Les

Two adults will be flying from the East Coast to either Salt Lake City or Denver in early Sept. We would like to plan a circular trip including the most scenic routes with some easier hiking, and perhaps some out of the way interesting side trips. We will have 12-14 days. Any suggestions would be also appreciated as to which would be the preferred starting point. Thank you..

Dee

I am not good at figuring out "circular"routes, however from Denver to Grand Junction looked like a wonderful drive-- interstate 70( I was on the train so can only speak from what I saw out the window.) I would have loved to stay at Glen wood Springs. Historical "hot springs" with lots of charm.
From Grand Junction to Salt Lake city
did not impress me--just sort of flat nothing!!
Salt Lake City north to Park City is beautiful drive , even though too early for winter sports, is an interesting area.
Hope this helps.....

rqf

This is a circular trip out of Denver. Denver to Moab (Arches, Canyonlands National Parks). Moab to Bryce National Park going through Capitol Reef National Park - very scenic drive. Bryce to Zion National Park. From Zion to NOrth Rim of the Grand CAnyon. From North Rim to MOnument Valley and then onto Mesa VErde National Park. Mesa Verde back to Denver traveling rt. 550 and then rt 50 to Canon City and then onto to Colorado Srprings and back to DEnver. All the national parks have plenty of short easy to walk trails. There are some side trips you could take on this route - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, Navajor National Monument and if time permits you could go from Monument Valley to CAnyon de Chellly and then to Mesa Verde. Hectic but can be done in 14 days. Can provide day by day specifics if you think you are interested in this itinerary.

Bob Brown

The above route is a good one, no doubt about it at all. I have been to all of those places and have several favorites.
One of them is Capitol Reef National Park and the other is Bryce Canyon National Park. Utah route 12 that runs between Tropic/Bryce and Torrey Utah is special. It is a very scenic drive through an semi arid landscape. There are a few trees along, so it is not total desert like much of the interior of Utah between the "Reef" and Arches NP.
Another spectacular drive is the road from Durango to Silverton to Ouray in Colorado. It is a high mountain drive.
And a third, and final spectacular is to take Trail Ridge Road over the top of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is real high mountain driving, up to 12,000 feet, and I recommend it be done at the end of the trip after you have had a little chance to adjust some to the altitude.
Some of the areas like Capitol Reef are perhaps 6,000 feet in elevation. Others are less. But adjusting from 6,000 to 12,000 is a little easier than to adjust from sea level.

RB

What a wonderful trip you will have! I've not done a trip out of Denver; search on this board- seems like there have been some posts on starting trip from this point. We've just come back from a 10-day RT from SLC; I've posted a trip report on our experience. Highly recommend the book "Scenic Driving Utah" by Joe Bensen (Falcon Publishing). It covers all the territory named in the posts above. In 2000, we did a 10-day RT from SLC- Moab (Arches, Canyonlands [Islands in the Sky]), Monticello (Canyonlands [Needles], Natural Bridges), Fry Canyon (just because there's a neat little roadside joint!), Torrey (Capitol Reef), Bryce NP, and Zion NP. You can't pick a bad spot! Early Sept., the crowds should be down. If you plan to stay at the lodges run in Bryce, Zion or North Rim, start calling now for reservations- hope you can get in! Have fun.

gb

Don't forget the road over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. And maybe you could squeeze om a drive over Independance Pass near Aspen, and McClure Pass near Marble.

Lexma90

I like rfq's suggested itinerary, though I haven't been to Utah myself since I was a kid.

Here's another route, that we took several years ago. We like to hike (mostly easier hikes now that we have little kids), enjoy the mountains, and eat good food. We live in Denver, so that's where we started from.

