I am so grateful for the abundance of thoughtful and insightful responses I have received in this thread. I do feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment and I think I will take some time to regroup and figure out how to move forward. It is more difficult than one would wish for to time things perfectly with regards to weather conditions, birthdays, vacation time and other life obligations 😅

One thing is for sure: there is a lot of places worthy of a visit!

Thank you so much and I will surely be back again looking for advice.

Gardyloo
One of my alternate plans consists of Oregon and Washington and perhaps Glacier. In 2015 we visited Columbia River Gorge and the Oregon coast, and this is for sure an area we also would love to explore more if possible. May and June is not a great time vacation-wise for me so I was thinking perhaps late August/September as last time. I also read some of your previous posts/comments about Alaska and now I also want to go there. Ah there are so many places I long to get to and, for now, too little time and not enough money..

I have to figure out what to prioritise and I think I will see what my mom feels are on her “must see”-list and go from there. We lost my dad at age 53, 15 years ago, so we try to make to most out of life and not take the future for granted.

The Southwest offers a greater difference in scenery from Sweden.

We visited Glacier National Park in September 2021. The scenery is stunning! That same year we were in the French Alps, and IMO, GNP rivals the French Alps. Just be aware that things start closing down by mid to late September in GNP. I believe we were there in mid-September and I think all the park lodges were closed except for Lake McDonald Lodge. We stayed just outside of the park at St. Mary's Village, and I think that was closing a few days after we checked out.

OP: I realize you are off considering options, but I actually thought your original plan was pretty darn good, especially compared to some things that show up for critique here. Arizona and Utah in April, putting Yosemite off as late as possible, all good. Yes, you now have the issue of getting from Death Valley to Yosemite, which has become the long boring drive via Bakersfield. No big deal really, just suck it up for a day and do it. Those drives just turn out to be part of the deal, and possibly interesting in their own right.

My only $.02 is I think you are short changing Death Valley, which is really an unusual and fascinating place. There is a lot to see there. If you eliminate the Sequoia / Kings Canyon time (April not the best for those parks), then you could add those nights to DV. April is good there, could even be the tail end of a superbloom going on.

In any case, have a great trip.

I like the first part of your trip pretty much as planned. Do check when spring break is for Uriah schools and when Jeep week is in Moab as that will make things more crowded and lodging more difficult for the Utah parks. You might cut one day from Bryce as the views will be stunning but there has always been snow on the trails there when we have visited in April. The roads and overlooks were fine though. You are leaning towards doing a loop so see which direction works best and hope for wonderful weather.

I am still here and reading your comments!

Thank you for your nice words about my plan and also encouraging words. I haven’t quite given up on the idea of spending my birthday in that area just yet and I will do some more research (still waiting for those guide books!) to figure out how to proceed.

Your original plan would work a lot better IF you 1) drop Mammoth, and 2) are OK with the DV > Bakersfield > Yosemite schlepp. Adding the Mammoth night/day to Death Valley would be good. I'd probably also drop tSequoia / Kings Canyon (but that mostly depends on what the access is like next Spring)

September?
 

So it turned out it is difficult to step away from planning/dreaming :) My mom really wants to visit the southwest again and I am on the same page, wanting to do this with her. All the other wonderful places in the US, The PNW and Glacier, southeast etc, will have to wait for another time.

So the where (at least a rough where) has been decided but the question now is when. Taking all your input into consideration I have now started thinking about September instead (after your Labour Day). And doing a sort of reverse trip from the April plan. The reason is that for different reasons May/June/July is not the best time for us to travel. Also better temperatures in Utah/Nevada in September?

Thinking we would fly to/from SFO. Start with a few days at Lake Tahoe, where we’ve always wanted to go. Then Yosemite - easier with Tioga pass open? Then along 395: Mono Lake, Bristlecone pine etc. Skipping Sequoia and Kings Canyon and instead heading towards DV. With this option I realise that DV will be extremely hot, so thinking an early morning start and just drive through with quick stops? From there to Zion, Bryce etc etc.

Will post an updated plan for itinerary later but wanted to get your input as soon as possible.

Temperatures should be much more comfortable in Death Valley, Nevada and southern Utah in September than mid summer. Add Las Vegas and maybe SLC to your list of airports to fly to/from. Las Vegas usually has cheaper rental cars than California airports. You should be able to spend 15 to 20 minutes outside your air conditioned car at Badwater in Death Valley. Badwater is the lowest point in North America (-282 feet).
From Las Vegas you also have easy access to the "Big 5" National Parks in southern Utah.

The main issue you may encounter in September in the Sierras is the (very real, very serious) risk of forest and wildfires, and the smoke from them, leading to poor visibility, detours, or in some cases road closures. This has been an increasing risk throughout the west in recent years, and while we obviously don't know what this summer will bring, it's probably best to have an alternate plan or two in your pocket(s) just in case.

Another factor to consider is that the famous Yosemite waterfalls are likely to have relatively little water - and in some cases none at all - coming over them in September. That's just a fact of life in late summer in mountains throughout the west - the snow has long melted and there won't have been much rainfall to fill the rivers and waterfalls.

The low desert areas will be VERY hot - often that's the hottest time of the year. Of course the red-rock parks in Utah will be fully accessible (fires notwithstanding) but be careful with high altitude and high temperatures - sunburn city.

