A loop through Utah-Arizona-Colorado: Road trip route questions
 

Next April (2016) we’re planning a two week loop road trip to the southwest flying in/out of Las Vegas. We’ll be visiting Native American sights and archaeological ruins, and taking some light hikes in National Parks. We’ll be staying in hotels, lodges and B&Bs. For the driving loop, this is what we have so far, and the length of stay in each location. My main question is: from Durango, how best to get to Canyon de Chelly? Backtrack past Mesa Verde, then turn southwest (rts 160 and 191), or take a different route south to Farmington, then west (rts 170, 64, and 33). They both come in around 3 hours. Is one better than the other? We’d appreciate any comments and suggestions. We’ve not made flights or hotel reservations yet, so there’s time for changes.

A two week Itinerary (we’re flexible on this)
Fly into Las Vegas, pick up car and drive to Zion Nat’l Park (3 nights)
Drive to Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley (1 Night, or 2?)
Drive to Mesa Verde (3 nights)
Drive to Durango (2 nights)
Drive to Canyon de Chelly (3 nights)
Drive to Flagstaff (2 nights)
Drive to Las Vegas airport, drop off car, late day flight

Thanks.

I don't understand your pace and places to stay. Have you nailed down the lodging yet? I would check on that before deciding on which direction to do the route.

I would want to visit Bryce and Grand Canyon on a trip like this and would not need more than 2 nights in Mesa Verde and would not to to Durango on this trip.

You really don't need 3 nights in Canyon de Chelley. Perhaps one day to drive the rim and hike down to White House Ruin and one day to take a tour with a Navajo Guide - you can't go into the area on your own other than to White house ruin.

What do you plan to do in Flagstaff for 2 nights?

Have you used one of the mapping sites like bing maps or map quest, or googlemaps to check out how much time/distance will be spend getting to the parks? Perhaps a good place to start.

This is a very wonderful part of the world and April is a great time for a visit.

Ancient Indian ruins:
Wupatki and Walnut Canyon near Flagstaff
Also at Navajo National Monument
West of Mesa Verde is Hovenweep (3 sites)
the absolute most fascinating is Chaco in northwest N.M.


I assume hiking is not an option, so I did not list those.
Canyonlands, Needles District has many ruins and their 'painted faces' best represented by the All American Man
http://rroberts.photoshelter.com/image/I000098J_i2Z4p2A
He is hidden in a cave - hard to find


Vaga

Thanks for the replies emalloy and RVvagabond.

Emalloy, I’ll try to explain our “pace” and choice of places. And as I said in my original post, we haven’t booked lodging yet, though I have places picked out. And while there are numerous beautiful places in the area, we picked these destinations because we wanted to focus on sights and ruins. We’ve been to Bryce and Grand Canyon (camped there and DH also did the 14 day raft trip in GC), and Chaco (camped there, too). So, we haven’t forgotten that those places warrant a good long visit. We loved them both. This time there’s no camping but we still want to do some light hiking. And though we’ve been to Zion, Mesa Verde and Flagstaff (again camped there too, years ago) we now want to go back.

Before my initial post I checked and made note of all driving distances and times between places and allowed time for in between stops. If we spend three nights somewhere, it’s probably because the day getting there is a long drive and we’ve stopped to see things along the way. We may have three nights, but really only two days at these actual destinations. And at those places, this is not too long, in my opinion. We’re trying to slow the pace and spend longer in each place. We really prefer to not change lodging nightly, or even every other night, if possible. Where applicable, we will be booking guides for tours, such as Antelope Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. In my planning I’ve noted distances between destinations and what we’ll do and see along the way.

RVvagabond, Chaco is marvelous and if we were going to camp we’d definitely visit again. The ruins are spectacular! Chaco is wonderful especially in the very early morning and in the evening, and camping is the way to do it--but not this time. Our two nights in Flagstaff allow us to spend a good portion of a day to see Wupatki, Sunset Crater, and Walnut Canyon. We considered Canyonlands, but decided the loop was getting too big, with too many destinations. And we’ve been there, camped there, so we’re saving it for another repeat trip.

Do either of you have any thoughts about my inquiry as to which route is better between Durango and Canyon de Chelly?

Kathleen,

Walnut Canyon,Sunset Crater and Wupatki are all interesting places along the way.

From Durango to Canyon de ChelleyI think I would take 550 south to 64 and then over, I'd break up the trip with a stop at Aztec ruin (right on 550 I think). You can see most of that in an hour or so and the kiva has been re constructed and is very beautiful.

If don't already have one and you are old enough to get a senior pass for the NPs, do that at the first park you go to. If you're too young the regular pass will probably worth the purchase, given the number of parks you're visiting.

Thank you emalloy,

Yes, we have our senior passes! What a deal. We've already used them several times. In looking at the map, I think we will heed your advice and take 550 to 64 then south on 191 to Canyon de Chelly. I completely overlooked the Aztec Ruins. Thanks for that!