My girlfriend and I are looking to take a 2+ week road trip in late May and early June starting and ending in Denver, CO. We want to hit as many National Parks as possible.

Currently we're looking at 3 total weeks going to Zion, Yosemite, Redwood, Olympic, Glacier, and Yellowstone with stops in San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

Is this too much to fit into 3 weeks (driving in between). Is there a better way to hit more national parks?

Thanks for any advice!

That is a lot of ground to cover in 2 weeks with city stops too. If your sole purpose is to hit as many National Parks as possible then go to the NPS.gov websites and connect the dots. You did not even mention the 4 NP's in Colorado, as well as the numerous ones in southern Utah, not to mention Grand Teton NP just south of Yellowstone. If you want to see all those in a particular area you may want to consider covering 1/2 the area, even that will be a drive by. All the parks are amazing and I do not think you would be dissappointed to focus on a smaller area, saving the rest for future trips.

One last thought, the Going to the Sun Rd, which is a highlight of Glacier does not usually open until after July 4.

I agree with barblab...lower your sights. There is a cluster of six national parks/monuments in southern Colorado/Utah/northern Arizona/New Mexico and you plan to see just one. Doesn't make sense. Seattle/Portland and Olympic National Park are too far out of your way...save them for another trip. Include Grand Teton with Yellowstone and Glacier. Take the time to enjoy the parks you visit and spend less time on the road.

If all you want to do is hit as many Parks as you can, I don't think this board can help you much. Just get a copy of Fodor's guide to the National Parks of the West and a good road map and then plan it out.

The routing you have mentioned would not appeal to most of the posters here who are mostly seasoned travelers and want to get the most out of their visits to our National Parks. Your plan would involve spending 90% of the time on our nation's highways.

As the others have said, it would be better to concentrate on one section and save the rest for other trips. In my opinion, it would be better to visit Yellowstone and Glacier later in the year and perhaps combine them with visits to other parts of Montana, Wyoming and maybe even South Dakota. And save the West Coast for a different trip entirely.

Last May we visited the National Parks of southern Utah - Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. We also went to Monument Valley, Natural Bridges National Monument and Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. This took us two weeks and we wish we had had more time. Just seeing Arches and Canyonlands properly needs a week in itself.

Starting from Denver, you could visit the following Colorado parks in addition to the ones I mentioned above that were in Utah. Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks and Colorado National Monument are all well worth visiting and the end of May is a good time to go. For Rocky Mountain, it would be best to go in the summer because of its altitude.

You could also go down to New Mexico and see Bandalier National Monument and Chaco Culture National Historical Park as well as Canyon de Chelly in norteastern Arizona. Finally, you could add in the Grand Canyon and you would have more than enough to see in your allotted time. Personally, I would need at least a month to visit all the parks that I've listed. But, you could choose the ones you are most interested in and develop an itinerary that won't require the huge driving distances of your original plan.

From Denver it is a half a days drive to Moab UT where you can do Arches and Canyonlands, then go over to Capitol Reef, then Bryce and Zion, back down to the Grand Canyon up to Monnument Valley then Mesa Verde and back to Denver. You won't have lots of time to hike etc but will be able to do this in two + weeks easily. If you have a little extra time, hit Rocky Mt. NP on one end or the other. Check www.weather.com before you leave and plan your trip for the direction of a circle that works best. Also take the number for the motels in the National parks, there is one for most of them and check for cancellations. They are not too expensive and have you where you want to be when you get up. Get a National park pass at the first one you get to, it lets you and everyone in your car into all national parks free for a year,if you're over 62 you can get a lifetime one for $10. If you can drive up to Yellostone that would be great, but it's a long way.

Your plan is really about three trips - each 2 or 3 weeks long.

IMO you need to cut your itinerary in half or double the time . . . Unless you want to see most of the western US through your windshield.

You will enjoy the National Parks best by staying 2-5 days at each one. There are some that only require a day, but most require multiple days. It will be time well spent and you will save money, by not traveling as much. I guarantee that you will thoroughly enjoy it. You could easily spend a week in Yellowstone and a week in Glacier. Most of the Utah Parks need about 3 days. There is a lot to see in Utah other than the NPS. They have some really nice state parks and some nice National Monuments.

You could do a loop in Oregon and Washington. Maybe Olympic, Redwoods, Lassen and Crater Lake.

What about staring in Denver. Spend 2 days at Great Sand Dunes, Spend 2 day @ Mesa Verde, 2 Days at Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and 4 or 5 days @ Moab Utah(Arches, Canyonlands).

A good option might be to do Yellowstone/Tetons/Glacier or Yellowstone/Tetons/Mt. Rushmore.

If you really want to do Zion right, you would want to visit Bryce, possibly the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Page, and Lake Powell area.

You would want to allow several days at any of the cities you have mentioned as well. There is a lot to do around all 3 of them.

You have a great idea, but just need to concentrate on fewer of them. There is so much to do at a lot of them.