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Just as the title says, go ahead and post a road trip for any section of the United States that you came up with. Throw in some personal recommendations, places to eat/stay, weird stuff to see, stuff not to miss, etc.
I personally love writing up itineraries for friends and family members to do. I'll get things started below.
This could be really great for all of us to gain some helpful recommendations from each other.
Day 1:
-Drive from Phoenix to Springdale, UT. About 6 hour drive, 390 miles. Drive NORTH on 17, continue NORTH onto 89, WEST on 9.
-Along the way, stop at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitors Center and check out the views (this is right outside of Page, AZ and you'll drive over the dam)
-You'll enter Zion through 9 West and the drive in amazing. Road winds a lot so be careful as you check out the scenery.
-Spend the night in Springdale, UT (kind of like a smaller and nicer Moab). I recommend the Best Western there. It's nice, but a bit more expensive than many of the other hotels there.
Days 2 and 3:
-Spend a couple days in the park.
-Trails I recommend: Angels Landing (Strenuous. You must do the last .5 miles! It is scary at first, but you'll be fine. Do it!), Observation Point (Very Strenuous), Emerald Pools (Easy). Many others are great too, check out the Visitors Center for more.
-Camp out or stay in Springdale, UT
Day 4:
-Wake up early and drive to Bryce Canyon National Park. About 2 hour drive, 95 miles. Drive EAST on 9, turn left and go NORTH onto 89, turn right and go EAST on 12, turn right and go SOUTH onto 63.
-Spend the day in the park
-Do the Fairyland Loop Trail (Strenuous. Gives you a great overall feel of the park. I think it is best to do this one first. It is about 8 miles long. I've done it twice, once in the winter and once in the spring. If you have the chance to do this hike in the snow you won't regret it, but bring some heavy duty boots.)
-If you aren't camping out in Bryce Canyon than you have to stay at Ruby's Inn Best Western. It is the hub of activity in the area and the have a decent restaurant and outdoors/convenience store.
Day 5:
-Spend the day in the park again.
-Hikes to do today: Navajo Loop Trail to Wall Street (Moderate, often closed in winter.), stop at all the view points on the park's road, find out other trails at the Visitors Center.
Day 6:
-Drive back to Phoenix from Bryce Canyon National Park. About 7 hour drive, 435 miles.
Other stuff:
*In my opinion: The best time to go to Zion is fall (like late October/early November). Bryce is typically about 20 degrees colder than Zion since it is much higher in elevation. The park can have snow through May. When it is covered in snow it is very different and beautiful.
*Keep in mind, it is possible to do this trip over a three day weekend too if you leave on a Thursday after work.
*If you have extra time than check out Cedar Breaks National Monument in between the two parks near Cedar City, UT. I haven't been there myself, but I hear it is very cool and from the pictures I have seen it is.
Well, here's one I did a few years ago, though I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. This was a two week trip, but it would have been better as a three or four week trip (places to stay are not indicated, for the most part):
Day 1: Drive from SoCal to Seligman, AZ.
Day 2: Drive from Seligman to Williams, AZ, to check out Grand Canyon RR Steam trains. Then drive to South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. Then on to Bluff, UT, by way of Tuba City and Kayenta, AZ, as well as Monument Valley.
Day 3: Drive from Bluff, UT to Four Corners Monument (CO, AZ, NM, & UT). Continue from Four Corners to Cortez, CO, then on to Durango, CO, to check out more steam trains.
Day 4: Visit Mesa Verde National Park, then continue east to Alamosa, CO. Head north to Great Sand Dunes National Park, then east to Walsenberg, CO. Finally, head north to Colorado Springs, CO.
Day 5: Head south to Pikes Peak International Raceway for Busch and Southwest Series Races on Nascar Weekend (No longer held there). Spend night in Colorado Springs again.
Day 6: Go to church in Colorado Springs, then head north to Cheyenne, WY, to catch a glimpse of Union Pacific Steam Locomotive #844 on excursion run from Denver to Cheyenne. From Cheyenne, head west to Rock Springs, WY.
