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family vacation to visit state parks in the western u.s.a.

we are ariving in las vegas late morning (via airplane) then 16 days later return to las vegas to fly home. their will be 2 adults and 15, 15, 12, 10, 9 year old children. we rented a mini van (because we couldn't find anyplace that rents conversion vans) and want to know of any sample itineraries to take the children.As soon as we arrive should we head to yellowstone or teton (our furtherest destination )then work our way to other state parks? any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. thanks Have a great day!we thought we would like to go to zion, grand canyon bryce, but are very flexible at this point. We leave in June. thanks again!

Hi Shar, You are going to want to spend a good 5 days in the Yellowstone - Grand Teton area. It might be wise to zip up Interstate 15 and do this first then work you way back down. Here are suggestions for coming back to Vegas. Exit the Grand Tetons National Park on Hwy 189, then take Hwy 191 down to Vernal. You will pass Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area and then down to Vernal, Utah. Just a little east of Vernal is Dinosuar National Monument. After Dinosuar keep heading south on Hwy 191 then go west on I-70 for a short time then take Hwy 24 south to Hansville and Capitol Reef National Park. There are many nice easy hikes here. Torrey is just a few miles away and they have some new modern motels. From Torrey head down Scenic Highway 12 through the Boulder Mountains and then Escalante - Staircase National Monument. Just outside the town of Escalante is a small petrified forest state park. Keep heading south on Hwy 12 to you get to Bryce National Park. From Bryce head west on Hwy 12 again and then south on Hwy 89. Make the short side trip to Zion National Park on Hwy 9 then head back to Hwy 89 and go east to Lake Powell, the Glen Canyon National Recreational area and Page, AZ. If you have the time and $$ I recommend the all day boat tour out to Rainbow Bridge National Monument. From Page, AZ keep heading south on Hwy 89 to Cameron, AZ and the go west on Hwy 64 to the Grand Canyon. From the Grand Canyon exit south on Hwy 64 to Williams. Take I-40 west to Hwy 93 which will take you back to Vegas. A few things to consider. Have you thought of renting a motor home and camping? The parks you mentioned are National Parks and not State Parks. I would recommend getting the National Park pass which cost $50 and is good for everyone in the vehicle and good for one full year from month of purchase. If you go to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion they are each $20 for a 7 day pass to enter so you will save money by purchasing the National Park pass. You can purchase it at any park entrance or on line. https://buy.nationalparks.org/default.asp?ref=npf Have a good trip. Utahtea

Above sounds great. Here is a second idea. If you are not committed to flying into L.V., fly into Salt Lake City, drive all the way up to Glacier National Park, down to Yellowstone, then Grand Tetons and back to SLC. Glacier is so much more awesome than the Utah N.P.s Also, the Utah parks are very hot.

I agree with most of the ideas from Utahtea, but not all. We reserved 4 days at Yellowstone and cancelled after the first day. It is a very nice place to go if you are into camping and hiking. Almost everything requires a hike to see and the bugs are awful. Not to mention the smell of sulfer everywhere. The buffalo are really cool though. We drove the entire park in one day and left the morning of the second day after seeing Old Faithful. It is good to go there, if nothing but to say you did, but I really could not imagine 5 days there. I think it would be a good idea to take the plans that shar suggested and do them on the way up to Yellowstone-Teton. Grand Tetons are one of God's gifts to us, though. Simply breath-taking in their beauty. I would then journey back down through Colorado, taking in Denver, ride the Cog Rail to the top of Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge, Aspen, Breckenridge, Gunnison ,Durango and as much in between as possible. I see no point in spending the majority of your trip in Utah. There really isn't much to see other than the Bryce Canyon area, without really going out of the way. Now, please, people, don't flame me, I am just thinking of the time frame and the best way to get the most bang out of their buck, I really did enjoy my trip through Utah and found the wide open, barren land beautiful, but don't think my teenage children would have enjoyed it as much as the mountains of Colorado. You can cut through the corner of New Mexico, jaunt across Arizona to Sedona and Flagstaff. Stop and peak into the Grand Canyon. Stop and see the Hoover Dam and you're right back in Las Vegas. It will really be tough trying to take this all in in 16 days if you schedule a stop as long as 5 days anywhere. But, really, if you are going to go to the trouble to get out there, you really should try to see as much as possible. Also, the investment of 50$ for the park pass is a must. You will save a great deal this way. I would consider flying into the Teton area and driving to Vegas from there. If you do that, you could easily make a route through Co and then go to Bryce Canyon area from Vegas. It's not too far. But, don't use up all your time, you will want 2-3days to see Vegas if you've never been there.

I forgot to mention the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest in Arizona! This is a very interesting part of the drive west.

Shar, My husband and I just made an 8,743 mile trip, driving all over the west. If I can be of any assist email me privately. The trip you are planning is part of what we did.

To Just Me: It only goes to show that everyone has their likes and dislikes as far as parks go. We have been to Yellowstone many, many times and have spent at least a week there most of those times. We don't do a lot of hiking in Yellowstone but do enjoy getting out of the car to take the short walks to the gyser, mud pots, hotsprings, waterfalls, and canyons. With kids you need to let them get out and let out their energy. It's also exciting to see the wild life especially bears, moose and bald eagles. My kids love Utah at all ages. They started going before they could walk and my oldest has gone back on his own now that he is married. We have spent many 4 week vacations in the parks of Utah. June will be warm to hot, but not as hot as July. To Shar, There is so much to see out here in the west, I know it will be hard to decide. Utahtea

We did a similar trip but stopped on way north to do some of the hot places earlier in June: Las Vegas to Grand canyon for 2 days via the Hoover dam. visit 4 corners, then 2 days in Mesa Verde, spending night in park motel so you can wander after hours and be first in line for tickets each morning. next on to Durango, CO. Worked our way up to Denver, then we stayed in at a ranch North of Fort Collins. You could do Yellowstone then Tetons instead, then work your way down Utah. We really preferred Marble Arches to Zion and Bryce as there were a lot less people and the kids could scramble around the rocks more. Dinasaur park was the one place we couldn't fit that we are sorry to have missed. Next time!

Another vote to get the Nat Parks Pass. I got one during my kids spring break and we got the $50 value just during that week in central and southern AZ

Hi- Just one thought on the vehicle you're renting. You might want to consider something like a Suburban; I think I counted seven people in the van and although they will fit, you might not have room for the luggage! I took a similar trip last year with five adults and one child in the vehicle; we went with the Suburban-type vehicle instead of a minivan and were much happier.

Thanks to everyone who responded!! This is a very helpful chatroom. I didn't know how to find something i posted back in april... i just happened upon it now. I still am making plans so i appreciate all the advice. I hope I can find a conversion van but haven't had any luck at the car rental places . thanks again.