maribethp

Husband, two dogs, and I want to make a big loop from PA to some of the most beautiful national parks next fall. stay in motels, see the beauty. time is not a problem, we can take 2 months is needed. we want to see the grand tetons,badlands, yellowstone, zion, bryce. cAn anyone suggest how we could plan this trip? or suggest the parks not to be missed? retirement gift to ourselves.

TheWeasel

I'm assuming you're driving this big loop. The first thing you're going to have to figure out is what to do with the 2 dogs. 2 months in a car/van is a long time, and when you're in the national parks the dogs will limit what you can do. They won't be allowed on most of the trails, and it's not a great idea to leave them locked in a hotel or the car while you're out exploring.

The most sensible way to do the trip is to start with the northernmost parks and see them first, and then work your way south. If you're going to Zion/Bryce you have to go the Grand Canyon, and you might as well set aside some time for the parks in the Four Corners area as you'll be heading in that general direction to go back home.

Dayle

Hi Maribeth,

Weasel is right about the pups. they are not allowed most places in the national parks. Also, most motels do not allow you to leave them unattended in the room. Staying in the car while you do long hikes/drives may not be good for them depending on how hot it is - and it will be way too hot for them in Zion for sure.

This is a trip where they will be better off at home.

Another alternative would be to take an RV with A/C or swamp cooler and reserve hook up camp sites in advance so the pups can stay cool.

pollyvw

Check out the tour companies that do this loop to see what they do; use that as a guide for sequencing, nice places to stay, things to see and do. Among others:

collettevacations.com
tauck.com
mayflowertours.com
escortednationalparkstours.com
goaheadtours.com

Google 'national parks tours' and see what you find.

pollyvw

Add to that list:

Grand Circle Tours

Looks like they have a good one!

maribethp

those were very helpful hints. the last tour- grand circle- is too fast and not enough time spent at each park.we really struggle with leaving our two boys at home, but I know you are right about really enjoying the trip much more without the dogs. we would never ever leave them in a car or hotel alone. that sounhds like we would just be driving and driving and driving. so we have a real dilemma here, because i want to see these parks.

TheWeasel

Just another thought on the dogs: I know that kennelling them for 2 months probably isn't a reasonable option, but perhaps you could bring them along and kennel them at stategic points. For example, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons are relatively close together, as are Zion and Bryce. Maybe you could find a kennel for those times. That would allow you a bit more freedom, while still not keeping the dogs kennelled up (or stuck in the car) the whole 2 months.

Anyway, this is what I'd suggest for a starting itinerary (I'll leave the amount of time in each place up to someone else): Badlands - Mt. Rushmore - Devil's Tower - Yellowstone - Grand Tetons - Rocky Mountain NP - Arches - Capital Reef - Bryce - Zion - Grand Canyon - Four Corners area - home. You could add in a trip to Death Valley somehow, and if you're willing to go that far you might find a way to squeeze in Yosemite and SEKI as well.

If I were taking the trip, probably skip the Four Corners area and instead head south to Saguaro and Organ Pipe, and then hit Chiracahua, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend before heading back to PA.

maribethp

I really appreciate all the help. I will give it more thought.Kenneling with strangers will not happen either. I am thinking now that we need to get our son to babysit the dogs while we travel.

pollyvw

maribeth, I was not suggesting that you take one of these tours. You want to do your own tour and I realize that. I was just suggesting that you look at their itinerary, places to stay, things to do, sequence, etc for suggestions as you plan your own trip.

For instance, my next 'drive it myself' trip will be in the state of Oregon. I mapped out the path I want to take, but when I went to one of the tour sites, they had included an activity (jet boat excursion on the xyz...cant remember which...river). I would have never known that those facilities existed in that spot.

Years ago, I started consulting their 'paths' before finalizing my own. Have a look at them; see if there is anything there that will help you plan YOUR OWN trip.

ronkala

We have done three three week loop trips the last four years.

Va to San Diego returning through the Grand Canyon and the southern Utah National Parks.

Va to Colorado, up to the Yellowstone area and returning through the Big Horn mountains and Badlands area.

VA to Glacier National Park and up through the Canadian Rockies returning through ND.

