We are a family of 4 with the Summer off and would like to finally see some of the western U.S.. The kids are 15 & 12 and we all agreed that the ideal amount of time to be away from home would be between 2 and 3 weeks. Obviously, it's late in the game as far as planning, but I guess "it is what it is"! We live in NYC and will fly into whatever airport brings us closest to what our itinerary will be. In that regard, I'm looking for suggestions of where to go and what to see. We like the idea of seeing the National Parks, be it Yosemite, Grand Canyon. Yellowstone, Glacier and heard good things about places like Lake Tahoe, but realize they are all over the map. We're also open to the idea of maybe part of the trip involving renting an RV. Starting from scratch and with no cohesive plan, what are some suggestions for a trip that will give us a taste of the west and one that doesn't involve driving more than experiencing? We appreciate any advise from all the more experienced travelers on the site.

Hi yeesh !

Well, my first thought is that you might end up going to places that still have availablity in your budget. The National Parks book out a year in advance. You can keep checking their websites everyday for cancellations in the hopes that someone does and you can snag a reservation. That's for both hotels and campgrounds.

The rest is availability and budget dependent.

I would suggest that you book, for example, from South to North. You could fly into San Diego and home from San Francisco.

So, first start checking reservation options in the National Parks! No sense going there if you can't find a place to stay. Once you find that out you can work your itinerary around those places.

The national parks are the best but places book up fast so you might have to see where you can get accommodations and go from there! You might run into the same issue with renting an RV and even finding campgrounds in the parks that you can make reservations for. RV rentals can be expensive but it will save a little on camping fees and eating out. Gas mileage will probably be 7 to 10 mpg. There are a few roads and parking areas restrictions in Yellowstone, Glacier, & Sequioa for RV's.

Here are a couple of itinerary's I would consider for 2 - 3 weeks.

Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Glacier.

Grand Canyon, Zion & Bryce National Parks in Utah. Maybe even add Capitol Reef or Lake Powell (Glen Canyon National Recreational Area) Problem is the summers here are HOT! If it's three weeks you could even consider adding Yosemite to this itinerary but it would add a lot of driving. I'd use Las Vegas as the jumping off airport for these parks.

Lake Tahoe and Yosemite could easily be done with two weeks and add in Sequioa-Kings Canyon National Parks. I would avoid Death Valley in the summer especially with an RV...in fact it might not even be allowed by the rental companies!

Utahtea

In 3 weeks I'd do a big loop including Yellowstone/Grand Tetons (5-6 days), Glacier (5 days), Rocky Mountain NP (3 days), Denver, Moab (3 days) and Salt Lake City. Flights into Denver or Salt Lake City would be the cheapest for that loop.

If you have 2 weeks, you'd need to drop Glacier and trim a couple days elsewhere.

If you have a big enough budget, fly into Montana and rent your car going one-way. That would give you a few more days to spend in the parks instead of driving to/from Glacier and completing the loop.

What about California? It's an amazingly diverse state with incredible national and state parks. Maybe up to include Oregon?

I'm not sure if this is "out west" enough for you ;-)

Thanks for all the great answers! I just needed a starting point. Now I can get my map and phone, see availability and go from there. An all-California trip sounds intriguing and very doable; I was stationed in San Diego back during my Navy days and wouldn't mind revisiting the ships with the kids. Thanks again to all.

If California interests you, hopefully you can fly into one city (San Diego) and fly home from another so that you don't have to backtrack. One-way car rentals can be tricky/expensive in summer time, however.

Consider maybe Zion National Park north of Las Vegas, then Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon. From Vegas it's a pretty easy drive or quick inexpensive flight down to San Diego where you could start a northward sightseeing adventure through California. Yes it's late for lodging and most lodging available near some parks will be last-minute-cancellations-only and those are difficult to keep-checking/trying-to-book. And San Diego northbound through the state has a lot of traffic pockets necessitating that you to schedule your drive-times wisely.

The sites outside of Las Vegas might be too blazingly hot for you in summer time, that's another consideration.

San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and hitting various state parks, national parks, campgrounds between those cities would make a wonderful trip (I grew up there and have fond childhood memories of camping with my family every summer all over that state). Perhaps ending up with the Oregon coast and flying back home out of Portland?

San Diego to San Francisco with stops in LA, Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach and Monterey then over to Yosemite (you probably will have to call every day to see if there is a cancellation as they do not always show up on the website) would make a very nice trip.
I'd probably just go with a sedan and motels rather than an RV, also the RV sites inside Yosemite do not have hookups from what I have read. Others with more experience can give better advice on RVs for sure.

California and Oregon would also be my first picks. You could do both or easily spend all your time in one or the other. I've lived in the PNW all my life and have seen A LOT of Oregon but I still haven't seen it all! Oregon is fairly compact and you can see a lot of variety in a relatively short amount of time. California has the benefit of having several major cities and airports- you could fly into SD and rent a car for just Southern California, and then return that car, ride the train to SF and rent another car for another regional loop. That would cut back the driving time and you could skip the added expense of a 1 way rental.

Lodging could be an issue in both, especially with the national parks. My second choice (especially if you want that wilderness feeling with fewer people) would be to explore Idaho and Montana, maybe with a little Wyoming thrown in (thinking mainly of Cody). Reasons to do this: cheaper in many ways than California, all three states give you a unique taste of the West, and the mountains will definitely be cooler than many parts of the west. I love the swimming holes, hiking, and berry picking. Drought affects up north too, but not nearly as visible as it is down south. Northern Idaho is heaven in the summer (I moved away because I find it hell in the winter).

Main reason not to do that: the sheer amount of driving you would do. Also, if you consider cities a requirement- there really aren't any. Public transit is not an option, and a lot of people I've met see the in between portions as no man's land. But I'd rather drive in the mountains than on oregon's 101 in August, so that's completely a matter of preference!

I'd bring home a few guide books from the library and let your family browse through them to get an idea of interests. Then figure out practicalities. Mostly, though, you need to get some idea of WHICH "West" you want to experience the most, as there is so much variety.

If you want to do multiple destinations, driving is unavoidable. You do have the option to base yourself in one area and just really experience the area. in that case, I'd choose either a single resort area or a city as your base.

What a great site! Treasure trove of insight from all who responded. Thanks to all. I will be able to start my "homework" with all the ideas I now have. Thanks, again.