Jonathan,

Well, in case you come back here and check, some additional info:

1. Camping. There are campsites in most National Parks and State Parks. Most of these are well outside cities and require a car. Rates are around $15-20 per night, and the campgrounds are usually developed (running water, showers, bathrooms.) There are many campgrounds in National Forests, mostly less developed (pit toilets), ranging from free to $8-15 per night. Commercial campground cater to people with large Recreational Vehicles (camping trailers), and can run from $25-75 per night. If you find a campground near a city or tourist destination, this is the type.

2. Motels. Get the AAA guidebook. Single-diamond motels are serviceable, but barely. Two and three-diamond motels are decent places to stay. You can expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $125 per night outside of large cities. (Prices in big cities are $200 and up, way up.)

3. Hostels. Though most Americans don't know it, there are plenty of real hostels here, mostly catering to foreign tourists. You'll find them in every large city and plenty of smaller ones, too. If you belong to a hostel organization in Europe, check their web site, otherwise just Google "hostels in USA.) Again, public transit is the only issue. You can get around within a city pretty well, but cheap public transit between cities isn't all that good. (Buses have a well-deserved poor reputation, and train travel is slowly fading away.)

I would strongly second the recommendation to buy the Lonely Planet USA guide. We've had a lot of fun with it traveling around our own country.

If you come back with specific places you want to visit, we can be more helpful.

Cheers,

--Ken