ckeveryn

I am in the early planning stages of a RV trip from Raleigh NC -> West, with the key stops of Grand Canyon, Arches, Zion and anywhere else in the general area. I would love to do Yellowstone, however, I just don't think we will have time?

We can go anytime from the 2nd week of June until Mid-August (school summer vacation), and are planning on using 2 weeks of our vacation time, so will have 16 nights/17 days available. We will be a party of 2 adults and 4 kids (ages 15, 14, 10 & 8)..and one small Maltese .

I would love to get input regarding the "best" two weeks to plan for the summer. I understand this is "high" season, and therefore, the parks will be very busy and we plan to pack all our patience! IS there a time that would be particularly better during these months, or is it all pretty much the same?

I'm also looking for any other key things I should consider when making this itinerary plan.... we are an active family, and will plan to do some hiking, guided rafting, stargazing, etc. I would love to visit some Native American sites as well, if possible.

Do you agree that the time does not allow for Yellowstone or would it be possible to include even two days there?

The initial plan is:
Day 1 Friday: leave Raleigh NC mid-day, and we can get to Nashville TN late that evening (we used to live there, so are familiar with that drive). camp overnight in that "general" vicinity.
Day 2 & 3: Sat/Sun - Drive to AZ
Day 4: Monday - arrive in AZ - camp & relax at campground (South Rim side)
Day 5: Tuesday - Train to GCNP - spend day in park/train ride back
Day 6: Wednesday - Drive to North Rim - camp
Day 7: Thursday - North rim in AM & Drive to Zion - Camp in area of Zion/Bryce
Day 8: Friday- Zion & Bryce Canyon (if time allows)
Day 9: Saturday - Arches
Day 10: Sunday - Buffer/Downtime day or Arches/Canyonland, depending on what has already been completed, group fatigue and "Mom's" patience with *sometimes grumpy* teenagers!

This is where I'm not sure what to do next... do we head slowly back across country, stopping at "sites" along the way? We could also head back east, and visit Mammoth Caves KY & Smokey Mtns in TN/NC - we've already done both and would enjoy going back. Or we could take the "southern" route and maybe visit "fun" sites like Roswell, Dallas, Memphis, etc. ?

Or do we spend 1 day (is that do-able?) driving to Yellowstone and then 2 full days there, and then go straight back to NC?

Thanks in advance for any help/experience or insight you can provide!


Catherine

Rich

Have you been to Carlsbad Cavern? . . Just south of Roswell

spirobulldog

I would skip the train--tourist trap and waste of time, IMOP

You cannot do Bryce and Zion in one day.

There is so much to see between Bryce and Arches, that you need several days for that as well
Calf Creek Falls, Escalante, Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley, Little Wildhorse Canyon, etc

I would spend the entire time at Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, perhaps include a bit of the Black Hill(Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Badlands, Camp @ Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Mammoth Site).

I love Utah-but you are going when it is hot.

Leave the dog at home. National Parks are not dog friendly at all.

Memphis is cool. Roswell and Dallas isn't somewhere I would go out of my way to see. Love the shopping and dining in Dallas, but thats about it. I mean there are things to do there, but nothing over the top is what I mean.

Whatever you do, be sure and get your camping reservations as soon as they become available.
Most National Parks do not have showers or hookups, btw. I think they do in Yellowstone and in Grand Canyon. None of the Utah parks do. If you go to Utah, camp one night at Goblin Valley, they have hookups and hot showers

DebitNM

"Leave the dog at home. National Parks are not dog friendly at all. "

+1 You cannot take dogs into most parks and to leave the dog in a car in the southwest heat in the summer isn't going to work. Even to go in for lunch somewhere on the road would be dangerous to dog. The dog would have to be kenneled a LOT. Do the dog a favor and leave him home. He'll be a lot happier in the long run.

janisj

I agree re the dog. You will be VERY limited where you can go and what you can do. The dog will be much happier/safer at home w/ a sitter or kenneled.

utahtea

ckeveryn will be doing this trip in an RV and if they can leave the RV at a campground with electrical hook ups and drive off in a tow vehicle then the small dog should be fine being left in the RV as long as it doesn't bark all day and disturb other campers. If they have to drive off in the RV, then I also highly recommend leaving the dog at home. Even RV's get well into the 100's in Utah in the summer.

