After the Grand Canyon
 

Any suggestions on what to do after the Grand Canyon, in a Easterly direction, with a family?

How long do you have? Are you going North east or South east.

There is SO much do do and see. Example. Exit the park on Hwy 64 to Cameron. Then take Hwy 160 to Kayenta, AZ and Hwy 163 to Monument Valley on the AZ - Utah border. From Monument Valley you can either go to Mesa Verde in Colorado or down to Canyon de Chelly in AZ.

There are many other options but it might help if we knew how much time you had and the final destination.

Utahtea

I second utahtea's recommendation for visting Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de chelly. Also recommend Needles national park and Canyonlands national park. About 20 years ago we slept in a tent at Needles and the stars were amazing! :S-

The Monument Valley to Cannyon de Chelly to Mesa Verde is about 245 miles. Another option would be Monument Valley. Moab, Ut (Arches Canyonlands) and Mesa Verde - about 275 miles.I would do this since , in my opinion, Moab offers more to see

I'm a big fan of "seeing Indian country". The Cameron Trading Post is about an hour east of the Grand Canyon's eastern entrance. They have decent rooms, a very nice gift shop (the trading post), and a decent restaurant.
There are also some dinosaur tracks near Tuba. South of Cameron, I found the Wupatki pueblo ruins interesting, but really enjoyed the Walnut Canyon Cliff Dwellings.

You can see my pictures at www.mikehoneycutt.com

Like Utahtea said, there is lots to do and see, depending on your time.

Mike Honeycutt

utahtea, I was thinking @ the path on 160 and then to 163........is that a nice drive and would we be able to see any Am Indian Res? What is in Canyon de Chelly? We have @ a week to 10 days.
the kids would enjoy sleeping in tents. Do you know where we could do that?

Rob, what is in Moab for the family?

In Canyon de Chelly National Monument you have a scenic drive along the rim. One hike down to ruins and you can take guided tours of the valley. Here is a link to my pictures. I highly recommend the guided trip out of the Thunderbird Lodge.

http://pages.ivillage.com/utahtea2/id11.html

The campground at Canyon de Chelly is perfect for camping. Big Cottonwood trees and the campground is free! There are flush bathrooms but no showers.

If you really want to see one of the best collections of ruins then I would suggest going to Mesa Verde National Park in south west Colorado. Take one of the guided tours and do some of the other self guiding tours. The Morefield Campground is really nice and they have pay showers near by. The campground is large and we've never had to worry about getting a campsite.

You asked about Moab....this city has so much to do! Nearby is Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Both are scenic with many, many hikes to arches and vista points. Also nearby is Deadhorse State Park. Along the Potash Road you can find petroglyphs.

Moab is a meca for mountain biking. You can rent bikes in town. Also it's a prefect place to do a one day white water rafting trip on the Colorado River. If you do decide to go to Moab, then when you leave drive out Hwy 128 to get to Interstate 70. This is a beautful drive along the Colorado River.

Let me know which route you plan on taking and I'll let you know of other things along the way.

Utahtea

There is a mild white water rafting experience -either for a full or half day. A very scenic ride over the moUnTain behind Moab. A visit to Dead Horse Point STate Park for a view of the Canyonlands,