November Vacation Planning
 

Forgive the open-ended nature of this post, but we can use some help, and advice we’ve gotten on this site in the past has been great (thanks!). We’re hoping to do a last-minute trip, of around 8 days, in mid-November (yes, 2 weeks from now – yikes!). Our typical trips, which we’ve very much enjoyed, have been road trips thru scenic areas, typically covering 4 or 5 national/state parks, staying in small/quaint towns, avoiding big cities, averaging about 5 miles of hiking per day, and covering around 1,200-1,500 miles in 8-10 days.

We’d love to that same kind of trip, BUT I’m recovering from an injury that’ll limit our ambitions a bit. Still able to hike and spend time in the car, but will need to do less driving and scaled back hiking (can still do 4-5 miles, but not every day) than we have in the past. On this trip we’d like to combine hiking and non-hiking activities (e.g., museums, galleries, wineries, poking around cute small towns), and generally slow down the pace a bit (e.g. spending multiple nights in a few towns, rather than mostly one night stays before moving on). We know the mid-November timing will narrow down the options quite a bit – we’re fine hiking in the 50s or even 40s, but we obviously want to avoid road and trail closures.

Places we’ve been and enjoyed (often with your help!) – Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nova Scotia, Wyoming, California coast, Blue Ridge Pkwy. Still on our list (to give you an idea of our tastes, but probably not do-able in mid-November) – Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Washington state, Canadian Rockies. Possibilities might include New Mexico, West Texas (Big Bend?), or anywhere else we can get the kind of experience I’ve described above.

Thanks very much in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!

Are you driving your own car or flying (or taking a train trip) and then renting a car? New Mexico and southern Arizona have plenty to keep you busy for more than 8 days.
My DW and I are heading for Arizona (Grand Canyon) next month. Enjoy your trip. If you want a little adventure on your hikes, you could start geocaching. After you find a cache or 2, head back to the car.

New Mexico will hit most of your boxes. You could fly into Albuquerque and spend a day or two there at the beginning or end of the trip. Then head up to Santa Fe, perhaps stop at Tent Rocks for some hiking on the way and visit some of the museums there as well as the charming "city". From there, if the weather is good, head west with a stop at Bandelier NP and if you are interested in Native American history continue west then south to Chaco Canyon (the closest lodging is in Bloomfield, NM.). Continue south to I-40 then back east with stops at elMorro/Inscription Rock and Accoma Pueblo before getting back to Albuquerque.

Yosemite might be OK if the current dry forecast continues. November can be a nice time and very quiet. You could combine it with the Gold Rush towns along Hwy 49 in the Sierra foothills. My favorite is Murphys. Calaveras and Amador counties have great wine.

NM is good too.

Big Bend doesn't have as much nearby. It depends on how far you want to drive. Terlingua is a funky little town on the west side. The Davis Mountain/Marfa/Alpine area is within 2-3 hours drive. Otherwise there's a whole lotta nothing for a while.

Yes southern AZ would be good as well. I wasn't sure if you wanted to revisit the places on your been to list or not. The SE canyons are beautiful too, Madera, Chiricahua, etc.

Thanks for the input, this is really helpful. We do plan to fly and then rent a car, wherever we go. Based on feedback, we have decided to save Big Bend for another trip when I am back to full hiking strength since there isn't a lot other than the park in that area.

We have been considering Santa Fe but were looking about combining that with Taos as opposed to the route suggested by emalloy. Would a Santa Fe/Taos trip make sense? Pros/cons to that as opposed to the Chao Canyon route?

While we have be to AZ, out trip there was to the north -- Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly, Petrified Forest -- so we have not yet been to the Tuscon area.

As for Yosemite, that is on our bucket list and we have been going back and forth as to best time of year for that trip -- either May/early June for the waterfalls or in the fall. How many days do we need to enjoy the park? Will my hiking limitations limit our enjoyment or is it better to wait until I can do more hiking every day?

I think it's possible to enjoy the scenic beauty of Yosemite without long hikes but if you'd feel like you're missing out, then maybe it's better to postpone. I would say 3 days, perhaps 4 if the high country roads are open which they are currently. There was some surprise snow yesterday which temporarily closed Glacier Point Rd but it's open now. This week there are power shut offs in the area and elsewhere in CA due to wildfire risk but hopefully the dry, windy conditions won't persist into mid-November. May/June is best for waterfalls but will be more crowded.

We day tripped to Taos from Santa Fe. Santa Fe is well located for day trips in different directions. We've not been to Chaco Canyon. Some of the higher elevation areas might have snow in mid-November.