cd

Dayle, the reason I wanted to go to Lake Mead was to take a Tour that takes you to Hoover Dam, and the Lake letting you see the Dam from the water. You don't think that would be worth it?
Most of the parks we are going to I have figured driving time so I definitely think it's worth it. We will arrive at each park in the morning, have the afternoon, spend the night and off to the next one the following day. We have allowed 2nights at Monument Valley and 2 nights at Lake Powell. I could have allowed more nights but now I have already purchased air fare.

cd

Vega, Death Valley is 2hrs 13min from Vegas. We had just planned on seeing a couple hours of it and heading on to Las Vegas...We are coming from San Diego

wekewoody

"1 day in each place doesn't allow time for GETTING there, so it's almost not worth going."

Totally agree. It is your trip, but I suggest you consolidate and forget about seeing everything on your wish list in one trip.

One night in Vegas was enough for us.

We did the full tour of Hoover Dam and thought it was worthwhile. Pretty interesting. The art deco design and artwork is spectacular if you like that sort of thing, which I do. Lake Mead isn't the attraction, the Dam is.

cd

ok, why is 7 - 8 hrs not enough for each park if you are not taking hikes?

janisj

>>Vega, Death Valley is 2hrs 13min from Vegassame day? Without traffic in SD -- to Death Valley, a basic loop drive through Badwater, up to Scotty's Castel and on to LV will take about 11 hours without ANY stops.

I just think you aren't being at all realistic.

peterboy

If you are going to Grand Canyon first, why backtrack to Zion? Why not continue on and go to Monument Valley then north to Moab then Cap. Reef the Bryce and finish at Zion which leaves you close to Vegas for your departure. What you are planning is a classic tour called "The Grand Circle". Google that and you see lots of info. It can be done in either direction. Here's an example: http://www.grandcircle.org/

wekewoody

cd, "Drive by" vacations are not cup of tea. Whether you are hiking or not, spending time BEING there is why many people go to these parks.

BTW, one destination you have devoted two nights to, Monument Valley is one that SHOULD be a one nighter.

cd

Janis, I'm trying very hard to be realistic. I Googled and found it is 5hrs 30min from San Diego to Death Valley and thought we could do that, spend an hour or so and then the 2 hour 13min drive to LV. We just wanted to see what DV looks like. I will rethink about going and perhaps drop it.

peterboy, I did it this way because we are ending the Grand Circle (like that name) with 2 days at Lake Powell before going back to LV.

Thanks for your help.

emalloy

I would take one of the nights at Monument Valley and add it to any of the National Parks. Unless you are planning on two tours there isn't much more than a day's worth of stuff to do there. Get there before sunset, spend the night, and/or see sunrise do a tour and be on your way.

cd

Thanks emalloy, that's what I am doing now. Here is what I have: 2nights Zion, 1 night Bryce, 2 nites Cap Reef, 2 nites Moab for Arches and Canyonlands, one night MV, 2 nites Lake Powell. What do you think?

janisj

>>I Googled and found it is 5hrs 30min from San Diego to Death Valleyany traffic in LV).

And you will not have seen anything in 75% of DV. So even just spending a couple of hours driving around IN Death Valley you are talking about 11+ hours car time.

wekewoody

cd, your new plan looks better.
I would add a night to Bryce.
Have a great trip.

peterboy

Then do the grand circle the opposite direction...Zion first then Bryce, Cap. Reef, Moab, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon then back to Vegas. Doing Grand Canyon as an out and back from Vegas is just setting yourself up for a lot of unnecessary driving. It can easily be added to your circle. Also, I'd consider taking a night from Cap. Reef and adding it to Moab. You need to look at a map and plot this out.

RVvagabond

Assume you will be on I-15 north. At I-15, MP 31.8 is an exit onto 395. At MP 45.9 is Kramer Junction. To the west is the town of Boron having a superb Mexican Restaurant. Of interest is the open pit Boron Mine. In front, they have a 100% replica of the famous 20-Mule team including one of the original wagons. They also give tours - ask in town
At MP 72.8, just past tiny town of Red Mountain, is a turn off onto Trona Road to the desolate mining town of Trona. (check map)
The road ends at 178 - turn right to Trona - about 10 miles..

From Trona drive north 22.5 miles where there is a junction to the interesting ghost town of Ballarat. Southeast is Goler Canyon where Charles Manson and his fallowing were captured at Baker Ranch (canyon requires 4-wheel drive). He was hiding under the kitchen sink!
https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...charcoal+kilns


At 32.1 miles from Trona is a junction to Panamint Springs or a short cut to Death Valley. Turn right (assume road is good - ask in Trona) continue 9.8 miles through a scenic canyon to a junction. Turn right to see the famous Charcoal Kilns - about 7 miles on high clearance road.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...charcoal+kilns

When finished, return to the this junction and continue west and north to Death Valley and do the normal tour route to L.V.

1) The best hike is to Keane Wonder Mine.
2) The best drive is Titus Canyon High Clearance Vehicle road
3) The best view of DV is from Aquereberry Point Road which is a side road when driving north from Kilns. High Clearance required.


Vaga

janisj

RVvagabond: All well an good but that is a minimum 10+ hour drive (before any stops).

emalloy

cd, Your new plan sounds better. Do you have lodging yet, or are you planning on camping? In any case you will probably need reservations if you want to stay in the park.

I would check on reservations and as peter boy said you can do the loop in either direction so decide which way to do the loop depending on which reservations work best for you. If they tell you everything is full in the park, make a reservation you can cancel nearby then call the park every day as people do make reservations a year ahead and then cancel.

Do get a park pass at the first park you go to. If you are 62+ and a US citizen you can get a lifetime senior pass for $10, if not it is $80 for a year and both get everyone in your car into all the parks for free.

cd

Vega, thank you for the info and link but we have dropped Death Valley from our itinerary. However, those stone huts look amazing!
emalloy, we have all our lodging except for MV and I will get that today. DH and I have worked 3 days on all this and have had a lot of fun doing so. We also dropped Grand Canyon because we have been there and added that day to Zion. So, our finished product is: 3days Zion, one day Bryce, 2 days Cap Reef, 2 days Moab, 1 day MV and 3 days Lake Powell along with 3 days LV which we will use for trips to Hoover Dam, maybe the Valley of Fire and DH playing Blackjack We will be flying into San Diego and staying 3days and flying out of LV. We already have out car reserved so we are pretty much all set.
Any activities you all enjoyed in Zion I would love to hear about!
Thanks again.

peterboy

looks like a good plan....Valley of Fire was really cool...better than I expected.

Myer

Personally, I might consider dropping one day at Capitol Reef and adding one to Moab.

I don't sit around and we spent almost 4 days in the Moab area.
Arches (Delicate Arch, Double Arch, Fiery Furnace ranger-led hike, more)
Canyonlands
Dead Horse Point
Rte 128 (Fisher Towers, etc)
Rte 279

There are also some worthy sight along the way:

Willis Creek slot canyon just east of Bryce Canyon and just south of Cannonville (visitors center there for instructions)

Devils Garden Escalante (not the one in Arches) (about 10 miles down the dirt road Hole-in-the-Rock Rd) A more grown up version of Goblin Valley below.

Lower Calf Creek Falls (about a 2 mile level hike to these beautiful waterfalls)

Goblin Valley State Park (many rock figures)

janisj

cd: Much MUCH better itinerary

I was actually worried about your DV plans . . .