Where to go "out west"

You could fly into Denver tour in the city get some night life and do a loop up through Rocky Mountain National Park. This would involve a bit of driving, but nothing that would need to take days if you don't want to. There is plenty to see there and fall is lovely in the mountains, just don't put it off too late as some of the best roads are closed by October.

If you haven't been to Grand Canyon, that is a second trip I think should be on everyone's bucket list. It is a fantastic place for folks who like to walk. The rim trail is mostly flat, with wonderful views. You could fly into Phoenix and do do some city stuf then drive up to the canyon for a night or two.

For a different part of the Rockies, fly into Albuquerque, do some city stuff, take the tram up Sandia Peakl, Then drive up to Santa Fe, do more city thing - nice museums, good dining, some night life- then drive over to Bandelier National Monument, check out the ancient Native American homes, carved into the side of the mountain, easy walking through most of this area.

Have fun planning.
Fall would be a great time to visit any of these places

you're right -- there can be a LOT of driving out west. Since you would like to see the Rockies but prefer to avoid arid landscapes (deserts) and casinos, I'd suggest you take a look at the Canadian Rockies -- Banff National Park, to be specific.

Fly into Calgary, drive into Banff (or Canmore, or Lake Louise). It's only about an hour from Calgary into the mountains. Take a look at the threads on that area to help you decide where you would like to stay. Canmore has more lodging and civilization and is a bit closer to Calgary. Banff is of course in Banff National Park (Canadian), also with lots of lodging, restaurants, and shops (just a bit pricier than Canmore). Lake Louise is a bit more into the mountains and gorgeous, but more natural beauty and less shops/restaurants.

We are not serious hikers, but love short day hikes. There are tons of them in Banff. However, a lot depends on when you would like to visit. Right now, of course, the weather is heading towards winter. We've been several times in September and it is just beautiful. I think that June or later, through early October, would be your window.

Hi rushed,

I can't help wondering, since you have never been west of Cincinnati, what your idea of a desert is, exactly? There are many different types of "deserts", some beautiful, some boring. The desert around Las Vegas = boring. The 4 corners areas deserts = gorgeous! How do you know you don't want desert if you have never been?

We just came from a short trip - flew to Phoenix, drove up to Sedona and Grand Canyon - such a breathtaking area!

Also, if you haven't seen them yet, I would definitely put Yosemite, Lake Tahoe on the "to visit" list.

Yosemite National Park. You can fly to Fresno and then drive about 90 miles to Yosemite Village. You can do anything from driving or taking a shuttle, to easy walking, to serious hiking. It is gorgeous.

Yellowstone Natioal Park. You can fly to Cody or Jackson Hole, WY, and then drive 70-80 miles to the center of the park (with scenery and interesting stops along the way).

San Francisco is a beautiful city. Lots to do there and surrounding.

OR both Yosemite and San Francisco. It is about 185 miles from SF to Yosemite Village. Fly into Fresno and return from San Fran.

Fly almost anywhere out west and make a loop of the surrounding sights/sites. There is NOTHING in the world to rival the American west.
You could fly to Jackson, Wyoming, drive north through the Grand Tetons to Yellowstone. Make a loop back.
Fly to Denver and do as someone suggested to RMNP. Then go south to Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, etc.
Then go west as far as Vail and see the Rockies--2 hours to Vail.
The San Francisco option is also wonderful.

Wow! Thanks everyone for a lot of good information. That gives me somewhere to start researching.

Sludick, I watched the Bachlorette this year and they filmed in Banff and it showed them taking a train ride through the mountains. I thought the scenery was stunning.

Dayle, I know this sounds crazy but any kind of desert doesn't appeal to me. I actually avoid reading books or watching tv that takes place in deserts. It just doesn't interest me. My ideal scenery is Great Britain. I've been there three times. I love Edinburgh and the surrounding area. I'd live there if I could afford it. I have friends that tell me how beautiful the desert is but it doesn't change my mind. If someone pays my way I might go.

Again, thanks everyone.

If you are thinking about the Sahara as "desert", you need to visit Sedona or a lot of other places in the Southwest.

Where should be go in Southern Europe? Please don't be offended, but we have no desire to see anything in Italy or Spain.

Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon make an unforgettable trip.
You could fly into Las Vegas to pick up your car with no obligation to gamble or to go to The Strip.