Day 7: Head north through Pinedale, WY and continue to Hoback Junction. Head toward Alpine, WY, then continue into Swan Valley, ID. Proceed north to Victor, ID, then east to Jackson, WY. Continue north to Grand Teton National Park, and camp there for the night.
Day 8: Continue north into Yellowstone National Park, and drive through park. Head out Northeast entrance/exit through Cooke City, MT. Take detour on Chief Joseph Highway because Beartooth Highway was closed for maintenance. Head north through Belfry, MT and on to Red Lodge, MT.
Day 9: Head from Red Lodge to Billings, MT, then on to Sheridan, WY, and continue on to Gillette, WY. Continue heading east to Deadwood, SD, then head to Mt. Rushmore National Monument for lighting ceremony. After ceremony, head to Hill City, SD to spend the night.
Day 10: Take 1880 Steam Train from Hill City to Keystone, SD, and back again. Head back to Mt. Rushmore to see park in daylight. Spend night back in Hill City.
Day 11: Head south by way of Crazy Horse Monument, then on to Wind Cave National Park. Continue to Chadron, NE, then on to Alliance, NE, spending the night near Sidney, NE.
Day 12: Visit Cabelas store in Sidney, NE, then head into Denver area and go to NASCAR Southwest Series race at Colorado National Speedway in Erie, CO. Spend night with relatives near Denver.
Day 13: Spend day and night with relatives near Denver.
Day 14: Head west over I-70 from Denver to Utah. Head south from I-70 to Hanksville, UT, and spend night camping in desert.
Day 15: Visit Capitol Reef National Park, then Bryce Canyon National Park. Continue west to Cedar City, UT for the night.
Day 16: Drive from Cedar City back home to SoCal.
This trip was scheduled around two NASCAR Southwest Series races that were held a week apart in different parts of Colorado. The rest of the trip was planned around that, with Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and Mt. Rushmore being planned as places to see during the week in between. Wind Cave National Park was a bonus, as it was along the way. The Cabelas store was another planned stop, since there is (for the moment) nothing like it in SoCal. Grand Canyon National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park were stops on the way to the first race. Capitol Reef National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park were stops on the way home from the last race. The steam trains were a neat thing to see along the way.
All in all, we saw eight National Parks, one National Monument, four steam trains, two days of racing, three relatives, and the Cabelas store in just over two weeks. It was a fantastic trip, but was so hurried that there was a lot that was missed along the way. For that we will need another several road trips, and we've already taken a few of them.
Before the big trip mentioned in my post above, we took a short trip to Kanab, UT. Here's what we did for that trip:
Day 1: Drive from SoCal to Las Vegas, NV.
Day 2: After Sunday church service in Las Vegas, NV, head to St. George, UT, then head east to Fredonia, AZ, then north to Kanab, UT.
Day 3: Head from Kanab, UT to the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Return to Kanab.
Day 4: Head from Kanab east to Paria movie set, and explore area. Return to Kanab, continuing west to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Spend night in Kanab.
Day 5: Head from Kanab to Zion National Park, and proceed through park. After visiting Zion National Park, return home to SoCal.
This is a trip I have done several times, similar to some of the trips above-- the southwest is probably the greatest place in the world to take roadtrips. This trip is best in spring or fall, avoiding the desert summer, and hopefully without catching a major snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains.
Day 1: Denver, CO to Moab, UT. Take your time going through I-70; have a picnic in the mountains, or stop in Vail for an hour or two. After crossing into Utah, head into Moab the scenic way on highway 128 (Cisco Junction). See Arches national park in the afternoon.
Day 2: Moab, UT, to Sedona, AZ, going through US-191, seeing the amazing Martian-like landscape of Southern Utah and Monument Valley, then taking the ultra-scenic (but also a little scary) detour of US-163, where you drive down the edge of a cliff (switchbacks, of course ). At Kayenta, a poor reservation town, take US-160 to US-89 heading into Flagstaff. Check out Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument-- it's in a nice Ponderosa forest and it's a volcano that exploded just 900 years ago. Do some hiking late in the afternoon (or early the next morning) in Sedona-- truly an amazing, spiritual place (even if you're not into the "vortexes").
