Mesa Verde NP in winter is really small scale - only one cliff dwelling is available for touring, Spruce Tree House and it's little museum and the loop drive is open too. It will be cold and most likely snowy. There is only 1 small snack like place to eat too.

We love going at that time of year, but we live 10 minutes away so it is easy for us. We love the solitude and quiet and splendor of winter, but really, for a visitor, not the best time to visit.

http://picasaweb.google.com/DebitNM/MesaVerdeInWinter

OK - I thought about it a little. Fly to Vancouver, Canada, south through Olympic NP, coast road or I-5 down to SF, Yosemite, probably can't do Sequoia due to snow, go to the Arizona, Utah, etc parks noted above, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, up to Banff an Jasper and back to Vancouver. (or do it backwards). See if Lassen and Lake Tahoe could be added somewhere. Lots of driving, you can fly-drive as you want to and doable in 4-5 weeks. We do plow our roads in the winter, so unless there is a big snow - and it does happen - driving isn't that tough. Cathay Pacific flies to Vancouver from Sydney through Hong Kong, I believe. If you snowshoe or cross country ski, rangers are available at most snowy parks to do tours. YS has snowcoaches.

Whatever you decide, you'll have a wonderful (hopefully winter wonderland wonderful) trip.

"We do plow our roads in the winter, so unless there is a big snow - and it does happen -"

True -- but chains are frequently required -- and most rental agencies do not allow you to install chains.

But -- quite often the conditions are "Chains or 4 wd w/ snow tires" so if you can rent a car w/ snow tires that would help-- though mess up your gas mileage.

I may have said this on a previous post of yours. Is there just no way you can come in the summer? Here is what I consider doable in Winter, but ideally probably better in Spring.

Everglades
Key Biscayne
Dry Tortugas
These are really good for the winter, but not in the summer

Death Valley
Saquaro
Joshua Tree
Channel Islands
Mammoth Cave
Carlsbad (bats are there only in summer)
Guadalope
Big Bend

Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion, and Sequoia all have things to do in the winter, but you are going to miss VERY BIG parts of the park.

Arches, Canyonlands, and Grand Canyon are all possible in the winter, and they might be worth considering. Generally, arches and canyonlands don't get that much snow.

I always try to go my first visit to a park at an optimal time of the year. The only places that are really optimal are Florida or Hawaii. Which, both might be good options, bbut wouldn't be entirely parkish. You would have a bit of everything(cities, etc). I haven't been to very many of the parks in the winter. I did Sequoia on Jan 1, a couple of years ago. There was a LOT of snow, but it was very pretty. Did a little snowshoe hiking, but it was very limited on what we could do.

Thanks for all your great help.
Spirobulldog - If I come in summer we will only have two weeks. Not really economic. We have 5 weeks over our summer. We have to fit with our school terms. We will have long service leave in about three years time which will give us about 6 weeks at any time of the year. We will toss up between USA and England/Europe. I have two sisters in England so depending on how recently they have visited will decide on the destination.

christabir - thanks, that is something we hadn't thought of either.

We know we will miss things that are closed for winter but we will also get to see a great deal of things that we have never seen before. We will be back at some stage.

We went to Hawaii last year for 2 weeks. It was not long enough!

All these warnings about extreme snow depths are mostly for the Sierras in California. These mountains catch the moisture-laden storms coming off the Pacific, hence the heavy snows. But further inland, if you stay in southern Utah and south (Arizona, southern Nevada, New Mexico) you won't have to fight this as much.

For example there are passes across the Sierras that require chains much of the winter, yet I've never once had to put on chains in 25 years of winter driving in Arizona and southern Utah. 4-WD and snow tires yes, chains never (yet). Sometimes you have to wait a day or two but roads are generally cleared quickly after storms in Arizona and southern Utah.

So if I were you I'd pick a starting city that's a bit south and not too high, like Las Vegas or Phoenix or Los Angeles (near zero chance of snow at any of these). Then think seriously about skipping Sequoia and Yosemite UNLESS it's a mild winter to date and snow levels are low.

