Can I run this US roadtrip itinerary past you guys please...

[YetiMan]

Hi guys, myself and a good mate are looking at doing two weeks (actually, just over two weeks now) in the US late March/Early April, we've come up with this as an itinerary and I'd love to hear feedback - both positive and negative. If you think for instance we'd be better off heading in a different direction at any point then please advise. We fly into and out of Las Vegas - Im a scenery junkie so theres a lot of the National Parks on route and theres then two nights at the end in LV to chill before flying back. Thanks in advance.



Suggested route


Day 1 (Saturday 22nd):
Arrive Las Vegas, Nevada


Day 2 (Sunday 23rd):
Las Vegas, Nevada -> Flagstaff, Arizona
250 miles - 4 hours
Hoover Dam tour on the way


Day 3 (Monday 24th):
Flagstaff, Arizona -> Page / Lake Powell, Arizona
210 miles - 4 hours
via Grand Canyon


Day 4 (Tuesday 25th):
Page / Lake Powell, Arizona -> Moab, Utah
270 miles - 4.5 hours


Day 5 (Wednesday 26th):
Jeeping in Moab / Canyon Lands maybe?
But with Easter Jeep Safari in full swing don't know what we can book hotel wise or jeep tour wise so that
may cause the trip to be in reverse (but still leave vegas day after arriving)


Day 6 (Thursday 27th):
Moab, Utah -> Aspen, Colorado
270 miles - 4hrs 45mins


Day 7 (Friday 28th):
Day in Aspen?


Day 8 (Saturday 29th):
Aspen, Colorado -> Boulder, Colorado
240 miles, 5hrs 45mins as small roads
via Rocky Mountain National park


Day 9 (Sunday 30th):
Boulder Colorado -> Rawlins, Wyoming
260 miles 5hrs 45mins
Covering ground to get to Yellowstone but primarily scenic non interstate...
Would be better to get further north on the day if we can (eg Riverton, but an extra 120 miles and 2 hrs,
but all interstate))...


Day 10 (Monday 31st):
Rawlins, Wyoming -> Yellowstone, Wyoming
310 miles - 5hrs 45mins
Latter half driving through Teton National Forest etc into Yellowstone...


Day 11 (Tuesday 1st):
In Yellowstone


Day 12 (Wednesday 2nd):
Yellowstone -> Salt Lake City
360 miles - 6hrs 20mins
Bit slow as trhrough Grand Teton National Park


Day 13 (Thursday 3rd):
Salt Lake City, Utah -> Cedar City, Utah
285 miles - 4hrs 30mins


Day 14 (Friday 4th):
Cedar City -> Las Vegas, Nevada
250 miles - 4hrs 40mins
via Zion National Park, Dixie National Forest etc


Day 15 (Saturday 5th):
Las Vegas


Day 16 (Sunday 6th):
Leave Vegas





Longest driving day 6hrs 20 mins and 360 miles
5 days of not driving at all out of the 15
Average 265 miles (4.5hrs) per day on the driving days
Covering 2,650 miles in the 15/16 day trip

Edited by YetiMan on Friday 4th January 09:58

[Matt..]

I would say that's incredibly rushed. You are missing so much, and driving days to spend 1 day in Yellowstone seems mad.

Can you not do something like:
1. Fly in to Bozeman, drive to Yellowstone
2. Yellowstone
3. Yellowstone
4. Grand Teton
5. Drive to SLC
6. Drive to Bryce Canyon (on UT 12, via Capital Reef)
7. Zion
8. Drive to Las Vegas
9. Las Vegas
10. Grand Canyon
11. Page
12. Moab
13. Moab
14. Denver > Fly out


Also bare in mind that in March/April there is high potential for lots of roads in Yellowstone being closed (inc entrances), and the possible bad weather could slow you down.

You plan on being in so many amazing places that i dont think you should rush it as you are. You need to drop places and slow it down, or find more time.

The 2,700 miles on Google will easily become 4,000 miles too.

Edited by Matt.. on Thursday 3rd January 21:12

I've just checked, and this year, Yellowstone south and East entrances opened to traffic in May...

You will probably be better off dropping Yellowstone unless you have more time, and going with places like Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Page, Moab, Sedona, Zion, Bryce Canyon, etc...