Day 3-4: Sedona, AZ to Phoenix, AZ. I came to Phoenix mainly to visit relatives-- but you won't miss much if you skip this city altogether. There are some nice resorts to stay at in Phoenix/Scottsdale, but in terms of "urban" attractions, you can easily see all there is worth seeing here in one day-- which is basically Tempe and Scottsdale. Wonder if you can tell where I am currently living?
Day 5-6: Phoenix, AZ to Las Vegas, NV: Drive through some beautiful desert for about 5-6 hours to Sin City. Tip: go through Bullhead City/Laughlin rather than Hoover dam-- that is usually backed up for miles. Spend about 2 nights in Vegas casino hopping, seeing shows, etc. Keep in mind, there is more to Vegas than gambling-- there is Lake Mead, Red Rock state park, golfing, etc.
Day 7: Las Vegas, NV to Zion Nat'l Park, UT: Zion National Park will blow you away, any time of year. You could easily spend a whole vacation just there, soaking up nature. I'll take the Zion in Utah over the one in the Middle East any day.
Day 8: drive back to Denver, CO: The home stretch, but still with some amazing scenery as you come back through Utah and Colorado. Alternatively, you could drive to Salt Lake City if you're interested in checking that out.
One we did...
Left South Carolina stayed the night in Deltona Florida.
Day 2 drove to Naples Florida,went to Loudermilk Beach,The Naples Zoo,took the sunshine boat tour on the gulf seen dolphins and went to the casino in Immokalee.We stayed at the Best Western Inns and Suites,nice little place that's very afforable they serve breakfast outside under a little tiki hut.We have stayed there several times.
Day 5 drove through the everglades down to Key West stayed at the La Cocha on Duval St. Would probably stay somewhere else off the main stretch
next time,but our stay was comfy. Saw the sunset on Mallory Square,took our pic at the bouy thingy..lol,went to the butterfly sanctuary,listened to various bands from duval st.
Day 7 stopped at Daytona Beach Shores walked the beach,relaxed and took the casino boat..got seasick..lol
Day 9 headed back home to South Carolina.
Here's a trip a friend and I took almost 20 years ago:
Drove from southern Ohio to Charleston, S.C., in the middle of the night via freeways. From there, we vowed not to drive on a freeway or eat at a chain restaurant until we were heading home on the last day of our vacation.
We stayed in Charleston 3 days/nights, then drove north on U.S. 17 to Georgetown, visiting Huntington Beach State Park (gators!!), spending the night, and walking around Georgetown proper.
Drove to Asheboro, N.C. via U.S. 501 (through Coward, S.C., where we stopped at Coward's Tavern, I think it was called; Lake City, birthplace of a NASA astronaut; Florence and Cheraw, which are breathtakingly beautiful cities), U.S. 52, then U.S. 1 and U.S. 220 into North Carolina.
Spent a few days around Asheboro, visiting the North Carolina Zoological Park, and the potteries and countryside around Seagrove. Asheboro was the first place I'd eaten at a Sonic restaurant! Yum!
Drove to Ashville via U.S. 64 U.S. 74 and U.S. 70 through Statesville, Salisbury; stopped at every single frickin' Dish Barn along the side of the road.
Hung out in Asheville for a few days, driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, hiking, visiting Chimney Rock, and touring the Biltmore Estate.
I like out of the way, off the beaten path places. Here's one I did a couple years ago:
Day 1: From St. Paul, head straight west and keep driving until reaching 100 degrees latitude, the place where the "real West" starts. Take US 212 to just west of Montivideo, then take some blue roads (and get lost!) west across the state line, avoiding Watertown, SD. Find State Hwy 20 and continue west and wind your way up to Selby, SD, which sits at the place where US 12 intersects the 100th Meridian.
Day 2: Head west on US 12 across the Missouri River, then north from Mobridge on SH 1806 through the Standing Rock Indian Resevation. Head north across the North Dakota border, go into Fort Yates and visit the burial site of Sitting Bull. Head north to Mandan, stop at the railroad museum. Cross the MO again into Bismarck, head north to the Double Ditch Historical site and check out the archeological dig. Continue north to Washburn and check out Lewis and Clark's first winter fort site and the interpretive center. Head west on SH 200, then north on US 85 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit and admire the ND Badlands.