West from Denver on 70. You can stop at Breckenridge or Vail on the way. Breck is a cute former mining town; Vail is everything you've heard, but beautiful that time of year. Easy hikes are available in both places. Then to Aspen. Same kind of thing; nice town, good places to eat, easy hikes (Maroon Bells is very popular). Then west & south to Telluride (another former mining town, now ski resort), then to Durango. From there, to Mesa Verde. Should be a good time of year for that; not as searing hot as the summer. A cultural experience not to be missed. Long but easy drive from Mesa Verde area to Taos & Santa Fe. No real hiking in this area, but interesting culture and fabulous food. Then from there drive back up to Denver, stopping in Colorado Springs (Pikes Peak) if you like. You miss Rocky Mountain National Park with this trip, but you could fit it in out of Denver, or save it for another trip (it is worth visiting, though). You'll have a great vacation, any way you go. I think September is the best time of year to visit the Rockies.

Larry

So much to see & do and so little time. Your biggest 'problem' will be what NOT to see & do. From Denver, I70 to Grand Junction. Side trip through Colorado National Monument & back to I70 towards Cresent Junction. Take side road (U128) along Colorado River to Moab, UT. Allow 2-3 days here. Arches Nat'l Park with lots of hikes; Dead Horse Point St Park & Canyonlands Nat'l Park (Island in the Sky District; River rafting and jeep tour in back country. South to Blanding, UT & U95 west to Hanksville, U24 to Capital Reef Nat'l Park. Great scenic drive in Park. U12 south to Bryce Nat'l Park & nice hikes down into 'hoodoos'. Review time and may have to save Zion & Grand Canyon (N Rim) for next trip? Continue US89 south & east by Vermillion Cliffs and Lake Powell - Great scenic boat rides. Pick up US160 north & stop in at Navajo Nat'l Mon. On north to Monument Valley. Zig zag over to Cortez, CO & visit Mesa Verde Nat'l Park (full day). On to Durango - take narrow gage steam train ride if time permitts. North via US550 to Montrose & east on US 50. Side drive thru Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Continue east to Monte Vista & US285 north/east back to Denver. So much more to see & do.

J T Kirk

I like Utah, and all of the places mentioned in the above posts are great spots. But let me offer an alternative if you fly into Denver. Denver to Crested Butte (about a 4 1/2 drive). Then drive west to US 550 (in Montrose) and head south. This will take you through some spectacular scenery, by Ouray and Silverton. Stay in Durango. Make a daytrip to Mesa Verde, which is a great indian site. Then head north on 145 to Telluride, which is a great cowboy town with some nice restaurants and shopping. There are also some wonderful hiking trails around Telluride. Then cut over on 62 back to 550 and head north to Grand Junction. Head east of I 70 and go to Aspen. Yeah, it's expensive but it's also pretty cool. Have fun.

Bob

Two years ago I flew into Denver, drove south, stopped at Colorado Springs, on down to Albuquerque (spelling?) for a business meeting, then drove west and north up to Ship Rock, up to Durango, north to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and then north to the interstate and back to Denver through Vail. It was a great trip; took about a week but there were many things I missed. If this route interests you, e-mail me and I will spend some time checking out my USA road atlas for names of towns, etc. that I went through and what I failed to see.

heather

Hi Les - I am a Denver suburb native and went to College in Durango. I highly recommend the southern portion of the state. The drive from Durango to Silverton and then to Ouray over Red Mountain pass is beautiful. Ouray has a great slide show on the area that you shouldn't miss. It is narrated by C.W. McCall who used to be the Mayor of Ouray. McCall sang the song 'Convoy'. The slide show has great narration, music and gorgeous pictures. It may sound hokey but it is really wonderful!! You could also go from Mesa Verde through Cortez and Dolores to Telluride. The highway is called the "Million Dollar Highway" and is a very beautiful drive also.

BTilke

Les,
Sunset Magazine recently did an article on traveling Highway 89, a scenic highway that runs through Utah (as well as Montana, etc.). You can access the article on the Sunset web site (www.sunset.com) under the travel section in the magazine. It has photos, stop-off suggestions and restaurant/accommodation recommendations.
BTilke
BTilke

Les

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions. We certainly have some research to do now. This is our first time on this board, and we are impressed with the enthusiastic feedback, it's most appreciated.