Edited by Matt.. on Thursday 3rd January 21:26

[davepoth]

Not only rushed, but probably impossible at that time of year due to snow. I'm guessing days 7 to 11 may well be an issue.

[Nickyboy]

You have vastly underestimated the travel times. I would add another 2 hours to most of the days driving and even more to the longer trips.

The tour of Hoover Damn is easily 3 hours by the time you've got in, queued to get it (40 mins when i went) then you have the tour itself and associated looking around which if you don't do you might as well not bother going there.

Other days such as the Grand Canyon you have underestimated, if you've never been to the GC then you cant just nip there and have a look, we drove along the the rim with an aim to stop for a quick look, 3 hours later we left, still in awe.

Driving times on the Interstates are ok but once you are off of them don't expect to average much above 35mph, speed limits are low and people do stick to them, they are also strictly enforced.

when you get into the Mountains and National Parks you will find roads are closed or impassable, unlike this country they close roads at certain times of the year and they stay shut till the snow has gone. You will have to look at local parks/areas to find which roads a closed for the season, some are closed until May. Some roads will also be chains only, if you don't have them you'll be in trouble.

We did 2000 miles in 3 weeks in an RV, granted it is slower than a car but the long drives get boring and you look forward to stopping at a gas station, even for a drink/toilet etc. This upsets your averages, you might be ok for a couple of days but after that stopping for a bit is a welcome relief.

[fatboy b]

Way too much for me in that time.

[YetiMan]

Thanks very much for the feedback. Too much too quick, seems to sum up the feeling. The fixed points are las Vegas in and out as the flights are booked (took advantage of a decent discount) and a Grand Cherokee to be booked shortly for the duration of the trip... Anything else, at this stage is changeable so please keep the ideas coming. Thanks to the contributors so far. :-)

[iwantagta]

Its a bit horses for courses, personally I would not want to spend 2 weeks driving about.

Most of the bits between these places are boring to drive. No bends, no speed, no fun. Unless you go back roads then timings are pushed out dramtically. Even seeing the bizarre numbers of fast food outlets with nothing else near them gets tiresome.

Even if you do not wish/like to gamble I would extend the time at Vegas. A couple of days on arrival, no long drives while lagged out & a few on the way back. Combined between the ends of the holiday I think 4 or 5 days. On one of those days I would take a helicopter tour to Grand canyon. Loads of options on bits and pieces to do getting there , see the Dam, champagne, loads of stuff. Best thing I did when over there, truly amazing.
Loads to see and do in Vegas as well. Just wandering along the strip is amazing, the bellagio fountains etc.
Also way out abd way back gives you a chance to do 2 strip hotels and they are spectacular for the money.
(Oh and look up the $20 in the passport complimentary upgrade question - seems to work but I did not know about it when I was out there)

Did not go but heard Bryce canyon is better than the Grand Canyon to look about so would definitely have that on my list.

San Diego is not a million miles away either and may be worth a trip. Seaworld is always amazing.

Although you want to get in as much as you can I would always want to return from a holiday feeling at least a bit rested and having a few nights where I could have a drink without worrying about the drive the day after.

Whatever you do sure you will love it. Jealous.

[Nickyboy]

I would say forget Yellowstone completely, i think you'll find a lot of it closed due to the snow. Look at going East to monument valley, spend a couple of nights at the Grand Canyon, there is some nice lodgings there. You wont be able to go to the North rim of the Canyon as its closed until early May and you might even see snow on the ground on the South rim

[ViperDave]

pretty sure rocky mountain np pass doesn't open to around memorial day either, (late may) Yellowstone's roads are closed to wheeled vehicles nov-late apr, only the north entrance and lemar valley to cooke city are open, well worth a snow coach tour, but not on your trip timings.

you will find plenty to do in SW utah and NW az for two weeks though. start here


http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

your route would be do able in summer though, have done similar, albeit rushed. Although not sure what you intend to do in aspen for a day and some days are a bit rushed with the sight seeing and driving, as a rule of thumb we tend to cover 200 mi on back roads/sightseeing and 400 on interstate. National parks are particually slow both due to speed limits, twisty roads and RV's with no overtaking opportunities, you will also want to stop for a view just after you finally get past that RV.

