trishy34

Hi. I want to plan an RV trip through Arizona and Colorado. There are so many wonderful places to visit I just can't decide. I want a tool or book or something that gives suggested routes that go through wonderful mountain landscapes, canyons, rivers etc..

I have done two RV trips from Phoenix to Toombstone and then up to the Grand Canyon, via Sedona and then onto Vegas - this was years ago and was with a boyfriend who knew the area.

Can anyone suggest any routes, books or tools that I can plug in places I want to visit, such as the gorgeous national parks or suggest gorgeous places to visit and a route to take?

I would be coming over for 14 nights. I have stayed in a number of national parks and they were fantastic - so would be really interested in these as well.

Thank you in advance

Trishy34

Nelson

Trishy34, people will want to know what month you will be traveling. That could make a big difference on routes. But you will no doubt get a lot of information, options and suggestions here, so stand by!

PeaceOut

Wow. Lucky you! That is gorgeous country.

We live in Colorado, and can recommend places here, with info on time of year. You will get overloaded with awesome ideas!

To start, you could check fodor's books, of course.

tomfuller

I don't think you will save any money using an RV and paying for campsites compared with renting a car and staying in motels or National Park lodging if you are lucky enough to get a reservation.
You mentioned family. Do you have a child (children with you)?
The Fodor's guidebooks are a great place to start planning.
Don't forget to include at least 1 southern Utah National Park in between Arizona and Colorado. Arches is great.

Nelson

Yes the Fodors guidebooks are great.

Depending on the date of your trip, you may find Colorado and Arizona are not a good combination. Sometimes when it's great weather in Colorado, not so in Arizona, or the other way around.

Since you've been to Arizona twice you could consider Colorado and Wyoming, or Colorado and Utah. For that you'd want to be here from May through October, more or less. All those states are loaded with fantastic and varied sites.

Have fun planning.

spirobulldog

I would be tempted to stick with just Colorado(it sounds like you've done some in Arizona already).

Start out in Denver, head south to Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak.
Then to Great Sand Dunes
Next would be to Mesa Verde and Durango area.
Take Million Dollar Hwy and head towards Black Canyon of the Gunnison
From there over to Rocky Mountain Park Estes Park
Then back to Denver or you could include a few days at a Ski Resort for summer activities. Somewhere like Breckenridge or Winter Park. Depending on where that was located, you might want to do that before Rocky Mountains.

Great Sand Dunes is best the last of May or first of June.
Rocky Mountains is better the last part of June or even into July or August. Mesa Verde isn't fully open until the last weekend of May.

You could even cut over to Arches National Park/Moab for 2 or 3 nights.

Michael

New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Rather than an RV, consider camping. Outfitting for car camping can be done for about $300 at stores like Target, K-Mart, Sports Authority, etc. Donate the equipment to Goodwill at the end of the trip.

To whet your appetite:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622636845987/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623176227912/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622984070940/

jarand

For RV specific travel, a good forum can be found at Trailer Life. Scroll down to the board "RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds,and More" and also the board "Roads and Routes."

forums.trailerlife.com

Michael

This guidebook might be a good addition to your reading materials:

http://www.thesavvytraveller.com/agr.../west_475h.jpg

janisj

The OP may be gone - has never been back since posting this . . .