HTTY

Hi again rushed,

I'll give you one personal experience I had. On my first trip to Europe, Italy specifically, I only planned 1.5 days in Rome because I had been told it was just a big, crowded, dirty and polluted city.

I LOVED IT!!! I've been back since and am right now planning a 4th Italy trip that will definitely include a week just for Roma!

One huge benefit of travel is to broaden your experience and perspective....

The OP has at least admitted to having a completely closed mind. We should respect that.

How about the Pacific Northwest? Nothing desert-y about it.

Fly into Seattle, rent a car and see Olympic National Park (rain forest), maybe Mt. Rainier (gorgeous wildflowers in late July, fall color in September), San Juan Islands. Visit Victoria (a little bit of Britain right here on the west coast of North America) on a daytrip from Port Angeles. Return the car in Seattle, take the train up to Vancouver, and then to the Canadian Rockies (Banff) from there. Fly home from Calgary.

Personally I find western Pennsylvania more of a desert than the western USA.

Since you like Cincinnati, maybe a tour of Detroit or St. Louis would be more your style?

Upon first reading the OP, I was going to suggest flying into EITHER Denver or Salt Lake City and then doing either a one-way or a round-trip to the opposite one.

The mention of Banff suggests perhaps flying into Spokane, WA and then driving north into Canada, up through the Rocky Mountains, and then perhaps to Edmonton and/or Calgary, and maaaaaaaaybe back to Spokane to fly home. (you will need a passport to cross the border)

You have lots of options.

Good idea NWMale. Banff and surroundings is definitely the place to see the Rockies. OP could fly into Calgary for a short drive to Banff, and the drive up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper is an easy drive. Kootenay NP, east of Banff, is also a great place to view mountains without a lot of driving.

Were I making this trip, I would include Waterton Lakes NP and Glacier NP, but that would require more driving that OP seems to want.

OK folks -- there are hundreds of places one can go in the West w/o seeing desert. So what is the big deal?? Are you personally offended the OP doesn't want to see desert? And RBCal - that Detroit/St Louis slap was just plain ridiculous. Some of us know how beautiful the desert can be - but not everyone wants the exact same things. Which is a good thing IMO.

rushed: You have lots and LOTS of choices, but do realize that the "West" is vast w/ some enormous distances. Sometimes folks from the NE don't realize the huge-ness of things out here. So for some of the suggestions above, do realize there will be some long drives. Beautiful drives for the most part, but long none the less.

Yellowstone, or Yosemite, or San Francisco/Tahoe/Yosemite, or the California/Oregon Coasts/Redwoods or anything mentioned so far would all be fine.

The flying into Fresno suggestion for Yosemite might be good - however, service in to Fresno is quite limited and can be VERY expensive. Other likely cheaper options would be flying into Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose or San Francisco. Or if you were to visit Tahoe too, flying into Reno would be another option. Southwest serves all of these airports so that tends to reduce the fares for all the airlines.

While Yosemite and Lake Tahoe are indeed breathtakingly beautiful, they are NOT in the Rockies (it's the Sierras, a couple mountain ranges west of the Rockies), and there is little to no nightlife in either place, except in the casinos around Lake Tahoe, which the OP does not like.

hazel: "While Yosemite and Lake Tahoe are indeed breathtakingly beautiful, they are NOT in the Rockies (it's the Sierras, a couple mountain ranges west of the Rockies)"

And your point is? In case it was overlooked -- the OP also tagged the her thread for California. So apparently they are looking for all sorts of suggestions. I'll assume she understands that Yosemite and Tahoe are not in the Rockies . . . .

"there is little to no nightlife in either place, except in the casinos around Lake Tahoe, which the OP does not like."

One can go to the shows/nightclubs in any casino w/o gambling a penny, or even walking through the gambling floor in many cases.

IMHO, the high desert is the most beautiful environment in the West.

I avoided the entire SW (did CO and all the Northern spots everyone else is detailing) because of preconceived ideas about deserts until I was nearly 50 years old. BIG MISTAKE.

Northern AZ and the bordering states to that area, IMHO, after it is all said and done- THE John Wayne sunset scene American West. Not just Sedona either, is drop dead scenic.

Also, to be honest- I liked the food better, as well.

JJ5 you took the words out of my mouth.

Also, you need to consider weather BIG time doing any of the Northern trips suggested here. We have needed chains put on the tires in September twice, I'm not kidding.