For all trips I used freetrip.com to get time, milage and hotels along the way.

TheWeasel

I agree with polly. The more sources you look at, the more ideas you'll get. With 9 months or so before you do this, you have lots of time to find interesting things to do.

2 months is alot of time to travel to these parks and not be driving all the time. Just as an example for the itinerary I mentioned. you can spend 2 weeks from the Badlands to Grand Tetons, and then another 2 weeks from RMNP to Zion/Bryce. That still leaves you a month for everything else. You definitely won't be rushed. You'll see a new park every few days, but mostly you wouldn't have more than a 5-6 hour drive between the parks. The southwest parks are a bit closer together than that, generally speaking.

AuntAnnie

My not to miss parks include Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, Glacier and Yosemite.
I was very moved by Little Bighorn monument.
Devil's Tower and the Badlands are cool, but not in the same league in my opinion. I would try to optimize time in a few parks. We have spent five days in Yellowstone alone. Glacier is much smaller easier to do justice in 2 or 3 days. Wow! What fun to plan and do!
Have a great trip!

RedRock

We often spend 5 or 6 weeks at a time wondering around the western part of the country. Your only big problems is going to be the pups. Most places they are not going to be welcome. Hope you can find a pupsitter that meets your needs.. Here are a few sites to help in your planning.

http://www.nps.gov/

http://www.recreation.gov/index.jsp

http://www.us-national-parks.net/

http://www.yellowstone.net/

http://www.fs.fed.us/

These are but a few of the places you can obtain information on being a tourist. Each state has a tourism department they can also provide a wealth of information.

Every ones idea of a good time varies somewhat. Some are happy setting around a campfire eating a can of beans and some want 5 start accommodations and places to eat. You will have much more fun if your trip is geared to fit your needs and likes. You are going to have two months on the road so spend some time in planning. That you will never regret.

Dayle

Hi again Maribeth,

Having your son puppysit sounds like the best idea. Then everyone is good and staying with someone they trust and already know!

I love to camp and have a little black Pug. He isn't a long distance hiking dog and cannot tolerate extremely in temps, so most of the time he stays home with a puppy sitter that I know and trust. I would miss him terribly for 2 months, but it's good to know he's safe and cared for.

Happy planning!

FlyingMaltese

No one mentioned Monument Valley. That is near Canyonlands, Arches, Goosenecks, Canyon de Chelley, Hopi, Mesas, Chaco Canyon, Durango, Taos, etc.

We did an 11 day tour last year, and we have two dogs. The hotels that we booked did not allow dogs. This was just as well, because the dogs would have been too hot and uncomfortable. You will probably also go into coyote and wolf country, and will probably worry about your pups. We hired a petsitter, because we did not have anyone to leave the pups with. If we would have had a friend or relative who would take care of our dogs and cat, we would have.

maribethp

Well, if we go without Miles and Levy, we will cut the trip to three weeks and go to the other parks at a later time. The pet sitting for a lengthy period adds quite a bit to the cost of the trip adn we, too, would miss them terribly.Son is a wonderful guy, but has three kids and a crazy life and schedule. I am still thinking about all of this, but really appreciate all of your support.

RedRock

Don't be discouraged. You can still do a lot in three weeks. From PA you could still plan a trip to the Black Hills, Devils Tower NM, Badlands NP, Little Bighorn Battlefield, Yellowstone and the Teton NP's. Time permitting you could also work in Rocky Mountain NP and/or Glacier NP into your schedule... There are many interesting things that you could do and see in those areas with that amount of time....

geribrum

I too second the idea of finding someone to pup sit. Last winter we took our two Shelties on a trip from northern Iowa to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We had accomodations arranged (rented a mobile home where we headquartered while there) but enroute it's very difficult to stop and see anything of interest with the dogs.

For instance, we stopped at the Alamo, but decided we couldn't tour it because we had our furry friends with us.

Had no problem with motels enroute, other than an extra charge for the dogs; could leave them in the room while we went to eat, but wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving them longer.

This year we're convincing a daughter to keep them while we do an extended road trip to Arizona.

We've kennelled them for two weeks at a time but feel anything longer isn't the best idea--plus gets quite expensive for two.

Hope you have a great time enjoying our beautiful national parks.