Do yourself a favor and either do Grand Canyon and Utah parks OR Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Please do not try to do both areas with your limited time.

With your limited time I would also suggest NOT doing both the South Rim and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. With a RV the driving is very slow going to the North Rim so I would really recommend just doing the South Rim.

As Spirolbulldog has mentioned, you really can't do Zion and Bryce justice with one day between the two. You are going to be driving all this way, please do yourself a favor and plan on two nights and one full day for each park. If you have a tow vehicle then spend three nights in Zion and do a day trip to Bryce. If you don't have a tow vehicle, there's no need to back track between the parks and spend two nights at each park.

I also recommend making camping reservations as soon as you have your dates. Watchman campground in Zion National Park has electrical hook ups only. Mather Campground at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is dry camping but there is water and a dump station. The Trailer Village campground at the South Rim has full hook ups but reservations get booked EARLY! For Arches in the summer I would recommend staying in Moab so you can have electrical hook ups and not melt!

Mid June MIGHT be a tad cooler than August, but there's no guarantee. With your window of time to visit, my only recommendation is to AVOID the 4th of July weekend and several days before and after.

Utahtea

J62

The train is not only a tourist trap, but a big waste of time. You don't see the GC at all on the 2-2.5 hr trip, you arrive at the rim mid morning, and depart late afternoon. The best part of the day at the GC is before the train arrives and after it departs.

I think this trip is best done in June, not later in the summer. July / Aug start monsoon season in AZ, so that can impact your plans.

With kids that age I think you should book 2-3, maybe even 4 nights at Zion. There is soooo much to do in the area. I spent a full week there last May and could have sent another and never be bored. You also don't need to spend all your time IN the park. There are some great mtn bike riding trails not far away - the Zion bike shop has all sorts of bikes you can rent and can give you advice on 1/2 day to full day trips you can do with a guide or on your own. You can also book a canyoneering trek through one of the adventure co's in Springdale. In June the Virgin river will be low enough that you can do a short or med or long hike up into the narrows. You can rent footwear and hiking poles at any of the adventure co's for a reasonable fee. There's a small one right by the pedestrian entrance to the park, near one of the campgrounds. It's adjacent to the supermarket you'll use if you are camping.

And book 2 nights at Bryce, again to enjoy both the sunset/sunrise, but also give you time to just explore the park, and surroundings.

You want the RV trip to be remembered for the fun you had while parked/camped in one place for a while, not for the daily grind of moving around.

Skip the North Rim - it's a long drive to see the other side of the same canyon. Instead, spend another night at the S. rim and hike part of the way down into the Canyon on the S. Kaibab trail. Be sure to read up about hiking in the GC, especially the part about bring several liters of water (each), and getting on and therefore off the trail early.

ckelly10

This sounds like an amazing holiday. I myself have visited a few places you have mentioned above and all I can say is if you can make it to Yellowstone, even for only 2 nights its worth it. Obviously I would suggest staying their longer as its such a beautiful place to visit and so much to see but in my opinion its a place that cant be missed.

janisj

>>ckeveryn will be doing this trip in an RV and if they can leave the RV at a campground with electrical hook ups and drive off in a tow vehicle then the small dog should be fine being left in the RV as long as it doesn't bark all day and disturb other campers.

Michael

Forget Yellowstone. If you have the time, go to Mesa Verde.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4086632556/

spirobulldog

I enjoyed Mesa Verde, but Yellowstone should not be crossed off your list. It's a total park with something for everyone and then some. Totally amazing place. Somewhere I could go time and time again. A couple of times at Mesa Verde would do me, unless your really into that type of thing. Yes, we spent 3 days there and saw a lot. I do hope to go back to MV, someday but Yellowstone would be 1st, 2nd and 3rd time before I go back to MV.

Michael

>\Yes, we spent 3 days there and saw a lot. I do hope to go back to MV, someday but Yellowstone would be 1st, 2nd and 3rd time before I go back to MV.

Maybe. But given the time constraint for the total trip, does it really make sense to go from southern Utah all the way to Yellowstone? I think that sticking to a theme--the Southwest--makes more sense.

RVvagabond

Toooo much driving and not enough time touring.
Example - I've been to North Rim Grand Canyon about 3-4 times. This late spring, I'm going there again. Allocated time there - 4+ days. NRGC is superior to SRGC because of its isolation and the cliffs are closer to the canyon bottom (sharper slope). Sublime is the best view. Powell Point hike is a full day itself. Try Thunder River hike. if energetic. Superb destination where a river roars out of the cliff.