I can't imagine doing the kind of driving that you do around Banff if you only driven as far West as Cincinnati. There are huge elk everywhere, and Moose- you know.

And if I showed you a picture of this "desert" you would not recognize it as such. Towns like Prescott, AZ look like someone dropped a piece of my beloved forested and laked MI into the mountains. You can access Grand Canyon easily and a couple of Mountain miner towns from there as well. Lots more to see of intense interest and changing topography in less driving. We've done it, I know.

happytrailstoyou, one thing about getting old- you can really see what you overlooked and where you made mistakes.

The Pacific Northwest is very, very doable too- but if you want a "WEST" - do N. AZ and over to Jerome. Driving is no piece of cake, either.

Hi, Rushed. You say, "I really don't like driving long distances in the USA.. . . We would prefer to fly to a city and do some touring in the surrounding area", so I have a different suggestion than the previous long driving trips.

Aspen, Colorado, could be a good destination for you. So much to see and do there, and fun nightlife. In the Fall, it is gorgeous and uncrowded, so the prices are the lowest than any other time of the year, I believe. Beautiful easy hikes, river rafting (maybe not in the Fall), fishing, short drive to Glenwood Springs, ghost towns, the gorgeous Maroon Bells, . . . Not to mention great dining and shopping. Also lots of music festivals, but they might be over by the Fall season.

(Or choose another beautiful Rocky Mtn. 'city', like Telluride, or Steamboat Springs. Depending on what you want.)

We have always really enjoyed our stays in Aspen. If you're interested, I can recommend some great condo/hotels in Aspen. I suggest you stay in Aspen proper, for its charm.

I think PeaceOut has hit the nail on the head. A town like Aspen (or Telluride or Steamboat Springs or Breckenridge or ...) could be just what you are looking for. I'll also throw out Durango if visiting Anasazi ruins has any interest for you.

watch the Top Ten Wonder of the West on the travel channel for some ideas.

My two favorites are Yellowstone and Arches. I don't consider arches "in the desert". I think of it as another planet.

Favorite cities in the west are Portland and San Francisco.
There is a ton to do around Portland and some great food. If your read, you will spend an entire day in Powell's Bookstore.

Having read all the posts I sort of wish I'd never asked. I don't understand how sensitive and rude some people are. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, and (for me anyway) a limited budget for vacations. I want to go to places I think I'll enjoy. I have lived in western Pa. all my life and visited family in the suburbs of Cincinnati. I am smart enough to realize the west is "big". That's why I asked for advice. I like PeaceOut's suggestion. Also NorthwestMale's.

By the way, I didn't include a tag on this post. Fodor's must have added it.

Reaffirmation that no good deed will go unpunished.

I doubt very much the editors tagged your thread -- since there is nothing in your post that indicates which states interest you. They don't run around tagging orphan threads for no reason.

Since Colorado is right below to California, you probably dragged over both before clicking Wyoming . . . .

So now that we have established you aren't interested in CA -- carry on . . . .

Your post doesn't specify city.

All of your definitions and explanations so far, have been broad ones. Especially if you plan to travel in the FALL- you need to be specific. The American West also has a connotation that isn't translating either, IMHO.

You shouldn't take offense in that way- but try again to narrow down specific information in your questions. Do you want a city vacation? If you want a city vacation, that is entirely different that what you asked.

Even if you don't reply- be VERY careful where you plan to go in Fall if it mountain high end ski locations, like Aspen or some of the others in CO. Because there are seasons- both summer and ski, and between them- the venues can be altered hours- all of them. And weather can be quickly different coming in and out, as most have you landing in Denver.

I won't pretend to understand your almost
phobic aversion to 'deserts'. While my
feelings about it aren't as extreme as
yours, I have no desire to visit the UK.
It seems like a damp, moldy place with
rotting old buildings everywhere you go.
And all that history revolving around
inbred monarchs bickering about what form
of Christianity they prefer....what could
be more tedious and disgusting than that!
Yuck.

That said, everyone's vacation is thier own
to take and, if you don't want to visit the
'desert' then you shouldn't be made to feel
badly about it. The desert won't miss you
any more than you will care about not visiting
it.

I'd suggest a trip to California...specifically
the San Francisco area. You're cool with oceans
I hope? Besides the city, which is splendid, you
could travel down the coast to Big Sur or inland
to see Yosemite and the Sierras. You shouldn't
have to drive more than 3 hours from SF to do
these things and generally a lot less.

