List your top 10 favorite books and you’ll quickly see the makings of an unforgettable road trip unfolding in front of you. Whether you love mysteries, horror, biographies, or non-fiction works, with a little advanced planning they can all become great book lovers destinations for RVers.
All photos by LiveWorkDream.com
Drive into the pages of your favorite books
Every character, plot, and setting from your favorite books can weave a tapestry of short or long RVing itineraries that propel you deeper into the minds of your favorite writers. Check out these these exciting U.S. destinations to get your creative juices flowing.
Stephen King fans can meet in Maine
Don’t be afraid to point your RV to Maine this summer and book a SK Tours narrated tour of Stephen King landmarks around Bangor. That’s where you can enjoy the insight of tour guide Stuart Tinker. “Stu” as he’s known to locals, will escort you to eerie locations around “Derry,” the fictional town inspired by King’s beloved Bangor.
Notable Stephen King book locations around Bangor include:
- Mount Hope Cemetery, the spooky burial ground where grisly encounters transpire in “Pet Sematary.”
- The horrifying sewer drain at Jackson and Union Streets where an evil monster snatches little children in the novel “It.”
- And of course, the author’s spooky Victorian mansion where rabid fans lurk daily, always hoping to get a glimpse of their ghoulish hero.
Be sure to book a stay at the highly rated Paul Bunyan Campground or Pleasant Hill Campground in Bangor where you’ll be within a safe distance of King’s most notorious landmarks.
Beat Arizona heat with J.A. Jance
Escape Arizona’s brutal summer heat by relocating to Bisbee or Sedona, the two scenic alpine destinations where J.A. Jance mystery novels unfold.
This best-selling writer is the creator of the Joanna Brady sheriff series set in Bisbee. Jance is also the force behind the adventures of Ali Reynolds, an ex-TV reporter living in Sedona who becomes entangled in murder.
Jance’s prolific authoring has boosted the two small town economies so much that Bisbee honored the author with a “J.A. Jance Day” every September.
The Copper Queen Hotel also pays homage to Jance with a special room named after the writer. While staying in Bisbee at the well-loved Queen Mine RV Park, you’ll want to make time for a Sheriff Joanna Brady adventure with local tour guides.
Experience good and evil in Savannah, Georgia
The final stop on our great book lovers destinations for RVers list takes you back to the eastern city of Savannah, Georgia. This lovely, languid setting is the focal point of the epic John Berendt novel “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
Spinning a captivating tale of quirky, eccentric Southerners, voodoo customs, drag queens, and invisible dogs, “Midnight” is the real life account of a big city newspaper reporter’s entanglement in a high society murder trial.
Although Berendt probably didn’t intend to create a tourism boost for Savannah when he wrote his famous novel in 1994, which is exactly what it did for this stately city.
After Clint Eastwood turned it into a movie in 1997, Savannah locations in the book lke the Bonaventure Cemetery, The Mercer Williams House Museum and Clary’s Cafe quickly grew to worldwide fame.
The book is fodder for dozens of fun Savannah destinations and local tour companies know how to showcase the highlights of each spot.
When you bring your RV to Savannah, you’ll find that the nearby Skidaway Island State Park is an exceptionally scenic and tranquil place to park your rig. The park is only about 30 minutes from downtown Savannah and lives up to Georgia State Parks’ great reputation of idyllic, functional and fun camping experiences.
These destinations offer only a glimpse of different itineraries you can assemble when planning your summer road trips. For more inspiration, check out the American Library Association’s List of Literary Landmarks in the U.S.
If you love reading, Follow The Adventures Of Maxie McNabb In This Book Series
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
Great article! We visited Sedona last fall and it was glorious.
Here’s a word of warning: driving into Sedona from the north is a tangle of tight turns without guardrails. I do not recommend that route for RV newbs. I drove a 30′ class C and had to do Lamaze breathing to get me through the stress of it!
Oh yeah thanks for that warning Lisa, you are so right!