Every RVer is on a quest for meaningful travel, and planning an RV genealogy road trip is the ultimate way to unlock your family tree from the driver’s seat. Specifically, we all look for beautiful landscapes, open roads, and unique experiences. Furthermore, combining RV camping with family history adds an entirely new layer of purpose to your travels.
Above all, taking an RV genealogy road trip turns a standard vacation into a deeply enriching heritage journey. Consequently, it allows you to walk the very ground your ancestors settled.
What is an RV Genealogy Road Trip?
At its core, an RV genealogy road trip is the practice of combining mobile lifestyle travel with active historical research. Instead of just researching ancestors from a computer at home, RVers use the flexibility of their rigs. Therefore, you can travel directly to the specific towns, cemeteries, homesteads, and historical archives associated with your lineage.
For instance, this unique travel style allows you to:
- First, map custom travel routes based on ancestral migration paths.
- Second, visit local small-town museums and brick-and-mortar historical societies.
- Finally, connect living generations with their physical roots while camping.
Living the Hitched4fun Memory Triangle
If you have visited our site before, you know we live and breathe The Hitched4fun Memory Triangle. Specifically, this philosophy is all about combining family, the great outdoors, and shared experiences to create lasting bonds.
In fact, we regularly put this exact philosophy into action on the road. Recently, we packed up the rig and headed to the beautiful shores of Bear Lake, Utah, for a massive family reunion.
Notably, this trip was a living example of how powerful an RV genealogy road trip can truly be. For that reunion, we had four generations of our family gathering under the western sky. Moreover, our two oldest family members met our two youngest family members for the very first time, weaving past history into brand-new campfire memories.
How to Plan an RV Genealogy Road Trip Step-by-Step
Getting started with your own RV genealogy road trip is simpler than you might think. Furthermore, it seamlessly integrates into the camping lifestyle.
- Digitize Your Research Before You Launch
First, you do not need to carry heavy boxes of paperwork in your RV storage. Instead, I use FamilySearch almost daily right from my rig. By searching the names, records, and stories of my ancestors digitally for free, I can pin down exact geographic locations for our upcoming travel itineraries.
- Route Your Trips Through Ancestral Towns
Second, instead of taking the quickest interstate, use your family tree to plan your route. Look for the towns and trails your ancestors founded or traveled through. Additionally, we map historic trails with our GAIA GPS app. Use our affiliate link here to get 10% off your subscription!
- Visit Living History and Local Museums
Third, a major highlight of our Bear Lake trip was touring a preserved museum: the Douglass General Mercantile Store. William M. Douglass is the 4th Great-Grandfather of our youngest family members, and their 3rd Great-Grandmother was born right inside that building! Walking through those doors with four generations is an unmatched experience.
From Rescued Family Journals to the Alaskan Frontier
Our passion for heritage travel also led to our biggest family project yet: publishing the rescued 1892–1893 Yukon survival diaries of my 3rd great-grandfather, Thomas R. Bennington, in Before the Klondike. By plotting his daily journal entries onto 26 custom GAIA GPS maps, our family was able to travel north to Juneau and the Skagway mud flats to walk directly in his 1892 footsteps (read about our 1892 Alaskan pioneer history trail trip here)!
Even better, readers across the country are using our Gold Rush Genealogy Guide (FamilySearch ID: LL3J-G69) to discover they are actually related to Thomas! Grab your copy of his authentic 1892 pioneer journal for your next campfire read:
- ✍️ Order an Exclusive Hand-Signed Copy Direct from Hitched4fun (Use code KLONDIKESAVER at checkout for $10 OFF!)
- 📦 Or Buy on Amazon (Hardcover, Paperback & Kindle eBook – Affiliate Link) — As an Amazon Associate, Hitched4fun earns from qualifying purchases.
Start Your Heritage Journey
In short, planning an RV genealogy road trip gives every mile a message and every destination a deeper meaning. Above all, it bridges the history of the past with the camping memories you are making today.
