Road trip from Vegas to Houston in 5 days - suggestions?
 

Hi all, thanks for the great forum, so useful! I was hoping I could get some feedback on what's possible to see on a 5 day journey through the Southwest.

Myself, my wife and three friends are meeting in Las Vegas and then driving to Houston to the wedding a good friend of ours. The impetus for the road trip was that none of my friends have been to the Grand Canyon. This is very last minute and could use some help from the experts here.

I'm wondering how much we can fit in -- we're of course going to the grand canyon, but also want to see some of the other sites in AZ and NM. We're planning on just bombing through Texas. Is this schedule at all reasonable?

- Sunday (June 17) morning, leave Vegas, spend day at grand canyon. Night outside of GC, maybe farther east (not sure if there's accommodations in some place like Tuba City on the reservation)

- Monday - Drive through four corners area (monument valley?), night somewhere in northern NM.

- Tuesday - drive to santa fe. lunch, exploration and dinner there. Head south in the evening, night somewhere along I-25.

- Wednesday, drive to either White Sands or Carlsbad Caverns. Then drive farther, night in Pecos or Fort Stockton TX.

- Thursday (June 18) - arrive in Houston by mid-afternoon.

We'd love to pack everything in but 5 days isn't much. Does the above seem reasonable? We're all in our early 30s and can split driving duties. We want to do some sort of short hikes, enjoy good food but are fine with very basic motels for this trip. I have fond memories of exploring the mesas in Indian country when I was a kid. I think we all like the quirky little spots. A friend recommends taking some of the smaller highways in NM, perhaps cutting the trip by avoiding going North to the Four Corners.

What would you recommend for the amount of time we have? For people who haven't spent much time at all in the Southwest...

thanks!
Mark (who should have planned this a long time ago)

Sounds like fun. If you skip Four Corners and take the faster I 40 through AZ then swing through Petrified Forest NP. Carsbad is interesting and would be a cool break from all the desert driving. If you could get to Fort Stockton Wed night there is a great observatory that does star parties that includes viewing planets. Houston is about 500 miles from there so would put you in town by Thursday afternoon. An alternate route from Santa Fe would be to go to Houston via Dallas. If you made it there by Wednesday you would have about a 3 1/2 hour drive to Houston Thursday. You could then go home via I 10 through Carlsbad. Whatever have a great road trip!

I think your schedule sounds very doable. I would definitely see Mesa Verde in the Four Corners area - really shouldn't be missed IMO. We have driven from Sante Fe along I40 through Amarillo, then Dallas down to Houston. It's not too bad, but if you haven't seen Carlsbad Caverns and/or White Sands I would certainly keep them on your agenda.
I think Ft Stockton is closer to 600 mi from Houston, so if you take this route you'll probably arrive later than mid-afternoon.

Thanks for the replies!

From what we heard/read, we were thinking that driving south through New Mexico would be more interesting/efficient than driving straight over to Dallas and then south to Houston. Also -- this is a one-way trip (we're flying back from Houston), so we want to fit in the "best of" on the way there.

So I hear at least one vote that this trip is feasible. How long would we need to enjoy Mesa Verde?

Any other thoughts on what's most fun/important to see? And thanks for the tip on Ft. Stockton, Barblab!

mark

You are covering huge distances but with 5 drivers sharing it is a doable, fun drive-by road trip experience. The Grand Canyon is amazing, 4 Corners merits a 10 minute stop to stand in line and get a picture in all four states. Mesa Verde is really interesting but figure about 3-4 hours. You need to drive about 45-60 minutes off the main highway to get to the cliff houses, then back down that same narrow winding road to head on your way. (If you chose this route definitly make time to stop, it is well worth it.) Santa Fe is fun. Carlsbad really cool, esp. if you have never been in a cave. Never have been to White Sands so no comment other than to say it looks a little out of the way. From Carlsbad to San Antonio is one LONG haul. (If you sleep during this section of the trip you will wake up and accuse your friends of not moving!)

Go to the USNP website to get info re hours, directions and see pictures of each of the parks to see if they interest you. With a group of 5 I think you should look into a park pass. If you are lucky they will all be parks that charge by the carload not per person.

Do a search on Fort Stockton Observatory to see if they have anything on the Wed. night you will be passing through before you commit to staying in that area. If you did stay, there is an old Texas frountier fort in town that you can tour too.

Buy a cooler in Vegas and stock it with water and cool drinks before you leave. Have fun!

Not just cool drinks but snacks and stuff to make wraps too - saves you time from having to stop for food and only to eat fast food.

I live in Houston and admittedly never driven this length but have been to all the destinations mentioned above.

I liked Mesa Verde although after awhile, the different cliff dwellings at the other parks starts to look alike. White Sands is pretty incredible, just absolutely gorgeous.

I would agree about going to the park website which does tell you distances - www.nps.gov

I would also go to mapquest and plot out the cities (plot out las vegas to first destination then the next then the next until you end up in Houston). This should help to give you an idea of driving times - something that I always find useful.

Enjoy your trip!

Mark - agree that Mesa Verde should take about 3-4 hrs plus the time to get there from the highway.

No question IMO that the drive through NM is much more interesting than via Dallas.

South of Carlsbad, agree with idea to check the McDonald Observatory site in the Davis Mountains to see if they have anything scheduled as well as nearby historical Fort Davis.

Thanks again for all the additional tips, very helpful!

I'm wondering about going to 4 corners. I'll have to check with my friends, but I'm more interested in great scenery, interesting indian communities, etc. than just going to four corners so we can have the picture of the corners. That's just me. If we skip, can we save time by going a different way?

We'd certainly save some time by going on the 40 from Grand Canyon to ABQ (maybe stopping at Petrified Forest), but I like the idea of exploring Mesa Verde or other beautiful or quirky spots through there. Any suggestions?

Oh - slight correction, looking at a map now I see that going to Mesa Verde would take us through the 4 corners area. What if we stay south in AZ then NM, maybe go to Canyon de Chelly?