I fail to see the draw in Death Valley; in the summer one often encounters heat haze, which renders the landscape gray and colorless, not to mention the oven temperatures driving you back into your car after mere minutes. If it was me, I'd look at an overall route plan something like this - https://goo.gl/maps/qpY9eEDPR179m5HF9

Start with Yosemite, then visit the giant sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees State Park near the picturesque goldrush town of Murphys, then head to Lake Tahoe, then across to Utah, ending back in Las Vegas after seeing the red rocks national parks. If you still want to see Death Valley, make it a long day trip from LV, leaving before sunrise and returning that afternoon (keep the sun at your back.)

All this is subject to weather and fire/smoke conditions, hence the recommendation for backup plans.

Honestly DV wasn’t originally something I had planned on but then people really seemed to like it so I added it. It is not a “must see” for us. I did sketch out a route that is similar to yours, starting with Yosemite instead that passes Great Basin NP on the way to Zion from Tahoe.

So there are pros and cons for both April and September, seems to be impossible to find the perfect time for a trip that incorporates these different places in one trip.

If I try to summarise
April pros: Waterfalls in Yosemite, more manageable temps in desert areas, birthday…
April cons: Snowy in high altitudes, colder weather overall, all of Yosemite won’t be open, no Tahoe, boring drive between Zion and Yosemite

September pros: All of Yosemite open, nice weather in Utah/Arizona, Tahoe-visit
September cons: Possible wildfires, no waterfalls in Yosemite, high temps in desert area (Joshua Tree)

There is no 'bad' time to visit Yosemite, the scenery is always magnificent. While in September there will be essentially no waterfalls ( a few run year round but are really trickles by sept.) crowds will be fewer, and much of the hiking easier. A couple of benefits are the fall foliage, glacier point will be open, and the amazing scenery up and over Tioga Pass.

weather will still be very hot in parts of Utah. DV is a reasonable day trip from Las Vegas (and one day is all I'd want at that time of year . . . If one must)

Thank you again Janis for valuable input. I spent some more time reading yesterday and Yosemite seems absolutely wonderful in September as well. Being able to visit Touloumne meadows among other things makes me lean towards September.

Regarding the temps in Utah, we visited in September last time and found it hot but manageable - coming from Sweden it does appeal to us to have warm/hot rather than cold weather. We will adapt/adjust hikes etc to that.

I finally got the Fodor guide book Friday, so will read up more about DV vs Great Basin and also if there is something else we should add.

As for airport flying to/from, SFO or LAX are the best for us with regards to travel time/comfort etc. I think SFO will be better if we are starting with Yosemite or Tahoe.

Right now a tentative itinerary looks something like this:
SFO
Yosemite
Tahoe
Great Basin NP
Zion
Bryce
Capitol Reef
Moab
Monument Valley
Page (Antelope Canyon)
Grand Canyon
Sedona
Joshua Tree/Palm Springs
Highway 1
SFO

And yes, I do realise this is 1-1,5 years away so there really is no need to have a sense of urgency or need to “nail down the itinerary” (Swedish saying?) just yet.

Some comments:

Because fire smoke can ruin everything I would stick to your April time frame. (Today, in May, I am reconsidering an afternoon bike ride because of smoke coming from fires in Alberta which is about 2000 km away. These continental smoke clouds used to be rare.)

I don’t think flying over the Sierras makes sense and is worth the cost or bother. Only the bit driving between Bakersfield and Merced is monotonous and maybe interesting to a Swede anyway.

Try Sixt or AutoSlash.com for rental car savings. I have been able to avoid one way fees doing that.

There’s a total eclipse of the sun April 8 in Texas if you want to try to work that in. Not sure that works well with Star Alliance though, unless you can easily work in (the likely to be cloudy) Star Alliance-friendly Montreal.

I don't think their latest plan has them either flying over the Sierra nor the Bakersfield trek . . .

And whether there are fires or smoke - no one can possibly know this far out.


Hojna:,your latest itinerary is nice. Just be sure any places you eventually book have decent cancellation policies. IF any are impacted by fires they are generally closed anyway (and if open - are lodging fire fighters and evacuees). Nearer your travel time we'll know if and where there are fires / bad smoke. They may be in entirely different areas and have no impact on your trip.

I think, at least for now, we will move forward with a focus on a September plan while still being well aware of the fire risks. I will make sure that our bookings have a good cancellation policy and will start to make an alternate plan for those days if it is needed.

Even though it is still a long ways to go I like to at least have a rough idea of an itinerary to give me plenty of time to really geek out on details. A big part of travelling for me is having all this time to read about the places, looking for tips, adjusting and fine tuning and overall just dreaming myself away :)

So any and all further tips are warmly welcome.

As I suspected, Sixt does not charge a one way fee between SFO and LAX. This is a good price for a full sized car for 28 days, April 2024.

https://ibb.co/Gn49Xtj

It’s not every day if the week but SAS flies ARN to Toronto then Air Canada could get you to Phoenix (I doubt Sixt charges a one way fee from SFO to Phoenix, either). That’s a possible path with a one stop on Star Alliance.

Adding that flying ARN to SFO then LAX to ARN next April is only 7700 SEK which is really cheap, on Star Alliance via Germany, one stop.

Also: I can find Star Alliance itineraries from ARN via Chicago or Newark to Phoenix but they are more than double the cost of other airlines. Note that buying 2 one-way tickets seems to be the same cost as flying both directions on 1 ticket.