stephaniezachary01

RoamsAround

Try using Google maps to plot out your route (use the "Directions" link to enter your starting and ending points and a route will be plotted out for you). NOTE: All of the National Parks and National Forest along the route will show up in green. You can then use the "click & drag" feature to alter the route to bring you directly to any of the National Parks you want to visit.

You should know It's about 1,900 miles between LA and Minneapolis which equates to about 30 hours drive time. If you figure you'll drive 8 hours a day that means you'll be "on the road" for 3.5 to 4 days - all the time you've allowed for the trip - so you won't really have very much time to stop at any of the National Parks other than for a hour or so while on route or perhaps just to spend the night at a nearby motel (or if you plan far enough in advance at one of the "in park" lodges).

That said, you'll pass in close proximity to Zion, NP; Capital Reef, NP; Arches, NP; Bryce Canyon, NP; Canyonlands, NP; Grand Canyon, NP (a bit off the direct route so add extra drive time) - all worth a visit. For what it is worth, we took 10 days to visit all those NP's and only scratched the surface.

Good luck planning your trip.

tomfuller

When is this trip planned for? RoamsAround has the driving time pretty well figured out. What is the plan for Minneapolis once you get there? To save a huge amount of driving, consider taking the Amtrak Southwest Chief from Los Angeles Union station to Albuquerque and renting a car there to go see 2 or 3 of the "Big 5" in southern Utah.
Return the car in ABQ and take the Southwest Chief to Chicago. Spend about a day in Chicago and then take the Amtrak Empire Builder to Minneapolis. Fly back from MSP to LAX.

emalloy

If you left LA before dawn on day 1, you could make it to Zion by. noon or so, spend a couple of hours there then head for Bryce, see the overlooks at sunset, spend the night then head through Chyenne and through Rocky Mountain NP for the 3rd night and on towards Minneapolis. A hard but scenic 4 days of driving.

Is this just an exercise to find what would be possible?

Moderator1

Trip Report tag removed

tomfuller

I hope Stephanie comes back. It has been over 3 weeks now.

Gretchen

You didn't say where you are starting from, so its really going to be tough to offer ideas on where to go.

Seems pretty clear--Los Angeles

alex712

Downtown Minneapolis to downtown Los Angeles is 1925 miles. 7 or 10 days additionally will have any kind of effect. you could follow a route via Denver or Rocky mountains NP to Moab to Torrey Bryce and Zion and Las Vegas to LA. This easily will fill 7-10 days of travelling. or drive from Moab to Monument Valley, page and grand Canyon NP.