The Top 5 Most Popular One-Way RV Rental Routes

By Megan Buemi
Renting an RV

At RVshare, we’re always looking for new ways to make your travels better than you’d ever expected — and one of our most recent developments is especially exciting in that regard.

We’re pleased to announce that RVshare now offers one-way RV rentals! And if you’re not quite sure how that works or why you’d want to take one, well, trust us: this option unlocks a whole new world of potential destinations.

Where to Take Your One-Way RV Rental in the USA

Here are some of the most popular and spectacular one-way road trips in the nation, just waiting to be discovered.

1. Los Angeles to San Francisco

The drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco is one of the most popular one-way RV routes in California. Depending on your pace and route, the trip spans 380 to 450 miles. You can take Interstate 5 for the quickest drive (about 6โ€“7 hours) or cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway for a slower, scenic adventure (10โ€“12 hours).

This route is ideal for RV travelers thanks to its flexible overnight stops and RV-friendly campgrounds along the way. Top picks include Ventura Beach RV Resort, Pismo Coast Village RV Park, and Big Sur Campgrounds. Each offers easy hookups, great amenities, and convenient access to local attractions.

Along the way, explore iconic California destinations like Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach, Big Sur, and Monterey, all known for their coastal views, charming downtowns, and unforgettable photo ops.

Why RV Travelers Love This Route

The Los Angeles to San Francisco drive is a California classic. Youโ€™ll enjoy a mix of open highways, dramatic coastline, and charming beach towns, all without backtracking. For RV drivers, the options are unbeatable:

  • I-5 offers a fast, straightforward route with plenty of fuel stops, rest areas, and food options.
  • Highway 101 and the Pacific Coast Highway are perfect for a slower trip with ocean views, coastal campgrounds, and relaxed roadside attractions.

Add in mild weather most of the year and youโ€™ve got a one-way RV road trip thatโ€™s as practical as it is scenic, a true bucket-list route for anyone exploring California by RV.

2. Las Vegas to Salt Lake City

The drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City covers about 421 miles and takes roughly six hours, taking you through some of the most stunning desert scenery in the United States. This route is a favorite among RV travelers who want wide-open roads, breathtaking views, and plenty of adventure packed into a single trip.

Even the drive itself offers unforgettable sights, but the real magic comes when you slow down and explore along the way. A one-way RV rental between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City gives you the freedom to stop at incredible destinations like Zion National Park, Fishlake National Forest, and, with a little extra time, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park. Each stop offers its own unique blend of red-rock landscapes, hiking trails, and peaceful campgrounds, making it perfect for RV travelers.

Why RV Travelers Love This Route

Taking I-15 is the most direct route between these two iconic desert cities, offering smooth driving, scenic rest stops, and easy access to fuel and food along the way. But if youโ€™re up for a detour, a one-way RV rental makes it easy to explore beyond the main highway. Head north from Las Vegas and turn east at West Wendover to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats, a surreal 30,000-acre stretch of white, cracked earth that was once part of ancient Lake Bonneville.

With its dramatic landscapes, easy driving conditions, and freedom to roam, the Las Vegas to Salt Lake City RV route is a road trip that perfectly balances convenience and adventure.

3. Salt Lake City to Seattle

If youโ€™re looking for a road trip that blends the dramatic beauty of the Southwest with the lush charm of the Pacific Northwest, the drive from Salt Lake City to Seattle is the perfect choice. This route spans approximately 850 miles and takes around 12 hours of driving, offering a mix of high desert views, mountain passes, and forested escapes.

Starting in Utahโ€™s capital, youโ€™ll wind your way through southern Idaho, where you can stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve or the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. From there, venture into eastern Oregon, a region filled with hidden gems like Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and Umatilla National Forest, places even longtime Oregonians sometimes miss. Before reaching Seattle, youโ€™ll cross the Snoqualmie Pass, a world-class mountain destination known for its views and year-round outdoor recreation. If you have extra time, consider adding North Cascades National Park or Olympic National Park to your adventure for even more incredible scenery.

Why RV Travelers Love This Route

The Salt Lake City to Seattle route is ideal for a one-way RV rental because it takes you through some of the most remote, beautiful landscapes in the western United States, without the need to drive all the way back. Traveling by RV means you can enjoy the comforts of home while exploring wide-open spaces, mountain roads, and quiet campgrounds far from the crowds.

This long-distance route rewards travelers with endless variety: deserts, forests, waterfalls, and mountains, all in one trip. And when you arrive in Seattle, itโ€™s easy to drop off your RV rental and fly home, saving you time, money, and miles on the return trip.

4. Las Vegas to Denver

If you haven’t treated yourself to an American alpine adventure, now is absolutely the time. And whether you visit in summer (hiking) or winter (skiing), there’s no shortage of adventure to get into. At just over 11 hours of drive time, the journey from Las Vegas to Denver might not sound long, but itโ€™s packed with adventure from start to finish. Traveling by one-way RV rental lets you slow down, take in the views, and explore at your own pace. Starting beneath the bright lights of Las Vegas, youโ€™ll quickly trade the cityscape for an otherworldly mix of red rock canyons and open desert horizons. Along the way, you can visit unforgettable destinations like Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park. With just a short detour, you can even add Zion National Park to your list without extending your drive by much more than an hour.

