ECherney27

Hello,

My boyfriend and I are doing a six day road trip from Las Vegas to Santa Fe March 14th (evening) to March 20th (afternoon). We want to know how to best spend our time. We definitely want to see the Grand Canyon and are very interested in Mesa Verde National Park. We do not care too much to see Las Vegas. Do you have any suggestions of places to stay, essential things to see, places to eat, etc? It would be most helpful.

Thank you!

tomfuller

If you don't want to stay in LV, go out to the Hoover Dam Lodge. http://hooverdamlodge.com/
Depending on how early you arrive, you can visit the dam first.

boots08

We stayed at an Airbnb in La Villita near Santa Fe, and though the surroundings are nice I liked Albuquerque as a city more than Santa Fe - in particular Old Town Square where native New Mexicans gather to sell their wares. Yes, some of the shops are touristy but you'll get a more authentic feel of NM than the more pretentious Santa Fe.

In Santa Fe, we ate at the TerraCotta wine bistro (walkable from old Town Square), one of the only places available on Open Table that evening. We found the ambience decent and the food and wine quite good. Parking is a challenge in that area. If you call the restaurant ahead of time, they will tell you where to park.

If you care to look it up, the Airbnb in La Villita is an old, beautifully decorated adobe hosted by Debora. She and her husband live in the property next door, and provided us with breakfast bread, eggs and homemade jam. I would return to NM just to stay in their place again.

We also drove up to Taos to see some of the old pueblos and to enjoy an early dinner at Bella's. It was one of the most enjoyable meals of our trip. Beware that traffic can be bumper to bumper during rush hour.

If it's not too far off the beaten path, Sedona is worth a visit. Again, touristy, but the sights are unforgettable.

Boots

ElendilPickle

Do your six days include arrival and departure days?

Lee Ann

MmePerdu

If you opt for I-40 to Albuquerque I recommend a stop at Acoma Pueblo, south of 40 about 20 miles and an hour/65 miles west of Albuquerque.

Resident guides give a tour of the pueblo from the visitor center below and they do it well, in a small group. It was a fascinating place and I felt very welcome.

http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html

emalloy

3/14 Since you are getting in to Vegas in the afternoon, I would do as tomfuller suggests and head towards Hoover Dam and spend the night nearby. Then head for Grand Canyon.

3/15I would look for lodging in the park which would allow you to see sunset. sunrise and do a bit of hiking along the rim trail and/or down Bright Angel trail into the canyon.

3/16 Head west and depending on weather and your timing, spend the night in Kayenta or in Monument Valley. If Kayenta, do take the time for a quick look at Monument Valley.

3/17 Go to Mesa Verde. The lodging in the park usually does not open in March, so you will need lodging nearby, probably in Cortez, CO. The park will be open but you will need to have an eye for the weather. It takes about a half hour to get to the VC from Cortez and another half hour to get up to where you can see the dwellings. At the VC, see if you can get a ranger led tour of the dwellings.

3/18 head south, maybe aim for lodging in the Los Alamos area and visit Bandelier NP and/or the museum in Los Alamos.

3/19 head for Santa Fe, about an hour from Bandelier, if you didn't have time for seeing the park on 3/18 then visit it this morning.

This will give you some wiggle room to account for bad weather, etc.

Just a general caution, do not drive after dark as large animals like elk and deer as well as the occasional cow or horse sometimes use the roads too. Hitting one would spoil your whole day.

Fill your gas tank whenever it gets to half and there is an open station.

Keep essentials in the car, like warm clothes, water, snacks etc.

If it snows/sleets/freezing rains find lodging and wait until it clears up.

sylvia3

Acoma Pueblo
Tent Rocks park
Malpais

ElendilPickle

Emalloy's plan looks good.

Do you need to be back in Las Vegas on the 20th, or are you traveling onward from Santa Fe? If you need to be back in Las Vegas, you'll need to be much closer to that city on the evening of the 19th.

Lee Ann