CBelle

I’m planning a trip from 24 September and was hoping for some feedback regarding my itinerary. Although my suggested itinerary is for 14 days I’m able to add on another 3 days along the way if need be. I’m not used to long distance driving and would prefer not to be on the road any more than 3-4 hours a day so is this itinerary even suitable? And finally what kind of weather can I expect end of September into October?

1 night – Las Vegas
2 nights - Zion Nat Park
2 nights - Bryce
3 nights - Moab/Arches/Canyonlands
1 night - Ouray
1 night - Durango for Silverton railway
1 night - Cortez/Mesa Verdi
2 night – Grand Canyon via Monument Valley
1 night – Las Vegas before flying home.

Much thanks in advance for any help or advice.

emalloy

This sounds like a nice trip. You do have a couple of long drives, but the scenery is so beautiful that you will be stopping to take pictures along the way.

Get reservations in the National Parks now if you can. At your first park, get a National Park pass, if you are a US citizen who is over 62, you can get the senior pass of $10 which is good for a lifetime and lets the others in your car in too, otherwise get the America the Beautiful pass for $80 and is good for a year. Monument Valley is a Navajo park so the pass won't work there but will for all the other parks.

WhereAreWe

What are you interested in? Hiking? Photography? Scenic drives? Hard to say if you are allocating your days for the optimum trip without knowing more about your interests and what you hope to get out of these destinations.

In general though, I would say 1 night at Bryce and 1 at the Grand Canyon is sufficient for most people. It sounds like a lot of people try to spend 2 days at Mesa Verde.

I'm not sure when the fall color peak usually hits in southwest Colorado. You might want to try to adjust your schedule around that.

CBelle

Thank you for replying, my interests are sight seeing and photography and generally getting out and about, I'm not a hard core hiker but I do enjoy long walks, probably about 5 miles a day would be my max. I do tend to get ants in my pants if I get bored and so I don't want to spend too much time in one place if there is somewhere better I could be spending my time.

spirobulldog

I wouldn't stay in Cortez. You want to stay in Mesa Verde at Far View Lodge. It is much longer drive than you imagine from Cortez to the "main attractions" in Mesa Verde. I think you would be better off here with 2 or maybe even 3 days.

I would agree with WhereAreWe on 1 day at Grand Canyon. You could do 1 or 2 at Bryce depending on your interests and what you wanted to hike. Best hike there is Navajo Loop/Queens Garden combo.


I would add 1 or maybe even 2 nights and stay at Torrey, UT. This is right by Capitol Reef National Park.

Here are some things to see between Bryce and Arches--
Devils Garden(not to be confused with Devils Garden in Arches) This is part of Escalante National Monument area. It is on a decent dirt road.
Calf Creek Falls-The hike to the falls would take you a couple of hour each way.
Capitol Reef. I hiked 25 miles here over one weekend. Hickman Arch is a nice short trail, that you might want to do. Stop at The Gifford House for pie and eat it under the giant trees at the picnic area. See the orchard. You will likely be here in Apple Picking Season, so pick and eat as many as you like for free. Capitol Reef gets fewer visitors, but is worthy of a day or even two days of your time. It is my least favorites of the parks in Utah, but some people like it best because of the light crowds. I do think the colors here are the best.

Goblin Valley State Park. DO NOT MISS this place. AMAZING!!
Right near the goblins is Little Wildhorse Canyon(not to be confused with Wilhorse--you want LITTLE Wildhorse). This is a fantastic slot canyon. Go in for about a mile and turn around. The entire loop is 8 miles. The best part is the 1st mile.
Great Gallery/Horseshoe Canyon--Best petroglyphs anywhere. This is about a half a day hike. Road can be bad if a recent rain has taken place--would need to just check on road conditions. This is in a super super isolated area. It gets 5-10 hikers a day. This is actually the Canyon where Aaron Ralston(hiker who cut off his own arm) was found(he exited from Blue John Canyon to Horseshoe Canyon--his arm was in BlueJohn, which is a technical slot canyon).


I would spend 1 night in Monument Valley and do an Indian Guided Tour.

