happytrailstoyou

It looks pretty good to me.

I would spend more time on Highway 1 and only one night in Death Valley.

Also, I, unlike many others, find Los Angeles has a great deal to offer. I, for one, would much rather spend three nights in Los Angeles than in San Diego.

pollyvw

As much as I love Monument Valley, after spending appropriate time in Zion, Bryce and Moab, I think your children will have had enough of desert monoliths. But I do believe that LV is a 'cultural' experience that all should partake in at least once in a lifetime. That said...once was enough for me!

I would not leave out Canyon de Chelley. It is unique to any area you have mentioned.

About Sequoias...Muir Woods just north of SF is a spectacular, almost religious site. Also, the sequoias in the southern part of Yosemite. Those two should give you enough. I say this because ALL my life, I have wanted to fly to CA JUST to see Sequoia NP. When we finally took our trip from US East coast, Muir Woods, YOsemite Sequoias and SNP were included. After seeing the first 2, the latter was redundant (considering the number of days we had in the state). Time would have been better spent (in my opinion) on other things. This is not to discount the significance of the park, just to comment on placing priorities.

Dayle

Hi again pha,

Moab 5 days - there is so much to do and see, so much variety!

Arches Natl Park - even if you only do the short walks to the most popular arches, you will want 1 full day. If you enjoy photographs and have the teens along, they would probably like to take some of the hikes - Delicate Arch, Double O Arch/Devil's Garden, Firey Furnace (need advance sign up).

Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point is another full day, especially if you take time for a hike or 2. Mesa Arch, Upheaval Dome or drive the Shafer Trail, recommend 4x4.

You can also take a guided canyoneering trip, scenic flights, rafting trips, 4x4 trips, mountain biking, horseback riding and do some great short hikes outside the parks too. Lots of options, beautiful place. You might want to search for other's trip reports on Moab here.

Michael

pha,

my impression is that artificial desert lakes such as Powell are enjoyed as cruises, for which you will have precious little time. If you need a lake, Tahoe is a better bet, although out of the way if going from SF to Yosemite to LV.

I would not go to Death Valley in the summer, but my German cousin drove through it in the summer with the windows open. He likes heat.

If going over the Tioga Pass, you might want to consider a small detour to Bodie, which is an interesting ghost town.

tracys2cents

Don't come all the way over from Belgium and skip Las Vegas. It's a spectacle that everyone should see once in their lifetime. Lodging will be very inexpensive on weeknights in August (avoid Fri, Sat)...you'll welcome the swimming pool, the chance for some relaxation and dining...can take a day trip to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. I'd definitely plan 2 nights for LV.

Pat_Rick

Pat, I would add Sedona if you can fly out of Phoenix, Sedona is two hours from Phoenix and 5 hours from Grand Canyon. It is a beautiful red rock town, lots to do. You teens will love the Broken Arrow jeep ride, the Slide Rock National Park, and the hiking trails. You will find plenty to do for 3 nights.

San Francisco, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Sedona deserves at least 3 nights each, Vegas 2 nights. I would use mapquest.com to estimate the driving distance and time between places.

Pick either Zion or Bryce and spend more than one night there.

I would skip Death Valley, Monument Valley, Chelly Canyon, Lake Powell, and San Diego.

Just my two cents....

Pat

christy1

Initally upon seeing your list, I thought that you should definitely cut out Moab and much of southern Utah. That is just way too much driving to do the California Coast and mountains, AND southern Utah and Arizona. And it will be so hot there, while on the CA coast and mountains it will be much cooler. You only had 2 nights in Moab (so only one full day) and that is not nearly enough time there to justify the travel time. You still might consider omitting the whole easternmost part of your plan-try keeping your California stops (besides DV), Zion, Bryce and the GC but leaving out the rest of Utah and AZ. That would be a much more managable trip, and you could plan to come back to that area during a time of year when it won't be 100+ degrees F (and, very very crowded as well).

But, alternately, I think Dayle has some good ideas as to how to incorporate Utah and Arizona into your trip. I absolutely agree with his assessment that you should skip Lake Powell (the reservoir level is very low right now anyway), Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelley, Death Valley (people actually die there every summer from hiking, and they are almost always Europeans, who are not prepared for desert conditions). I would skip Sequoia, too-you can see big, amazing trees at Yosemite. I also agree that Moab deserves 5 nights-that is 4 whole days, which means you can spend 2 days in Arches, one in the Island in the Sky part of Canyonlands, and one in the Needles area of Canyonlands. Though again, I'm not entirely sure you should visit that area when it's so hot-hiking could be miserable, and it's not fun to just sightsee through the window of an air-conditioned car.

Even though I like the itinerary Dayle put together, it is still a very rushed trip, with only one full day in Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. You will be doing so much driving that it sounds very exhausting.

So I guess you need to decide whether that is the kind of trip you want to take, or if you would rather take a more relaxed trip in a smaller area. You are right-most of those places are worth visiting. But that is always the challenge of planning a trip anywhere, but especially when you are taking a vacation to a distant place. There's always more to see than we have time for, and we just have to plan future trips.

