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Road trip to NP: from Denver to San Francisco or the other way around?

Road trip to NP: from Denver to San Francisco or the other way around?

Old Feb 19th, 2017, 06:38 AM
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Road trip to NP: from Denver to San Francisco or the other way around?

Hi

I hope you can help me decide in which direction to make the road trip in June. We (2 adults) are planning on renting a motor home to make the trip.

Do we depart in San Francisco via Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley, Arches to Denver
or
do we depart in Denver first week of June and arrive in San Francisco end of June?

Is Yosemite Nat Park worth the drive from Las Vegas or will that be to much after seeing all the National Parks (Zion, Bryce, ...)? We'll have about 3 weeks

Thank you very much far any reply

Jeanique
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 07:04 AM
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Renting even a small RV for 2 adults is a poor idea IMO.
My Amtrak idea which you are free to discard:
Take the California Zephyr out of Denver (morning) and ride coach all the way to Grand Junction.
Spend a night in Grand Junction and then rent a car for the rest of the trip.
First stop from Grand Junction is Moab to see Arches and a part of Canyonlands.
Go south from Moab to see Monument Valley and maybe Mesa Verde.
Cross northern Arizona and see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. From Grand Canyon go to see Hoover Dam on the way to Las Vegas.
By the time mid to late June rolls around you should be able to go over the Tioga Pass into Yosemite after visiting Death Valley.
Were you intending on spending any time in San Francisco or was it just to pick up or drop a vehicle?
Pick up Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef after leaving Yosemite on the way back to turn in the car in Grand Junction.
Take the train back in coach from Grand Junction.
The Glenwood Canyon looks a lot better from the train than driving through it.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 08:00 AM
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Yosemite is worth more than the others and in June there is the possibility the falls will be still falling.
Las Vegas certainly isn't worth a national park omission!! LOL nor Death Valley, IMO.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 08:02 AM
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Oh, and the RV may not be good either, especially if thinking of camping in NP without reservations already.
AND of course, there is Rocky Mountain National Park near Denver.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 08:03 AM
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Most likely a motorhome is not your best option. A regular car and staying in hotels/motels/campgrounds will be cheaper and give you much more flexibility.

It will be VERY hot in both Vegas and DV.

With 3 weeks I'd stick to the Arizona and Utah parks and Colorado. One big problem is it is very likely that Tioga Pass won't be open so I'd forget about driving between SF/Yosemite and Las Vegas
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 08:04 AM
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Oh and to clarify. . . . Yosemite is my very favorite place on your list. It is just the logistics of traveling between the west side and east side of the Sierra.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 09:12 AM
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Do the math on the RV, it will cost about $150 per day and unlike a rental car does not come with unlimited mileage. They also tend to get poor gas mileage, plus you have to rent dishes and linens.
Plus you have to pay fees for campgrounds and RV parks.
You would do better with a rental car and motels.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 12:17 PM
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Won't Tioga be open by June? REally?
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 12:21 PM
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Very possibly not this year - we have had HUGE amounts of snow and more is on the way. But everything could change in the next couple of months.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 02:45 PM
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Back to the original question about direction: I see no significant difference - the question of late snowfalls and road closures exists both in Colorado and in California.

Whichever way you do it, you must give Denver a few nights, to - at least - visit
~ Mt. Evans (opens usually on Memorial Day)
~ Pikes Peak
~ Garden of the Gods near CO Springs very early one morning, long before sunrise
~ Rocky Mountain National Park (get there long before sunrise and, if you can, stay up on Trailridge Rd until well after sunset when the sky changes color after most everybody has given up and left...).

These are A-List targets of the caliber of those on your list that you drive all those miles for, and they are within easy driving distance from Denver (as long as you can get out of bed in time...). Or spend two nights in CO Springs and two nights in Denver.

Get a car - not an RV, you need to be flexible and nimble.
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Old Feb 19th, 2017, 07:47 PM
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You do not have to camp in the national parks themselves. We stayed outside Arches in a National Forest campground to visit Arches NP and Island in the Sky of Canyonlands NP. We subsequently camped in the Needles section of Canyonlands. You might want to check my trip report covering some of tha area (we skipped the Grand Cayon, Bryce and Zion this time around); click on my name to find the report.