One other cool places is Natural Bridges National Monument. Sipapu Bridge is a good as any of the Arches in Arches. Its massive!! The Moki Dugway to it makes an interesting drive(only a couple of miles is the interesting part).

It sounds like a great trip to me. Buy a National Park Pass and save yourself some $$$$. I would highligh suggest lodging "IN PARK" at Zion, Bryce, and Mesa Verde.

Michael

I would spend 2 nights in Durango or Cortez rather than one night in each.

CBelle

Spirobulldog, many many thanks for the invaluable advice, I have gone back to the drawing board and intend to slot in some of your suggestions. I have relied on google maps for my route information and realise now that I am missing some absolute gems. Thanks again!

peterboy

If you get bored easily, you may want to rethink the railroad ride.

spirobulldog

If money isn't that big of an issue. The best way to do the train is www.soaringcolorado.com Awesome, but expensive. This allows you the most scenic section of the train and doesn't bore you for the entire day. It's just enough train and the ziplinning is absolutely unmatched by any other zipline company on the planet. Iv'e done several ziplines and nothing even comes close to this one. You figure in the cost of your train and the fact that they provide you lunch and absolutely no "tipping" is allowed and then the price get slightly more realistic.


I am somewhat of a National Park nut. I've been to just about everyone of them in the west. My single all time favorite thing I've ever done was with www.deserthighlights.com This is in Moab. It's called Canyoneering-very safe and very addictive--this is if you want something adventurous.

emalloy

Do look to stay in Mesa Verde at Far View lodge, not in Cortez. Eat at the Metate room if you want a nice meal with a beautiful view.

emalloy

Hit submit too soon, NP lodging is basic but clean, but the drive up to MV is on a curvy road up to the mesa and it would not be that nice to take at the end of the day.

JC98

Grand Canyon and Monument Valley are very far apart. Can't have just 2 days for both. Stay one night in Monument Valley, in the Indian run hotel there with views of Monument Valley from every room.

Shanti

I would stay only one night and Bryce and add it to Moab/Canyonlands/Arches. I would stay only one night at the Grand Canyon and add a night to staying at Monument Valley (preferably at the View although it is expensive) - you will want to get sunrise/sunset photos of Monument Valley. It's almost the fall equinox and there will be a nice left mitten's shadow on right mitten.

sharondi

I agree with spiro - add a few days between Bryce and Moab and spend some time enjoying the beauty along scenic highway 12. Maybe spend a night at Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder, Utah or in Escalante.

Just outside of Escalante, you have the Devils Garden (off Hole-in-the-Rock Rd) which is a fun stop: http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85698056

In Boulder, you can drive through lovely Long Canyon on the Burr Trail: http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/86567181

The drive up over Boulder Mountain to Capitol Reef NP is gorgeous, especially in the fall. Spend a night in Torrey, the beautiful little western town outside of Capitol Reef and at least drive through this stunning park.

I would suggest saving the Colorado activities (Ouray, Mesa Verde) for another trip - they really deserve more time. If you skip, Ouray and the train ride, you could do a day or two at Mesa Verde but you need to stay in the park at Far View Lodge. The drive in to Mesa Verde is long but very worthwhile, especially if you are staying in the park. Ouray is a beautiful little town with incredible hot springs - we spent a few days there relaxing and loved it. But its a lot of driving for one night. And I'd rather be hiking or exploring than sitting on a train so I can't recommend that.

3 nights in Moab is good. You will need an extra few days getting from Moab to the Grand Canyon, as others have mentioned. Do a little more research and don't hesitate to ask lots more questions. The planning is lots of fun and there is so much to explore!

tomfuller

Sounds like you've got some good advice.
Depending on when your flight out of LV is, you might want to stay at the Hacienda which is less than 3 miles from Hoover Dam.
You could get some good pictures on the dam or from the big new (US 93) bridge that is above it.
If you still have a couple of extra hours take the road up the west side of Lake Meade and find your way to Valley of Fire SP.
You can cut back to the west from Valley of Fire to get onto I-15 into LV.