bbflute

We are looking for a good road trip in the Southwest. We live in Vermont so want to experience something entirely different. Late June/Early July. Perhaps fly into Albuquerque, go to Santa Fe, go to Grand Canyon, go to Monument Valley then return. Ideas? Recommendations? Too hot for us New Englanders?

emalloy

There are several threads here that have ideas about that kind of a trip. If you click my name, then scroll down you can see two trip reports that we have done in that area.

I don't think it will be too hot at the higher elevations, and you will see some fantastic sights.

spirobulldog

The earlier in the summer the better for most of Utah. Santa Fe, you would probably be all right. I like Arches and Zion far more than Grand Canyon and far far more than Monument Valley. Not saying that those are not worth spending time at, I just think the other places have a lot more to offer. Grand Canyon will knock you off your feet for the first couple of minutes upon peering over the edge. The other places deliver more over several days, but not the initial shock and awe.

michele_d

I was pretty disappointed in Monument Valley. Really not much to see IMO. Loved Bryce and Zion and GC, both sides. Arches is great also. Moab was a nice town too.

utahtea

bbflute, How long do you have or this trip?

Utahtea

edeevee

We did a cross country family road trip about ten years ago that took in a couple of the areas you mentioned. If I were doing it again now (sans children) I think I would try:

Fly into Denver, drive to Grand Junction, CO. From there to Zion and on to Las Vegas. Vegas to Phoenix next. Phoenix to Grand Canyon. On to Monument Valley. Loop back around to 160 for a stop at Pagosa Springs. (We were unexpectedly stuck there overnight on our trip due to blasting in the mountains but the stopover -and the soak in the warm mineral springs- were a pleasant surprise.) Then make your way back to Denver.

The scenery you will see along the way is breathtaking and the stops in cities (Vegas, Phoenix) will help break up all that driving.

POlson

When we did our southwest roadtrip a few years ago we did as follows:
Fly to Phoenix, rent car
Drive to Grand Canyon - overnight at rim (we had young kids and did not hike)
Drive to Monument Valley - 2 nights at Gouldings lodge (we did Navajo led tours) - loved Monument Valley, great photos
Drive to Mesa Verde - 2 nights at Far View Lodge - we enjoyed wonderful meals at Metate, kids loved seeing wild horses and turkeys, we loved the cliff dwellings
Drive to Bernalillo (near ABQ/Santa Fe) - 5 nights at Hyatt Tamaya - we used this hotel as a base for road trips into ABQ and Santa Fe. Nice pools and activities for kids and close enough for what we wanted to do. Highlights included zoo for kids, Bandalier for easy hike, visiting Pueblos near Santa Fe. Great meals and a cooking class in Santa Fe.
We returned rental car in ABQ and flew home.

We did Zion and Bryce on another trip. Stayed at Desert Pearl - great 4 days.
Arches and Moab are still on are list.

RVtraveler

Is it too HOT in late June/early July? Check www.wunderground.com and after selecting a location go down 2-3 screens to "seasonal weather averages" for the dates you will be there. This displays the average and extreme hi and lo for the date. There can be substantial variances between places that appear close on the map because of different elevations.

Also, check www.drivecrosscountry.net/Places to spark ideas of places to see.

BigRuss

The answers here are far too lenient. If you go to Arizona you will be uncomfortable; ditto Vegas. Late June/early July in Phoenix will top 100 and anyone who says it's tolerable because it's a dry heat either lives there or is vaguely reptilian. I live in Dallas, my colleague (who lives about 5 miles from me) went to Phoenix in early July (106 in the shade) and said it is simply stultifying and barely breathable. Vegas is similar. If you are not familiar with those weather conditions, avoid them. My parents still tell tales of how we had guests from Minnesota who ran the AC to no end in New York City just as it was topping 90.

Staying in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah may be preferable because the elevation can neutralize some of the heat issues. No matter what, however, don't skimp on the car (economy/compact) because you'll need powerful AC.

bookhall

Another thing to be aware of is distances. In the east, you're rarely far from a gas station. In the west, away from the cities, you can have significant stretches between refueling opportunities.

edeevee

True about the gas. Hotels can be hard to find on the fly too. The first day of our road trip we nearly ran out of gas in Nebraska then ended up driving 4 hours more than we'd hoped because we had no reservations, there were few hotels, and they were all booked up.