Suggest you slow down and see the USA.
Focus only on northern Arizona visiting Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, Wupataki Ruins, and drift northeast to Monument Valley. Other parks in that area are Canyon de Chelly and Hubble Trading Post.

Next time spend the two weeks at the other parks.

Vaga

utahtea

I agree with RVvagabond that there's going to be to much driving and not enough time to see the parks especially if you try to do Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.

RVvagabond, what are the mileages and the elevation gains and losses on the hikes you suggested. They have 4 children and the youngest is only 8 years old. Do you really recommend those hikes for children?

However, I don't agree with the N. Rim being better than the S. Rim. Everyone is going to have their favorite rim. Mine is the South Rim because you get a vaster sense of the canyon. While it's not as crowded as far as numbers go, it still get's busy at the turn outs at the N. Rim. Unless you plan on doing a lot of hiking then you don't need 4+ days at the N. Rim.

Utahtea

ckeveryn

wow.. thanks so much everyone for all the great information!

A bit more clarity... leaving the dog is simply not an option for us, and he is very used to spending long hours traveling with us (as are the kids). We will be in the RV with a tow vehicle, and will be staying in full hookup RV parks only (even though that may/will mean more "commute" time... frankly with 4 "wired in" kids, I don't think I could get them to go 16 days w/o internet/cable (and I'm not gonna let them suck the hotspot/broadband dry).

So, we will leave the dog in the "plugged in" RV at the campground as we are gone for the day. We all work FT, so he's used to his "alone time" anyway.. not a big deal at all (oh.. and he doesn't bark or anything.. he weighs all of 9 lbs).

I agree that GC and Yellowstone are probably too much to try to do, especially in peak season. I think we'll stick to AZ/UT for this trip, and save WY for next year.

I'm now going to go research some of the places you've suggested.. THANKS SO MUCH! My only concern is I don't want to "burn out" the kids with lots of day hikes.. we want to do a handful of them, but not every day.. I think they'll mutiny!

I've marked the train off the list -- I was just trying to find something "unique" to do. The kids really want to go rafting, but hubby and I have rafted in NC/TN and frankly it scares me to pieces to think of my kids on the river -- so, I'll keep researching for alternative activities.

Again, thanks so much for all the great input- and please feel free to keep it coming!

ckeveryn

oh.. and also wanted to mention, that I've done almost all the above places in my own childhoold/teens/young adulthood, but this is the first time planning as a Mom.. I'm super excited to show my kids all these places they've only seen pictures of! As part of our "travel log" I plan to try to "recreate" some of the pics of me from childhood in those iconic spots... we will see how that goes!

We do have all our own equipment - hiking boots, poles, packs, etc... so we will haul all that. Mtn. Bike rentals is an excellent idea! I hadn't thought of that!

Any exceptional Native American sites in the area? I remember seeing the cliff houses (Pueblo I think?) when I was a kid.. but IIRC, that is further West... any suggestions there?

The Mom in me wants to find some educational opportunities in addition to all the "outdoor" time.

Thanks again!

emalloy

For ruins, you could check out Mesa Verde either going or coming between NC and UT, it is only about three hours from Moab. There is a lot of Native American rock art in the Moab area, ask at the Arches VC.

Or if you go through New Mexico, stop at Bandelier, or Aztec Ruin.

janisj

>>So, we will leave the dog in the "plugged in" RV at the campground as we are gone for the day.

utahtea

You say you're looking for something besides hiking but white water rafting is out. There are float trips on the Colorado River out of Page, AZ just below the Glen Canyon Dam. There are no rapids. They have to use motorized rafts to get you down the 14 miles of river but it is an AMAZING beautiful ride! Another idea would be a boat tour on Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, but that might require some hiking depending on the level of the lake. You can drive right by Lake Powell going from the Grand Canyon to Bryce or Zion.


Utahtea

Gretchen

DON'T miss Mesa Verde. I consider it a wonder of the world. And you'll need at least a full day. It is definitely east of the Grand Canyon--the corner of Colorado.
They were the Anasazi people.
If you go across the "bottom" of Colorado to get to MV there is also the Great Sand Dunes.
If you have Iphones you can create your own hot spot--WalMart sells "something". DS the techie, has it.