wendylynne

HI-my husband and I are trying to figure out the best trip for us with our girls, ages 13 and 8. We will fly from Washington DC. we would take 2 weeks. Fly into San Fran, hit Yosemite, Wine Country, make it to LA, see some sites head to Vegas and return from there. We'd see family in LA.

OR, fly into Phoenix, check out Sedona, the North Rim, head to Vegas.

Or, Go into Salt Lake City, do the Utah NP, come down to Monument Valley, North Rim, head to Vegas. It is important to me to end up in Vegas as I have never been there.

I am afraid that we may be biting off more than we can chew. I really would love to see more NP's because I will not get out there again and my husband and I want out kids to see their magnificent beauty.

Any recommendations??

Thanks,

Wendy

ElendilPickle

I don't know what you want to do in Las Vegas, but your kids won't be allowed to hang out in the casinos. They could see the lions at MGM, the Bellagio fountains, and a few other things, but IMO it's more of an adult destination.

When do you plan to travel? If you want to spend a night at Yosemite, you'll need to make reservations now. Otherwise, you can stay outside the park.

Lee Ann

fun4all4

Hi,

Welcome to Fodor's. What time of year will you be traveling? What are your interests (yours and the girls')- hiking and the outdoors, shopping, big cities, history, museums, etc...? All these areas have gorgeous natural beauty and it's hard to choose. But, a little more info will help narrow down some options.

tracys2cents

It would depend on the time of year. If I had two weeks, I think I would go for your first itinerary..and continue on to the Utah National Parks (Zion is only a couple of hours from Vegas). Then fly home from Salt Lake City or Phoenix.

enzian

With two school-age children, I'm assuming this is a summer trip. It will be hot, particularly in Arizona.

If the main priorities are national parks and other scenic wonders, plus Las Vegas, I think you could maximize your scenery (and minimize the driving) by flying into Reno and out of Las Vegas.

From Reno, stop at Lake Tahoe for a day or two on your way south to Yosemite; head over Tioga Pass to Tuolumne Meadows (I'd spend one night there, in the tent cabins) and then down to Yosemite Valley (book accomodations ASAP!) Spend several nights in Yosemite, then back over Tioga Pass and down HWY 395 and east on I-15 to Las Vegas. (You could also cut through Death Valley, but I don't know if that's advisable in the summer). From Las Vegas, you could do a loop to include North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce, and even through Page and down to the South Rim if you like.

I'm hoping that by picking up and dropping off the car in Nevada, you can minimize the drop charges. This itinerary doesn't get you to San Francisco, or to LA to see family. But it does give you the best taste of the scenic wonders of the national parks.

This also assumes that you won't start before July 1 or so---Tioga Pass is sometimes delayed in opening until then. Or you could reverse the route, flying into Las Vegas and leave Yosemite to the last.

suze

Each of those 3 itineraries works OK. It's just a matter of what you really want to see and do (is San Fran a must? is LA?) and how much time you are willing to spend driving in a car.

suze

p.s. Especially since you mention you are from back East. People sometimes forget (or don't realize) just how darn BIG most of the western states are. There are some LONG distances you mention for a 2 week vacation.

trippinkpj

Hard to give recommendations without an answer to "when".

wendylynne

I guess I did leave out some imporant info. this is my first time using this site, I'm just getting the hang of it.

this will be summer, probably late June, for 2 weeks, I know it will be HOT. Hubby REALLY wants to meet up with family in Fontana CA (about 1hr from LA). I'd guess stay 3 nights. They will be our guides while we are there and hubby and I have been to LA.

Where we need guidance is for the next 10 days or so. We thought we'd head towards Vegas, I've never been there, don't want to gamble but would want to see at least 1 show (LOVE or Phantom or both), so 2nts, tops. Leave Vegas, check out the Hoover Dam, continue N to SW UT. Things I'd want to see are Zion NP, travel Rte 12 to Escalante and maybe Capitol Reef NP, over to Arches or Canyonlands NP, then to Goosenecks/Monument Valley, Grand Canyon N Rim only and back home, I guess from Vegas, Flagstaff or PHoenix. It sounds like alot but I don't know when we'll get back West. We've never done a trip like this, usually its the beach. We are not hikers but short hikes would be doable.

If it would be better to hit the GC N Rim first, after LA, and reverse the rest, let me know. Are we trying to do too much??

I've gathered info for Gouldings Lodge, Red Cliffs Lodge - both Monument Valley area and Desert Pearl Inn, Cliffrose Lodge - both in Zion NP. Does anyone have 1st hand experience with these properties? All look nice, Red Cliffs seems like it might be most expensive.

thanks! I appreciate all advise,

Wendy

otownrob

i would fly in and out of vegas. stick with southern utah. go to zionNP then bryceNP then up to moab,ut for arches NP and canyonlands NP.....canyonlands should give you your grand canyon fix. southern utah is the best part of the U.S. ....trust me.

wendylynne

Hi Otownrob-

Great advise. but, I need to put CA in there for my hubby's sake but we can do the SW UT route you suggest and skip GC to save on time.

wendy

sharondi

You really need 12 days to do SW Utah/AZ parks without feeling frenzied. If you give fly into LA, spend a day or two, drive to LV for a night, you could hit GC (north & south rims are almost same distance), MV, Moab area parks, Capitol Reef, GS Escalante, Bryce & Zion. Schedule your flight home out of LV for afternoon so you can spend the night in Springdale (Desert Pearl is very nice) and drive the 3 hrs to Las Vegas with plenty of time to return the vehicle and catch your flight. We've done that from both the South Rim and from Springdale, no problem. The Southwest is spectacular - unlike anywhere else. Go while you have the chance.

paula1470

You could fly into Ontario, CA airport (right next to Fontana), visit the family and then head to Las Vegas. If you have 10 days, I think you could do the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce and then fly home from Las Vegas. I wouldn't spend more than one night in LV. I know you would like to see shows but you can do that at home.

paula1470

Sharondi, looks like we were posting the same idea at the same time.

lemidi

HI
Several years ago we did something similar with our 3 kids. Not identical but here's what we did just to put the feasiblity into perspective for you:

-We flew into Orange County CA and spent 3 nights with family
-Drove toward Grand Canyon but did a one night stop over in Laughlin Nevada just to break up the drive. We found Laughlin to be an interesting stop over for the mere fact that you are driving in the middle on no where and suddenly a small city with casinos, lights and a river juts up. Funky city but fun for a night even with kids.
-The next morning we drove to Grand Canyon by going through a touristy "ghost town" Oatman Arizona. Great with Kids. About an hour from Laughlin and about another 3-4 hours to Grand CAnyon as I recall.
-Spent one night at Grand Canyon. Loved it, could have spent two nights but one did the trick and I'm happy we where there.
-Drove to Las Vegas where we spent 2 nights. The drive is beautiful, intersting and we pased right over Hoover Damn to get there. Very exciting.
-Flew home from Vegas.

My kids were 7,6 and 5 at the time and they loved the entire trip. And I would do it again the same way. I don't like to linger too long in any one place. But that's just me. Sure we did miss doing some activities at the GC but we were there and saw it's awesome beauty and that is the main thing.

Vegas was great with kids. The theme hotels, pools and restaurants are like a big amusement park. Of course kids can't gamble but neither do we and we still love Vegas.

Have fun whatever you do.

trippinkpj

Ontario Airport is a good tip. Fairly easy in and out, and a good location for both So Cal and southwest exploring.