KathrynT

I definitely agree with dropping Death Valley, Lake Powell and San Diego at the very least and would only spend one night in Las Vegas (but I'm not a Vegas person.)

Have you researched how far apart all of your locations are? Sometimes just looking at a map doesn't really prepare you for the length of time you will spend travelling from location to location.

Moab is wonderful but will be very hot (really too hot for hiking all but the shortest trails.) However, there is a lot to do and see there. A rafting trip is fun and a great way to cope with the heat.

It sounds like you have the beginnings of a wonderful trip planned. Have a great trip!

califK

-If you include Monterey in your trip(I would) - don't arrive too late in the day from S.F. as you say you may only have one night there. You may need a jacket there.
-Things are pretty spread out in Calif. I worry about getting involved with L.A. - that's a big region with heavy traffic considerations, not relaxing. San Diego is more reasonable to get through and has some lovely beaches.
-I recommend travelling through the Eastern Sierra, even in August (one idea is you could go from SF to Reno then down 395 to SoCal region), not necessarily Death Valley this time, save that for a Spring trip someday.
-I agree with an earlier post that Bodie off 395 near Mono Lake is a fascinating real ghost town in a wonderful scenic region. Tioga Pass is a scenic route over the Sierras - can you take a day in Yosemite? Skip Vegas.

Noa26

2 nights in death valley?? skip it in August..the must are Yosemite, Zion, Bryce, San diego (but 2 nights is enough).if you need more info on these places or to see them on a map you can try using this site www.tripcart.com
have a great vacation!

MaureenB

I would really trim down the number of destinations on your list. You might be underestimating the driving times between them, and the traffic. Plus, the heat in August will be more than you've ever felt in Belgium. Your list is too heavy on the desert locations IMHO. Maybe they sound exotic to you, but they are miserable in August.

We lived in the Mojave high desert of CA for a few years, and you need gloves to open your car door if it's been sitting in the sun, because the metal can literally burn your hands. Also the steering wheel is too hot to touch, etc. You get the picture. The desert is great in the winter.

And I'd definitely drop Lake Powell, because it's nothing to see, IMHO, unless you're renting a houseboat for a few days. Not my cup of tea, but it's the only way it would be bearable, I think. I'd rather go to a mountain lake in August. Like Tahoe.

I'd focus on California, because it has so much to offer, with less driving. I'm not sure of the best routes, so these aren't in geographical order:
• San Francisco itself (minimum 3 nights); take the ferry to Sausalito, walk the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.
• Also north of SF-- Muir Woods. Be sure to see some giant redwoods and/or sequoias somewhere in CA., because they are amazing.
• The Russian River area is nice, too, but might be too much like geography you've already seen in Europe
• Big Sur/ Monterey/ Carmel-- definitely worth a couple of nights
• Yosemite is a must, also, IMHO-- amazing meadows, El Capitan, hiking, etc. Stay a few nights.
• Lake Tahoe if you want to see a mountain lake. It has gambling on the Nevada shore, if you want to see what that's like.
• Skip Vegas, but if you must go, just one night will be plenty (more than enough for me!)
• Santa Barbara or northern L.A., if you are interested in seeing places like Malibu, UCLA/ Westwood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air. I didn't see your kids' ages, but they might want to see some of the showbiz glitz of L.A. You can get free tickets to many television shows on-line in advance, like Jay Leno's Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, etc. Some have minimum age of 18, though, and they do check IDs.
• The Mojave desert is inland from L.A., if you want to drive that direction. Also, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake are nice mountain places, a short drive inland from L.A. and worth a night or two.
• Another desert location (assuming you're wanting to visit the desert) is Palm Desert, Palm Springs, etc.

Be sure to visit at least one of the original Spanish missions someplace in CA-- there are many of them, and they are very picturesque and interesting. We recently stopped in a nice one near Carmel.

I wouldn't suggest flying home from Phoenix or Denver, way too far to go in three weeks. So much to see in California. Stay longer, drive less!

Have fun planning. Look carefully at drive times, and ask lots of specific questions on this forum as you develop your plan.
>-

Michael

I have often taken three week camping trips from SF and back going as far as Banff, Taos, Glacier NP and other points in the Rocky Mountains. For pha, such a trip may be comparable to someone "doing" France Germany and the Benelux in three weeks. The difference is that the distances here are greater, but then there are fewer reasons to stop than in Europe. If not a trip of a lifetime, it may be a once every-ten-years trip and pushing it in terms of area covered is then to be expected. I would decide on the starting and ending points and then plan on what to see in between. I think that the Denver option is a good one, although an out-of-state drop-off might raise the price of the rental considerably. If Denver is used, I would definitely see Mesa Verde. If LA is the drop-off point, I would go no farther than the Utah canyon area (including Arches) and the Indian area of NW Arizona.