Example Budgets
Road trips can be expensive!
They can also be really cheap if you plan them right. To help you get out as cheaply and often as possible—and to save you from sifting through data and/or learning the hard way—we’ve created mock budgets for our most popular trips. Pricing assumptions are below if you want to see our math. Enjoy!
California
LONE PINE & MT. WHITNEY
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Hiring a Climbing Guide - Alabama Hills
Hiring a Mountaineering Guide - Mt. Whitney
Example Budget for a Recent Alabama Hills Trip
SOCAL PEAKS & DEEP CREEK HOT SPRINGS
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Camping - Big Bear
Mountain Biking - Snow Summit
Example Budget for a Recent Trip to Deep Creek
MAMMOTH LAKES
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Snowboarding - Mammoth & June Lake
Mountain Biking - Mammoth
Example Budget for a Recent Trip to Mammoth
YOSEMITE
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Camping & Wilderness Permits
Hiring a Climbing Guide
Example Budget for a Recent Trip to Yosemite
JOSHUA TREE
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Camping at J-Tree
Hiring a Climbing Guide
Example Budget for a Recent Trip to Joshua Tree
utah
ZION
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Wilderness Permits
Backpacking the Zion Narrows
Hiring a Canyoneering Guide
Mountain Biking
Example Budget for a Recent Trip to Zion
Arizona
HAVASUPAI FALLS
BUDGET FIGURES FOR:
Baseline Essentials
Camping & Reservation Fees
Additional Portage Options
Example Budget for a Recent Trip to Havasupai Falls
BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS
Purely FYI…Here are the item prices I based my budget figures on:
Numbers in the following budgets are purely ball-park figures, which are based on the following cost assumptions that will vary from person to person:
GAS
Gas Prices -- based on a $3.60 per gallon approximate cost.
Vehicle MPG -- based on a 25 MPG vehicle (this figure will vary significantly based on vehicle type).
Mileage -- start and end points based on an arbitrary location in West Los Angeles.
Extra Mileage -- added for large parks like Yosemite and Zion, where additional driving within the park is involved.
FOOD, WATER & BEER
$30 per person per day for food, water and alcohol -- This figure is based on an average cost over 10 trips in 2017. Backpacking trips tend to be slightly cheaper ($25 per day). I also tend to bring more food than most people (big appetite, and I'd rather have too much food than not enough). The estimation includes roughly $10 of alcohol per day, but this figure may vary significantly with each person.
FIREWOOD
$10 per bundle * 3 bundles per night = $30 per day