Day 3: Head south to Grassy Butte and check out the old P.O. building with the sod roof, then go east and north across gravel raods to Kildeer Mountain. Check out the battlefiled monument. Then north to the oil boom town of Williston.
Day 4: Head south again, then west and visit the ghost town of Charbonneau. Then West on SH 200 to the confluence of the MO and Yellowstone Rivers. Check out the remnants of James Hill's abaondoned second trans-continental line for the Great Northern RR, an old iron lift bridge and a tunnel. Then head West across the state line into Montana. Check out Fort Beufort and the trading post at Ft. Union. Then East back into ND, thru Williston east on US 2, then north toward the Canadian border. Wind your way over a series of blue roads checking out the ghost and near-ghost towns on the way. Head north to the Turtle Mountains and spend the night at Lake Metogoshe State Park.
Day 5: Head East along SR 43, check out the Peace Garden on US 281 at the US/Canada border, then East on SH 5 to Icelandic State Park to check out the museum. Then blue-road it south and east to I-29. Head south to Fargo, then east on I-94 back to St. Paul.
Start with a day or two in Washington, DC. Head on down to Historic Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Then take Route 12 all the way down the Outer Banks at whatever pace you want, once you reach the end, take the ferry to Ocracoke, spend a day to two there. Take the southbound ferry and continue on to Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach in NC.
Take Route 17 all the way down the coast. You can skip Myrtle Beach, but spend a few days in Charleston, then go down to Savannah, further down to St. Augustine in Florida (the three most gorgeous historic cities in the US).
Then for something less historical, check out Cape Canaveral in Florida. Finally, head further down to South Beach and Miami and enjoy the nightlife. Fly back home.
Can be done in a week-- about 20 hours of actual drive time.
Well- here's one from a long time ago- the names and time frames are the best my memory can do. This was a camping/hiking/fishing adventure and featured visits to many National Parks:
Denver - S.W. to the Sangre De Christo mountains via the Sand Dunes (2 days)
Continue to Four Corners and on to Grand Canyon (Flagstaff) See if you can arrange to stay in the canyon at the lodge. If you do , plan on an early exit, and don't drink too much beer! (3 days)
Continue to the Mese Verde Nat. Park and Canyon DeChelley Nat. Park- the latter being a real highlight. (2 days)
Then cross the Red Desert and go to Yuma. We slept on a lush backyard lawn and watched really big bats flutter around all night. (1 day)
Head over to San Diego- there is camping at some of the beaches. You might check out the San Diego Zoo. (1 day)
Head north to Bakersfield and the inland to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. Maybe you can make it to the campground in Yosemite. Yosemite was a real highlight. (2 days)
Emerge from the mountains along the Trinity River and on out to Eureka. (1 day) Check out Victorian architecture.
Head up Oregon Coast. Yachats has a nice beech (brrrr) .Try some of the dirt logging roads to get a feel for what lumbering is like- watch out for lumber trucks coming down the mountains!
Up you go to Portland for a visit. (1 day) Head up the Lewis River towards Mt. St. Helens for a look see. I was there the summer after it blew!
Take a (2 day) side trip to Olympic Penninsula- we hiked up the Quinalt River trail to a campsite.
Head east out along the Columbia River via The Dalles. Go into Idaho, (1 day)and eventually to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks. Don't be afraid to get off the beaten path and do some hiking. Make reservations well in advance if your going to camp. (2 days)
Back south thru Wyoming and Colorado- if your not too tired head over to Rocky Mountain National Park for a couple days.
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). At Kayenta, a poor reservation town, take US-160 to US-89 heading into Flagstaff. Check out Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument-- it's in a nice Ponderosa forest and it's a volcano that exploded just 900 years ago. Do some hiking late in the afternoon (or early the next morning) in Sedona-- truly an amazing, spiritual place (even if you're not into the "vortexes").
There are some nice resorts to stay at in Phoenix/Scottsdale, but in terms of "urban" attractions, you can easily see all there is worth seeing here in one day-- which is basically Tempe and Scottsdale. Wonder if you can tell where I am currently living?