If you have done tent camping, it might be the way to go. You can get basic equipment (tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, cooking materials, etc.) for about $300 at Target, Big5Sports and other large stores of that ilk. These costs will be paid off in a week, even taking into account the campsite fees--as long as you stick to public campgrounds.

Some campgrounds can be quite "primitive" with the camp sites having just a table and a fire ring; usually there is potable water available, but not always, especially in desert areas. And there will be a pit toilet somewhere on the campground. Look at a map and check for the names of the national forests. Each one has its own policy regarding camping, which will be posted on its web site. The same goes for national parks. Here's a sample: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/sierra/recreation
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 08:22 AM
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Either direction makes sense however I would reconsider the RV. 1) Driving a large vehicle in a city is NOT fun, 2) trying to find parking when parking is limited is much harder 3) tunnel between Zion and Bryce (need to pay a fee and wait for them to close road so you can get through) 4) unless you drag a car you may be limited on where you can go 5) cost in time and money is always higher than expected.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 03:20 AM
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Thank you for all your valuable information!

I am surprised though that a RV will be more expensive. The prices of hotels I found were around 200 dollars per night. If you add the price of a rental car I thought the RV would be cheaper.

If you travel by car, do you also need to book in advance, or do you have the freedom of finding a nice hotel on arrival?

Hope you can help me again!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 01:57 PM
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Define "nice" hotel?

As opposed to "budget motel" as in Motel 6?

Still more comfortable than a campervan since you'd have to have a tiny one to get to most of the places you're aiming for.

Just one example picked at random: Motel 6 in Grand Junction for 2 adults on June 4: $51.99
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Old Feb 27th, 2017, 09:47 AM
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Finding cheaper lodging this close to your trip may be difficult. Expand your hotel/motel search beyond the typical travel search engines as small scale lodging may not be listed. Try googling a town name + (b&b, hotel, motel, lodging). TripAdvisor might be helpful.
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Old Feb 27th, 2017, 04:11 PM
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A good way of finding lodgings that are not showing up in search engines is working Google maps with large zoom until business names show up.

Then put the yellow little figurine near the business for "Street View" and walk around the neighborhood; google the actual business name plus town name, see what comes up, and make a phone call if there is no web page.

Has worked for me many times, but don't be too fussy, maybe you'll find cheap and adequate (for modest expectations) lodgings that way, but probably not "nice hotels" (which you still have not defined for us).
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Old Feb 27th, 2017, 07:40 PM
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Note that some Amtrak routes have been affected by rain and flooding.
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Old Feb 28th, 2017, 06:36 PM
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I don't know if you have researched it, but I think RV rentals are incredibly expensive. You can usually find inexpensive hotels for much cheaper. For the trip you are planning, I would guess you can find hotels for an average of $100-125 a night if you aren't too picky. Some places will be more expensive and others will be less expensive. I found good deals in Moab, and outside Zion and Bryce. We stayed in a tent cabin in Yosemite and it was fine for a night or two and so nice to be in the park.
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Old Mar 1st, 2017, 04:02 AM
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jeanique,

we often travel with reservations for only part of the trip, usually the first and last nights of the trip.

I usually want to be in the parks if possible, but will make a cancellable reservation near by if in park is full or only very expensive options are available.
The in park lodging fills up early and as time gets close people cancel when they find they cannot make the trip. If you call frequently as time gets close you often can get one of the cancellations then cancel the other reservation.

If you decide to go without making reservations ahead, look for lodging near a major hwy or the intersection of two well travelled roads. What has worked for me in the past is to locate a property with good rates on line and then called from the road and asked for the on line rate.

Another place to look for less expensive lodging is that associated with the Native American Casinos. Many have very nice rooms and you do not have to gamble to stay in their hotels.
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Old Mar 1st, 2017, 05:19 AM
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Thank you Emalloy and all others for the valuable information! I will follow your advice!
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