From there, the route east from the Utah border into Colorado takes you through some of the countryโ€™s most remote and scenic stretches of road. And with a private one-way RV rental, youโ€™ll stay comfortable the entire way, cooking your own meals, relaxing in your favorite space, and unwinding each night under the desert sky.

Why RV Travelers Love This Route

This route is perfect for travelers who want the best of both worlds: the big-city excitement of Las Vegas and Denver, plus the peace and beauty of the open road in between. Many visitors come to Las Vegas for the energy and entertainment, but once they hit the highway in an RV, they discover a completely different kind of thrill: quiet trails, vast landscapes, and plenty of space to roam.

Along the Utah-Colorado border, youโ€™ll have the chance to explore Dinosaur National Monument, one of the most significant fossil sites in the United States. Located just a couple of hours north of Grand Junction, itโ€™s a fascinating and often overlooked stop that most travelers never get to experience.

5. San Francisco to Seattle

At just over 800 miles and roughly 12 hours of drive time, the journey from San Francisco to Seattle is an unforgettable RV adventure. Starting in the Bay Area, youโ€™ll pass close to major outdoor destinations like ย Tahoe National Forest,ย Plumas National Forest,ย Mendocino National Forestย andย Lassen National Forest, before even reaching the iconic Mount Shasta near Californiaโ€™s northern border.

Once you cross into Oregon, the scenery only gets better. Stop in Ashland or Portland, or explore the natural beauty of ย Oregon Caves National Monument,ย Umpqua National Forestย andย Willamette National Forest, each packed with waterfalls, mountain peaks, and plenty of free or low-cost RV camping options. Along the way, you can visit several incredible national parks, including Lassen Volcanic National Park,ย Crater Lake National Park, and, once you hit Washington, Olympic National Parkย orย North Cascades National Park. Each destination could easily fill a week on its own, but a one-way RV rental gives you the freedom to enjoy them all without worrying about the return trip.

Why RV Travelers Love This Route

The drive from San Francisco to Seattle is a dream route for RV travelers who want both urban excitement and natural beauty. Both cities are major travel hubs, and the stretch of I-5 connecting them is packed with scenic views, outdoor recreation, and opportunities for detours into some of the West Coastโ€™s most stunning landscapes.

This route offers incredible varietyโ€”from coastal cliffs and redwood forests to snow-capped peaks and temperate rainforests. In Olympic National Park alone, you can explore beaches, alpine meadows, and one of the largest temperate rainforests in the world. With so many options for camping and sightseeing, itโ€™s easy to see why this is one of the most popular one-way RV routes in the U.S.

Why One-Way RV Rentals?

So: why book a one-way motorhome rental? You have to get back where you started from at some point, right?

Well, actually, not always. One of the reasons people book one-way RV rentals is to turn a big, cross-country move into a vacation.

But even if you’re not on the cusp of a major relocation, there are plenty of reasons taking a one-way road trip is an attractive option. For one thing… well, some of these epic routes are already a lot of driving, even before you turn around and retrace your steps, to say nothing of the expense involved in fueling that kind of journey.

Beyond literal fuel — which can already rack up a pretty ridiculous price tag — you’ve also got camping accommodations, food, and, of course, rental cost itself to think about. (And even when you’re saving money by renting a one-way here at RVshare, we all know keeping a roof over your head and wheels under your feet ain’t free by any means!)

Besides… there’s so much of the world out there waiting to be seen and explored that it seems kind of silly to revisit the same spots (although we all have our favorite go-to vacations). Wouldn’t you rather spend your time, energy, and money on some other, new venture? Or just to enjoy the route to the fullest the first time around?

For all those reasons and many more, one-way RV rentals are growing in popularity, which is why we couldn’t be more thrilled to offer them to the RVshare family. You’ll be able to take the epic trip of your dreams without worrying about saving time and money to get home the same way you came. You can fly out of your destination (or to a destination, where you rent an RV and then drive home), and rest assured that our professional service will return the RV where it came from, good as new.ย 

Explore the Country with a One-Way RV Rental

Renting an RV one way can unlock a world of possibilities for new travel destinations and experiences that would be impossible to orchestrate otherwise, all while still offering the unique combination of comfort and flexibility that RVs are best known for. And when you rent through RVshare, the experience is even more convenient: along with paying a fraction of the big, commercial dealership prices, you’ll also get to choose from a much wider array of potential vehicle types and deal with real, live, adventurous people, just like you!

RVshare also offers its renters top-of-the-line insurance coverage, which is built into your rental price, so you never have to worry about thoseย what if moments. Plus roadside assistance which keeps you covered 24/7 for any minor surprises that come up. All communications and monetary transactions take place through our secure platform, so you can rest assured that your sensitive information is absolutely safe.

In other words, we make it really, really easy to start exploring. All you’ll be responsible for is picking and packing up the rig, taking a second to learn its ins and outs, and then heading to your destination… even if you’re not planning on coming back anytime soon. (And trust us — if you take one of these routes, you’ll want to use every second of spare time you can get along the way.) Then, drop off the rig at the designated site and let us take care of the rest. What could be easier?