[spunkygonecountry]

Hi,

My husband and I are wanting to do a road-trip next month from Las Vegas to Denver. Can anyone suggest a scenic route with National Parks along the way and good towns to stop in? What route is better scenery wise the I-70E or I-80E?




We are thinking of then going from Denver on to Cleveland. Is this crazy? I know this is about a 21+ hour trip. Please advise, we aren't sure if it would be better just to fly onto Cleveland? Is there any standout places that we would pass through? If we did drive from Denver to Cleveland? We would allow a maximum of 10 days from Las Vegas to Cleveland.



Any suggestions would be appreciated.




Thanks so much.

[Buzz123]

Here's a suggested route for scenery and parks; click the links: Driving Directions from Las Vegas, NV to Jacob Lake, AZ and on to Denver via the scenic route.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is mas bonita, and cooler than the South Rim: Grand Canyon National Park - How Do I Get to the North Rim ? (U.S. National Park Service)

I highly recommend seeing Monument Valley, AZ. At the park visitor center you hire an Indian guide if you want to see it all. The road they let you take by yourself doesn't show enough. There's a lot in the park that the guide will explain. You don't want to miss John Ford Point. Navajo Parks & Recreation - Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

The rest of this route beautiful too. You'll find a lot of things along the way, plus you can look it over and Google stuff.

[airics]

no way in my opinion.. i did cleveland to vegas through denver.. god awful.. nebraska and iowa most boring states i have ever been in.... fly from denver to cleveland.. or go vegas to amarillo to st louis to cleveland.. you'll thank me later

[spunkygonecountry]

Thanks Buzz123 & airics

I think I've given up on the Denver to Cleveland it's sounds like a pretty boring trip.

airics - what's the drive like that you mentioned (vegas to amarillo to st louis to cleveland) are there nice places along the way? scenic route?

Thanks for your help.

[Buzz123]

Depends on what your reason is for going to Cleveland. It is pretty boring to drive across Iowa and Nebraska but there are other ways to go. Most of the mid west is kind of boring unless it's in the spring or fall. It sounds like you've never been back east, or is that a presumption on my part? There are lots of interesting things and beautiful scenery back east. Best time to go is in Autumn when the leaves are changing.

Don't mean to speak for Arics, but taking the southern route as Arics suggested is nice between here and Tucumcari, New Mexico, and lots of interesting sights. Hoover Dam, mountains, Grand Canyon (South Rim), Painted Desert, Flagstaff with a side trip to Sedona, AZ...Inscription Rock...Malpais and the Ice Cave in NM...Albuquerque and it's Old Town, the world's longest aerial tramway...maybe a side trip to Santa Fe...museums...zoo...art...great food. There's the Cadillac Ranch either before or after Amarillo. After that there are a few interesting stops along the way after Amarillo (St. Louis Arch comes to mind), but the mid-west is mostly flat and not too interesting scenery wise.

[Jonotastic]

I drove from California to Florida last summer... (passed through Vegas to Colorado).

That was my favorite part of the trip...Vegas to Colorado. I took some of the smaller highways through the mountains...BEAUTIFUL!!!

From Denver...spend the night in...

Moab, UT (Arches National Park)
Torrey, UT (Capitol Reef National Park) - via hwy 24
Springdale, UT (Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park) - via hwy 12, hwy 89, hwy 9 ****(HIGHLIGHT)
Las Vegas, NV

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Jonotastic

I drove from California to Florida last summer... (passed through Vegas to Colorado).

That was my favorite part of the trip...Vegas to Colorado. I took some of the smaller highways through the mountains...BEAUTIFUL!!!

From Denver...spend the night in...

Moab, UT (Arches National Park)
Torrey, UT (Capitol Reef National Park) - via hwy 24
Springdale, UT (Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park) - via hwy 12, hwy 89, hwy 9 ****(HIGHLIGHT)
Las Vegas, NV

That would be a great route to take. Maybe they could go one way and come back the other. Did you go into Canyonlands NP at Moab too?

[hockeygirl4]

I drove to Vegas from Buffalo, NY in November upon moving out here, and we took I-90 to CLE and picked up I-70W all the way to Denver. The most boring part was from STL-DEN through Kansas. So, from Vegas, I'm thinking maybe take I-40 (i think) to Flagstaff where you can stop at Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, then continue on 160 to Durango, CO which then takes you through the San Juan National Forest on the way to Denver.

My friend moved to Denver back in '05, and on the way out there went from Buffalo north through Chicago, and ended up hitting Mt. Rushmore, so from Denver to Mt. Rushmore would be out of the way a bit, but I think it would be a lot more scenic than going though Kansas which takes an entire day to drive through.