My family will be driving to Grand Canyon in July. Please give me your advise on scenic routes to take and cities to stop at. I am taking my parents with me (ages 56 &60) and would like to provide them a memorable trip. Couple of things to keep in mind when giving me your advise: 1) I can take only 2 weeks off from work, 2) my parents insist we drive (I tried to convince them to fly or take train to Grand Canyon with no success-they would like to see the real America close-up..they've not been outside of the Washington Metro Area since they immigrated to the U.S. in '83 from Korea, and 3) they would like to stop by other national parks on the way (they love scenic mountains like Skyline Drive at Shennandoah where they visit couple of times a year).

Thanks for your help and I look forward to your comments!

Kathryn

Hmmmm. Let's see... You want to drive from D.C. to the Grand Canyon and back in two weeks, in July, and you want to make it a scenic journey? You MIGHT have some problems! But it CAN be done. Just be prepared to have everything seem like a blur when you get back, VERY tired.

Anyway, I recommend two routes. Either can be the way out or the way back, but I'll describe one way. I-66 to I-81 to I-64 to Lexington KY, POSSIBLE side trip to Mammoth Cave, continue on I-64 to Saint Louis, then I-70 to Kansas City and Denver, with a detour to Rocky Mountain Nat Park. Continue on I-70 to Arches/ Canyonlands til you get to US Hiway 89. South on 89 to Zion and Bryce Canyon, and then into the Grand Canyon.

Continue south on US Hiway 89 to I-40, east on I-40 to Petrified Forest, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, and finally to I-81. Side trip to Great Smokies, then northeast on I-81 to I-66 and back to Washington.

You will NOT be able to see all of the above. But this route gives you the choice to see the sights/cities I mention above, all of which are worthy of a stop. You'll have to pick and choose which ones interest.

One bit of (unsolicited) advice: make certain you have FIRM reservations for lodging when you get to the Canyon. You do NOT want to spend two hours looking for a vacancy when you SHOULD be looking at the Canyon.

Dear Paul,
Thanks for your advise. I am now seriously looking into an option of renting a car and driving to Grand Canyon (and to Salt Lake City, Utah or San Francisco as final destination depending on our scheudle) and fly back to Washington.
Kathyn

I suggest you look at your maps for the distance between Salt Lake City and San Francisco. It is not a simple half day drive between the two. Even if you cruise at 80 mph, it will take a while.
I don't have a map handy, but GC south rim to SF has got to be about 800 miles.

Glad to see that you're planning to fly. I just completed a suggested itinerary for friends in Australia who have 15 days from Los Angeles and return and to see national parks.

Their schedule goes this way: North along the Pacific Coast to San Francisco (Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Muir Woods National Monument). To Yosemite. To Death Valley National Park. To Las Vegas. To Zion, Cedar Breaks, and Bryce Canyon. To Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. To Grand Canyon. To Saguaro National Park. To Phoneix and Tucson. To San Diego (Cabrillo National Monument). Return to Los Angeles.

This is surely too much for the 12 driving days you'll have. But if you haven't seen them, I'd suggest at least San Francisco, southwest Utah, and Las Vegas. (There are another five national parks in southern Utah.)

If you aren't members of AAA, it would be worth joining to get the TourBooks and maps for your trip.

If you aren't gamblers, Las Vegas still has much to offer in seeing the unusual hotels along the Strip.

You and your parents should have a great time in the Southwest.`