baldrick

Hi,
I had a topic on 3-weeks Oregon-California about a week ago, but after discussing it over with the kids and the friends, we decided to do the following from July 15th till August 9th:

- arrive in LAS, stay 2 nights, cope with jet lag, have a walk on the Strip and get the car.
- night 3, 4: Zion and Bryce Canyon NP
- night 5, 6: Moab
- night 7: Mesa Verde
- night 8, 9, 10: Page, Lake Powell
- night 11, 12: Grand Canyon NP
- night 13, 14: Lake Mead
- night 15: Furnace Creek, Death Valley
- night 16, 17: Yosemite NP
- night 18, 19, 20: Lake Tahoe
- night 21, 22, 23, 24: San Francisco, and fly back.

Any comments or suggestions on this schedule?
Places where we stay too long, not long enough?
Are we overdoing it?

Thanks a lot for your interest!
Paul

Myer

I don't know if you're into hiking at all or how old the kids are.

I would consider a stop around Boulder, UT. This would let you hike Lower Calf Creek Falls and then make a stop in Goblin Valley State Park on the way to Moab.

PaulRabe

Moab to Mesa Verde to Page, all in about 48 hours? That's a LOT of driving for a National Park that I would not rank in even the second tier of such places. It's one of the 41 US NP's I've been to but, unless you are REALLY interested in Anasazi settlements, I wouldn't make a special trip to see it. There are plenty other NPS sites featuring such sites -- the horribly named Montezuma's Castle among them -- that would be much less trouble to visit.

Death Valley to Yosemite to Lake Tahoe will mean some MAJOR backtracking over Tioga Pass. I'd go Death Valley to Lake Tahoe, then through Tioga Pass into Yosemite.

If you plan on staying in Yosemite Valley, it may already be too late to get accomodations there. Do NOT arrive there late in the day with any plans to find lodging when you arrive. Yosemite in July is a place you MUST have reservations well before you arrive, unless you plan on basic tenting in an adjacent national forest.

Have you checked on the drop-off fees for picking up a rental car in Las Vegas and returning it in SF?

Placename

It is so hot in Las Vegas and Death Valley in July that I really wouldn't want to visit then.

Mesa Verde is a long wasy from Page. I would drop that.

Do you have reservations in Yosemite? Tioga Pass can be 2 hour drive to the valley floor in summer. If you don't have reservations in Yosemite, you should consider staying the night in Mammoth or Lee Vining rather than pushing on.

emalloy

I'd go to Mesa Verde as it is a fantastic look at a way of life we don't see much of these days. You could do a drive through of Monument valley between there and Page, and yes it is a long ride.

Death Valley is going to be too hot to do much more than a drive through in your air conditioned car, not safe for kids to try to hike in July.

Vegas is also going to be hot, so I'd look for a flight that gets in early and spend one night there than take off for Zion (3 hours up the road).

If you don't have lodging in the parks at this time, you need to look into that asap. Take the numbers for the lodging and call and keep calling as they get cancellations frequently.

Do get a National Park Pass at your first NP, it gets you and everyone in your car into all National Parks for free for a year.

Go to www.nps.gov to see what is offered at the parks and see if that meshes with what you want to do in each and the time you have allotted.

baldrick

Hi,
Thanks for all the info.

We changed part of our schedule according to your info
- night 1, 2: Las Vegas
we will arrive at 8.30 pm from Switzerland, go to the hotel and sleep, get the car the next morning, try to adjust the jetlag at the swimming pool, have a stroll on the Strip with the kids (14 and 12). It is a general day to unwind and to get in the mood for what's to come.
We rented a Chevy Suburban kind of car via National to have comfortable seats for the six of us. There is nothing worse than moaning kids at the third row bench. We weren't sure about the Astrovan; back seats or benches. The drop off charges are reasonable for SFO with regards to what we gain.

- night 3, 4: Zion and Bryce Canyon NP
- night 5, 6: Moab
- night 7: Monument Valley
- night 8, 9, 10: Page, Lake Powell
- night 11, 12: Grand Canyon NP
- night 13, 14: Lake Mead
- night 15: Furnace Creek, Death Valley, yes, we are aware that it will be hot. The kids are talking about frying an egg on the car...
- night 16, 17: Yosemite NP
- night 18, 19, 20: Lake Tahoe
- night 21, 22, 23, 24: San Francisco, and fly back.
We could inverse Yosemite and Tahoe and will look into that according to the lodgings we can find.

The kids like to hike, not as much as we do, but they are ok. They are quite interested in landscapes and even some geology. My son also checks wikipedia now on all the national parks and cities we will visit. My daughter says she doesn't want to prepare too much, she wants to discover!

Thanks for the NPS annual pass info. I've checked the nps website extensively already and found out about that. It will give us entire free access for the car, the 4 adults and 2 kids.

Thanks for eventual additional info!!!
Have a nice day!
Paul

Maria_Cooper

I agree about Mesa Verde. It's a far drive for that. There are a ton of other cliff dweeling type places you can visit near the grand canyon. In Death Valley, hike in the higher elevations (panamints, the kilns, etc.) it'll be much cooler then.

While in Tahoe, check out Angora Lake!

Maria_Cooper

Oh, and if you can't find valley lodging in Yosemite, the VRBO vacation rentals in West Yosemite is not too far of a drive although you'll miss being in the thick of all the activity in the park. We really liked staying in Curry Village while there. It's more layed back. Anwahee (sp?) was too stuffy for us for a national park!