Likewise, Denver is a good base for doing the
Rockies.

I hope you find a place you're comfortable with.

Rushed, you generally get your best answers in the first ten posts or so. Then it falls a part with a lot of non-responsive answers with some posters think that they are being clever with their answers. Ignore them.

Rushed -

Ignore the unhelpful posts (people, for the most part, ARE trying to be helpful), and concentrate on the many good suggestions. I would say flying into Denver and going up to Rocky Mountain National Park is a good idea, for what you're looking for. Tahoe, after flying into Reno (ignore the gambling stuff - we do). The Banff area, too. Though I don't know that any of those places have much night life - I know that Estes Park, the town closest to the main entrance to RMNP, does not. I would say that any mountain destinations, you should do in September. Not only can and does it snow in October, but many local businesses close down for a bit prior to the ski season. An option that has some nightlife is Vail, Colorado. It's a little more than 2 hours from the Denver airport, in the middle of the mountains, and contains many great restaurants and usually evening concerts and festivals and the like on the weekends. Again, you'd want to visit in September rather than October.

Yellowstone is "unique in all the world," but it doesn't have tall mountains, if you really want those. Its next-door neighbor, Grand Teton National Park, does have the tall mountains. While you could fly to a relatively-close city, there would be quite a bit of driving within the parks.

On the comments about deserts, etc. I find it annoyingly humerous when someone (you, me or anyone else) says "these are our parameters," and we get 50% of the responses trying to get us to do something else. (I don't really love desert environments either.) We ALWAYS have limited time and money, so I choose to allocate our time and money in a way that works best for us. An example of this, for me, were trips to the Dordogne area of France and to Slovakia. We wanted to focus on culture and old castles - we (surprise) have zero castles where we live. We do live in the Rockies, and are lucky enough to be able to take advantage of biking, hiking and canoeing opportunities in the mountains most weekends. Yet, even though I said we were focusing on castles and culture, I had numerous suggestions (orders?) to visit Tatras mountains in Slovakia, and to take canoe rides down rivers in the Dordogne. Beautiful, yes, but we had reasons that made perfect sense to us as to why we were skipping those sights. So try to grin and bear it, and I share your pain!

des⋅ert1  /ˈdɛzərt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [dez-ert]
–noun
1. a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all: The Sahara is a vast sandy desert.

2. any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil.

... since most probably need a refresher as to the actual meaning of "Desert".

With that said, the Great Basin, comprised of large areas of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, also qualifies.

I'm guessing that the O.P. just doesn't want to find herself in one of those scenes stereotypical of the Middle East, with only camel races and bedouins visible aside from endless dunes of sand.

It bears mention that it is possible that the OP needs reassurance that most of the options offered here will not bring her to confront such a scene in the western USA.



Rushed: Because your window of opportunity is so vast, you're likely to get lots and lots of suggestions. When it comes time to make a commitment, it might be a good idea to just price rental cars in a number of different western cities, and then price air travel TO the corresponding cities, and choose the spot which offers you the best value among others prequalified as "finalists" among spots you might wish to visit.

And don't forget, that merely FLYING over the Rockies could make for quite a vision for your husband. Many of us have done it, and would expect as much.

More detail on my two earlier suggestions:

Flying into Spokane, WA, and then driving on the following path:

Spokane to Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Jasper to Edmonton, Canada

Edmonton, Canada to Calgary, Canada

Calgary, Canada to "St. Mary, Montana" (East edge of Glacier Nat'l Park, MT)

St. Mary, MT to Spokane, WA

That would entail 1450 miles plus lots of zig-zagging around to see wonderful views in the Canadian Rockies.

I promise you that many of the views are much different than in Western PA. And the U.S. part of that drive would be mostly in remote, very scenic areas.

Consider, (or don't) that you can also go a few quick hours from Jasper, Alberta to find the biggest shopping mall in North America in Edmonton (I'm just working the 'contrast' angle here).


******************************

My other idea was to fly to EITHER Denver, Colorado OR to Salt Lake City, Utah and do either a round-trip or a one-way trip to the opposite one.

That would give you a great chance to compare airfares and rental car fees for each combination, and go with what is most affordable. MOST of the time, it costs more to rent a car one-way, and more to fly to "multiple destinations", but not always.