Edited by ViperDave on Friday 4th January 01:27

[Sevenman]

Others have noted that the plan is rushed and snow is an issue in the northern regions. Having done a few road trips, it is nice not to be too rushed.

You could try the loop east of Vegas from this trip + Death Valley + heading further east to Monument Valley / Canyon de Chelly. Write up is over a few pages.

http://gavinandnaomi.com/?page_id=349

If you enjoy walking then you can spend a few days in any of the National parks (apart from Bryce, that is quite small) and if you like Vegas, you can easily spend a few days there and see some shows / the sights.

If you are driving out East then don't do a helicoptor tour from Vegas, go to the main Grand Canyon National Park and stay there for one night.

Yellowstone is great. We spent 4 days there in September 2011 as part of a 17 day road trip and that was just enough time to see the major sites...

[Truckosaurus]

YetiMan said:

... The fixed points are las Vegas in and out as the flights are booked ... and a Grand Cherokee to be booked shortly....

I see you are arriving in Vegas on a Saturday, so you might need to be careful with the hirecar as they get hoards arriving on a Friday night and they dish out the motors willy-nilly. I arrived on the Friday evening on the BA flight from LHR (so around 19h00) and all Thrifty had left in their whole lot was 3x Mustangs and a single Ford Edge (the smallest Ford SUV).

Therefore, it might be worth doing Vegas for the weekend and then having the pick of cars on the Monday morning once everyone else has gone home from the weekend.

[jimmyjimjim]

ViperDave said:

pretty sure rocky mountain np pass doesn't open to around memorial day either, (late may) Yellowstone's roads are closed to wheeled vehicles nov-late apr, only the north entrance and lemar valley to cooke city are open, well worth a snow coach tour, but not on your trip timings.

you will find plenty to do in SW utah and NW az for two weeks though. start here


http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

your route would be do able in summer though, have done similar, albeit rushed. Although not sure what you intend to do in aspen for a day and some days are a bit rushed with the sight seeing and driving, as a rule of thumb we tend to cover 200 mi on back roads/sightseeing and 400 on interstate. National parks are particually slow both due to speed limits, twisty roads and RV's with no overtaking opportunities, you will also want to stop for a view just after you finally get past that RV.

Edited by ViperDave on Friday 4th January 01:27

Pretty much this. I think you'll have trouble doing anything other than highways through the mountains until later in the year.

The good news is that this will shave significant time off some of your routes and they are plenty scenic enough; I-70 is spectacular in places.

I'd also question what you want to do in Aspen for a day. Personally, I'd stop there for lunch, then press on.

The other comment I'd make is that in some stretches it's about the journey, and you'll want to take your time and stop frequently, other places you'll want to press on. Even in the mountains, driving in the US differs a lot from driving in the UK; set the cruise control to no more than 5mph over the limit and sit back. It's a lot less hard work in the UK, and I've done distances in the US without really noticing that would have knackered me in the UK.

I'd probably spend longer in Utah if I went back, just for the scenary, and no time at all in Aspen.

[YetiMan]

Thanks. Yellowstone is off the list for the reasons mentioned above and Trail ridge road between Aspen and Boulder Colorado is closed until May 24th. :-( Guess you can probably tell I've not done SW US this time of year before! I did Death Valley (mentioned above) in June last year as part of a California/LV trip so that's been done. One thing to bare in mind when looking at driving times/distances etc, both myself and my mate are happy to do some long hours behind the wheel - I totally appreciate a lot of the above comments are in regards to environmental conditions beyond our control but long hours behind the wheel don't faze me. As an example of this I did over 5,500 miles in five weeks around Europe in July/August last year and really enjoyed it. :-)

I'll update the route later without Yellowstone etc, thanks again for all the input, please keep it coming. :-)

[jimmyjimjim]

If you get bored with The Peoples Republic of Boulder, and it's a weekday, pop down to Westminster and say hello

ETA long hours behind the wheel in the US are significantly easier to do, with less traffic and less demanding roads.

Edited by jimmyjimjim on Saturday 5th January 17:02

Edited by jimmyjimjim on Saturday 5th January 17:04

[BertieWooster]

If you do end up in the Denver area then I would recommend driving along the road that drops down Lookout Mountain and ends up in Golden. On a clear day the views out east across Denver and into the plains as well as into the Rockies are fantastic.

Bertie W