Skip the east coast and just do the national parks out west. You’ll have zero safety concerns. You can camp or get a cabin/hotel. Yellowstone is fucking incredible and however long you stay there will not be long enough. American cities are forgettable except Vegas, NYC, and Santa Fe

>>2647056
I was looking up and there are some good national parks in WV and NC right? Is it fine if I skip them over?
>You’ll have zero safety concerns.
I'm not a US national so I just want to make sure I don't do anything dangerously stupid.
>You can camp
I've never camped before. In fact I'm fat as fuck, never been much of a nature person my entire life but after coming to the USA my eyes have been opened to the error of my ways. Is it fine to camp solo if I've never camped before and don't even know the basics of it?
>American cities are forgettable except Vegas, NYC, and Santa Fe
NYC is done, Vegas is definitely on the list. I suppose I can cover yellowstone, lake tahoe and vegas in one stretch? Also would you recommend renting a car?

I was going through some old posts about camping and hiking through YNP solo and I figure this might be a little overwhelming for a first timer who's never travelled alone.

>>2647054
New York and DC are worth the visit. Chicago has a uniquely Amer flavor which can't be found in most other big cities and is frankly refreshing. Drive across the country if you can. Check out National Historic Parks, National Forests, and State Parks in the eastern part of the country. National Parks and National Monuments are the vest spots in the western part, however there are plent of cool spots on National Forest and public BLM land. Camping on BLM land is also nearly unrestricted outside of fires. Overall, America has everything. The best way to get ideas of where to go is to brainstorm what interests you. Lastly, a fun thing to do is first fridays. Cities will often have a night once a month (typically the first Friday of the month) where all of the art galleries open their doors to the public and give out free wine. It's fun. College towns are the best places to do it.

>>2647058
>I'm not a US national so I just want to make sure I don't do anything dangerously stupid.
if someone (especially black) starts trying to get your attention/following you asking for something, just keep walking
if you speak another language, just speak that language and pretend you don't know english
>Is it fine to camp solo if I've never camped before and don't even know the basics of it?
nta and I've also never camped but it may be worth looking into, hostels are scarce in the US so accommodation is usually easiest with airbnbs or hotels
there's couchsurfing.com if you're not opposed to the idea of couch surfing, otherwise learning to camp wouldn't be bad idea imo

File: 770de2c3-0b37-4262-be6c-3(...).png (1.63 MB, 1440x960)

1.63 MB PNG

All the good nature shit is on the west side of the country. Joshua tree, death valley, grand canyon, etc. These places will be hot as hell in the summer, but are good for fat people since the hikes are usually no more than a couple hours long (you can make them longer but you'll be hot like I said).

You will absolutely need a car at some point, but I don't recommend driving from Boston to California. They are called fly-over states for a reason.

You are correct in your thinking that you should avoid big cities. New York and LA are worth a visit at least once in your life though. LA especially has good hikes like the hollywood sign, griffith park, etc. I hated Boston. Never been to Chicago but I've heard nice things. I'm sure it's just another big American city though.

Can't give you advice on camping other than it's usually a massive pain logistically. You not only needs lots of gear but you need to get the permits, find where to go, etc.

Just look for cool airbnbs if you want the offgrid experience. Picrel is your average airbnb in twentynine palms, near joshua tree national park. $100 a night, dead silent, clear skies perfect for stargazing. No need to worry about camping.

>>2647058
>>2647054
if you haven't camped before now probably isn't the time to learn, especially in some of the national parks out west you could be camping in/near grizzly country

there are some good national parks in the east but for first time trip probably just hit the ones out west to simplify travel time and planning

you'll pretty much have to rent a car, maybe you could take a train to get out west if you're starting in boston but train travel here isn't anything like trains in eu/asia. but once you're in the west you'll have to drive to get between/around national parks

>>2647122
Mt Rushmore was a let down. didn't even get out of the car. however this was after spending a week camping in the Idaho mountains so my standards were a bit high at that time.
>but I don't recommend driving from Boston to California
seconding this, driven from Maryland to Idaho and back twice and the middle is very forgettable

>>2647054

If I were you I would drive through the Catskills in New York and drive through the Appalachians through Shenandoah and West Virginia, Kentucky until you get to St. Louis and follow what used to be the infamous Route 66 until you get to the Grand Canyon. And after that choose which national parks you wanna see because there's so many to choose from.

>>2647058
You could do Vegas Tahoe and yellowstone on one long road trip. It’s like 24 hours of driving through some of the most desolate parts of the country. If you have some budget travel phone you might not get any service. Even the better providers aren’t guaranteed to work out there. If the car breaks down you may literally need to flag someone down or walk. Not saying it’s not worth doing but just be prepared to be somewhat self sufficient and maybe learn some basic car repairs like fixing a flat

Tahoe in the summer is a complete shitshow though so make sure you don’t hit it during a weekend

>>2647940
>Tahoe in the summer is a complete shitshow
Any alternative destinations that are just as enjoyable but not as crowded?