I'd concentrate on a loop thru maybe southern Nevada (Death Valley, etc), then Zion and Bryce in Utah (Bryce will probably have the most snow of any place on this route because it's high but they usually clear the highways within 24 hours after a storm). Then across Utah thru Cedar Breaks to Moab area (Canyonlands, Arches NP), then down thru Navajo country (Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly), maybe detour to visit Page and Grand Canyon south rim. There might be snow at the GC but again the storms are short and the roads are cleared quickly.

Then if you have time you can work east to New Mexico (Santa Fe is a city worth a stop) or southern Colorado if you want to see Mesa Verde. I'd personally head south on I-25 with stops at Bosque del Apache (tens of thousands of wintering geese and cranes, absolutely beautiful in the winter, good camping near the refuge ... http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/134th_camp_bosque ), then to White Sands National Monument ( http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/79th_camp_white_sands ), then loop back west to hit Saguaro NP in Arizona and maybe the southern California desert parks like Joshua Tree ( http://www.pbase.com/zylen/joshua_tree ) You could also visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

This would avoid the worst winter weather spots, be about the right length, and let you see a wide range of areas.

I'd start by picking the begin/end cities, looking for reasonable airfare and availability of 4-wd campers, and then begin planning a route from there.

Then across Utah thru Cedar Breaks to Moab area

Oops, meant "Capitol Reef" instead of Cedar Breaks ...

Most of what I would consider "must do trails" will be closed in Zion and Bryce. I do think that Bryce offers some snowshoe trails. The lodges will be closed at a lot of the places listed as well.

Thanks again everyone.
Bill_H that sounds like what we want to do. We are loosely thinking of flying into and out of San Francisco. Then Pt Reyes and parts of the San Andreas fault then head inland, roughly following your loop, dependant of course on the snow reports for the season. The Bosque del Apache is one we didn't know about and sounds great. We like bird watching but are not "birdies"/"twitchers" or whatever they are called they just go to tick them off a list.

Stunnig photographs for all of them.

There is so much to see and do. We won't have time to eat or sleep by the sounds of it.

Cheers.

Glad to hear you're considering starting in the San Francisco Bay Area.

If you are cheese lovers, there are severeal small, artisinal dairies in the Pt. Reyes area that produce some amazing chesses that you could enjoy as you roam around the country. Cowgirl Creamery is just one. If you are oyster fans, drive a few miles to north to Marshall for some fresh oysters plucked from Tomales Bay.

An FYI...the stairs down to the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse are closed on Tuesdays. If the weather permits while you are there, it is quite a trek down the cliff to the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is closed on Wednesdays too. If you do come in winter, the lighthouse is a great spot to whale watch and can be quite popular on sunny days. In fact, you need to take a shuttle bus out there on weekends.

"There is so much to see and do. We won't have time to eat or sleep by the sounds of it."

You will have plenty of time to eat and sleep because it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon and there's not much to do in the National Parks at night. Winter is not a good time of year to do this. Other than the parks in California and Arizona (besides the Grand Canyon which will be bitterly cold), I would not consider camping in mid-winter. There are other places in the world I'd rather be at.

What type of vehicle are you thinking of renting? I'm sure you know that we don't have the same type of campervan here in the States that you have in Australia. The US is far more RV oriented and the vans that we have are usually very luxurious and expensive to rent. Also, the RV parks that we have here are nothing like the caravan parks that you are used to. And in winter, in the mountains, these RV parks like KOA will be pretty deserted if open at all.

You say that you spent 2 weeks in Hawaii and it wasn't long enough. If I were you, I might consider returning there and see what you missed the last time. Or consider Patagonia or Brazil or maybe Mexico.

Thanks for all the advice.
Nice to know when things are closed.

We haven't really sat down and begun serious planning as yet.

We still have two trips this year to complete, before I seriously get into the planning for next year.

We get four lots of holidays a year. Three of two weeks and one of five weeks. Three we take local/state (drive) and one National/International (fly).