and Kansas.

Where to stay

Some of our more seasoned nomadic friends are members of Harvest Hosts, a program with an annual fee that allows you to park your rig at various wineries, breweries, farms, and other small businesses. We haven’t used Harvest Hosts ourselves yet, but from just a glance at their map, you’ll see countless places to stay along the interstate in both Missouri and Kansas.

You can always plan your stays out in advance, either like we did or with a program like Harvest Hosts. However, there are so many options along this route that planning is really a non-mandatory step. There are two other ways to do it: staying at trucking rest stops or following signage to RV campgrounds.

As we were driving, we spotted plenty of rest stops with semi-truck and RV-sized spots. It’s more comfortable to stay at rest stops if you have a mostly-inconspicuous rig, like a car or a small van, but RV-ers and Sprinter van nomads also do this all the time. Perhaps most importantly, staying at rest stops is usually free. There are mixed reviews regarding the safety of these particular I-70 rest stops; some people are concerned about weather and crime, but others say they’re generally safe. Use your discretion!

Like I mentioned earlier, there are also lots of official signs along the road (especially I-70) indicating where you can find overnight RV parking and camping in small towns off the interstate. If you’re feeling that spontaneous itch but don’t want to sleep at a rest stop, keep an eye out for blue travel-trailer signs. This strategy is a less sure-fire way to ensure that you’re securing the cheapest, safest, and most available spot, but there is a 100% chance it will eventually get you to a place to sleep.

Conclusions

So begins your westward quest. From Colorado, lots of nomads continue on to the lovely, rocky coast or northward to hangs in Wyoming or Montana for the summer. We hope you have the privilege to follow the road wherever it takes you. Keep exploring, and always drop us a comment if you have any questions we can answer!