My family recently moved to Colorado. For Spring Break, we are interested in visiting either Yellowstone or Grand Canyon, thinking that time of year won't be so crowded. How far to the Grand Canyon? Should we scrap those plans and visit Moab and surrounding national parks? We'd welcome all advice.

When is your spring break? I ask, because the roads into Yellowstone aren't scheduled to open until April 22.

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/or...l/roadopen.htm

How far to the Grand Canyon will depend on where in Colorado you moved to.

Moab, is a great location and well worth a weeks time.

Utahtea

i'd vote for moab. lots to see and do, spring break in the east is over i'm guessing yours is coming up quick. like utahtea said, for the gc, depends on where you are in co. i think there is more to do in utah for the week. have fun

Again, depending upon where in Colorado, try Mesa Verde, Durango area.

Thanks for all the advice. We are going to concentrate on Moab, possibly including Lake Powell and SW Colorado. The lady who made the Grand Circle website put together a wonderful resource. She did the research for all of us.
It is www.travel.stv77.com.
Any thing we definitely need to see or do? We have kids 13, 15, and 5.

Moab is a great choice but Lake Powell near Page is a bit far out of the way for only a one week trip with three kids. I know that sssteve made good time, but they had two weeks & it was just the two of them...no children. Take it from someone who has traveled with kids and has traveled with just DH...it take a lot longer to get ready and go with kids.

I would skip Lake Powell & save it for a trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion & Capitol Reef.

Mesa Verde will be great for kids. You still haven't said when this trip was, so a 1/2 day float trip on the Colorado River out of Moab, Utah might be an option. There is plenty of hiking and petroglyphs to be found near Moab.

Depending on where in Colorado you live, you might consider driving Hwy 550, the Million Dollar Highway back towards home. It's kind of hard to tell you what to see or do, since we don't have a general location of where in Colorado you will be starting and ending.

Utahtea

We're starting and ending in Steamboat, and we're going the week of April 16-23. I like the idea of Mesa Verde, but we've been to Telluride, Ouray, etc. and would rather stay OUT of the snow!
Is Glen Canyon really too far? I know out west, with the little winding roads, what looks close on the map may take hours on the road.
Thanks for the help!

etpiv,

Glen Canyon National Recreational Area is a large area. Hite Crossing is not more than a river these days because of the many years of drought. Bullfrog and Halls Crossing is also very low but there is water and I read the ferry is out of service until spring (no date given). This area does not have the high canyon walls that you see from the Page, AZ area. I also read that the hike to Rainbow Bridge is closed while they make repairs...again no date given for it to open.

You can easily make Page, AZ and the Grand Canyon is not that far away. What you need to decide is where you want to go and how long you will spend at each area. Most parks take one full day (two nights) at least to really see them. Moab area has two National Parks and a lot more, plan on at least 3 nights and 2 full days. With that in mind, then Moab, Mesa Verde and Page will be stretching it with only 8 days.

It's about 300 miles from Steamboat Springs to Moab, Utah. It's about 270 miles from Moab to Page. You will drive right by Monument Valley...which is worth a tour! If you plan on doing the Grand Canyon, do it before Page. It's 600 miles from Page, AZ back to Steamboat Springs and plan on 1 1/2 days to drive home.

Utahtea

Utahtea,
We're off to Moab! Thanks for everything.

Ok, now that you've decided. On the way to Moab, Utah get off I-70 at Cisco and take Hwy 128 into Moab. This is a really scenic drive and won't take any longer to drive. On the way back to Steamboat Springs take Hwy 191 to I-70 and travel east to the Thompson exit. Take the exit and drive north for 3 miles to Sego Canyon Rock Art site. This is an amazing place and doesn't take long to see.

http://www.so-utah.com/green/segocny/homepage.html

Or you can do these two in reverse.

I didn't mean to scare you off to going to other locations. Mesa Verde is only 145 miles from Moab, Utah and well worth a couple of days. You could then visit 4 Corners and Monument Valley on the way back to Moab.

Then again....Moab is worth a weeks time. If you don't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, you can rent one in town. There are many easy routes to take...like the Shafer Trail and Long Canyon.

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...shafer2001.htm

The Potash Road and Kane Creek which both follow the Colorado River going west out of town (on opposite banks of the river) have petroglyphs and are both scenic drives.

You can make a day trip out of going to the Needles District of Canyonlands and stopping at Newspaper Rock.

Have a great trip!

Utahtea