The internet makes it so handy to do all of these price comparisons before you have to commit. And since you are so free to pick what you want (vs., say, being locked into going to a business conference in Houston), you probably have the best of all worlds.


SO... maybe flying to SLC would top Denver for the fact that you'd see the Rockies from the air enroute. Once there, you could pick things to see in southern Utah while taking a long, leisurely path into southwestern Colorado, and then up to Denver, before taking a different path back to SLC.

You might take a small detour off of I-70 to visit Aspen, CO... or you might be content with seeing Vail, CO, which is right on I-70.

You spoke of likely going in the fall... hopefully when the rates are on the way down, and before true winter weather comes about. Early September could be an excellent time to visit any of the areas I've mentioned, and while "freak" storms occasionally happen, they gen-er-al-ly don't impede anybody for very long at that time of the year.

You just have so many enticing options that the Fodorites can't be as sure of themselves as they usually are when somebody says:

I need to get from DC to Philly but I want to bypass Baltimore - which way should I go?

Good luck to you!

Have fun doing the PLANNING...

Northwest,
You think flying @ 30,000 above the rockies qualifies as "seeing them"?????

Rushed,
while on trips, most people do operate on some budget. Your original post stated that you returned from Ireland. Most people would find the airfare alone expensive. Any trip overseas automatically says expensive to most people. I do think you received some good ideas on many areas. I curious as to exactly what you are looking for? I do like the Rocky Mountain NP, but would not be in my top 5 recommendations for the west, and not in my top 10 if you included deserts. When you say Rockies, that is a big territory that includes Glacier National Park and Yellowstone.

Even though you regret posting this (your first response was you thought you had received some great ideas), I still think you can look back over the entire post and find a ton of optinos that would be great.

Spiro~

What are you talking about?

The flying over the Rockies was only a reference to choosing Salt Lake City for landing, vs. Denver for landing, because it is hard to appreciate the full of the Rockies in one trip without seeing them from above.

If you fly to Denver, you're just going from one end of mostly-flat eastern USA to the other end of the mostly-flat area.

Good grief! Rushed just asked for some suggestions for travel out west and narrowed her search to exclude deserts. I have been to deserts all over the world and agree they contain some amazing sights but I am with Rushed, if I asked for some help on a future trip, anywhere, I would probably exclude deserts. Different strokes for different folks.

Rushed, I think of all the suggestions you have been given I think yoo would most enjoy the Canadian Rockies if you are set on The Rockie Mountains and want the stunning, high mountain, glacier, hiking, Canandian Park Castle like hotels. Or the Seattle/Vancouver/Victoria combo for green, high tea, oceanside, adventure. Have a great time whatever you do!

If one expresses opinions they know are offensive, it is ludicrous of them to whine when others are offended.

And, when one states "any suggestions would be appreciated," it is perverse of them to complain about suggestions that thus elicited.

Suggested Revision: "I am seeking advice for the planning of a trip to see the Rocky Mountains."

Since you plan to travel in the Fall, I would think weather in the Canadian Rockies would be too cold. Better to stay south, like Colorado. I still recommend Aspen.

Or Lake Tahoe, if you are interested in mountains other than the Rockies. There, you have the gorgeous lake, too. And if you stay on the California shore, you will not have the gambling atmosphere as on the Nevada side. You could fly to Reno, and drive the 45 minutes to Lake Tahoe.

Rushed, Try to overlook the sarcasm. I had tried to plan a trip out west for a couple of years and kept having to postpone because of my mom's health. After she died, I started again and got some great sarcastic replies from a couple of people. Anyhow I'm fixing to post a trip report from our trip out west, which we just returned from. Take the good advice, ignore the bad and have a great time planning. If you don't want to drive a lot pick a big town and see what's around it and go as far as you want and explore that area. We like driving, so we drove 4,000 miles on our trip. That's not for everyone, but we loved it.
You might consider flying into Denver and going to Estes Park, we loved that area. Beautiful beyond belief, as was everything we saw in our 4,000 miles. Rocky Mountain National Park was wonderful.
If you want little or no driving fly into San Francisco. The first couple of times we went there we didn't rent a car at all, just enjoyed the city and one day we hired a limo and went to Muir Woods to see the Redwoods.
Living on the east coast, it's hard to imagine the vastness of the west until you go, so unless you pick a city and see the surrounding areas around that city, you are going to experience driving. But it's all a beautiful drive. Have fun planning.