johnche96

Hi all!

My girlfriend and I are planning a 10-day leisure trip to Yosemite, Grand Canyon and some of the other parks.But the cold weather and closure of some parks disrupt our original plan, we only keep the first two on our list, so we were just wondering what else national parks worth visiting during the early and mid March? Maybe in Utah, or in any states nearby would be fine.
Any answers, helps and advice are appreciated!
Thanks, guys!

janisj

Are you flying in and out . . . if so, where from?

Yosemite and the Grand Canyon are a loooong distance apart - the most logical 'mid-point' would be Las Vegas and Zion NP.

Or you could go to Southern California and visit Joshua Tree.

MmePerdu

March should be peak season for wildflowers in Death Valley and, given all the rain this winter in the west, it could very well be spectacular.

janisj

oh -- jeeze - mmeP is right.

I thought I had posted >>Death Valley/Las Vegas and Zion NP . . . Bakersfield > DV/Vegas or Zion > Grand Canyon is a lot of territory for 10 days - especially since you also have to drive from and to your starting and departure points.

. . . Just noticed another 'mis-post' - Should have said >>Are you flying in and out . . . if so, which airport(s), if not where are you driving from?

MmePerdu

It could also still be winter all over, wildflowers and all, delayed. This is a good news/bad news year and flexibilty could be a very good part of any plan.

tomfuller

In case you didn't know, on March 1st 1872 Yellowstone became a National Park.

emalloy

If you can find a car rental with a reasonable drop off fee, you could do a trip into California (San Francisco, San Jose, etc.) and out of Vegas. Or you could check cost and time considerations and fly to CA, rent a car, visit Yosemite, return the car and fly to Vegas, rent a car and visit Grand Canyon, Death Valley and/or some of the Utah parks.

Some things to consider:

The drive from Yosemite to Vegas will take 8 or 9 hours and you might encounter some snow no matter which route you take, but Tioga pass will be closed. It is likely that most of Yosemite will also not be open, although the valley is lovely and will most likely be open.

If you do decide to do the drive from YNP, you could go via Death Valley on the way to GC south rim (north rim will still be closed, given the snow this year). It will still be a day in the car to get there. I really love DV and it will probably be comfortable weather to hike there in March.

Here is a link to a map of the area around Vegas that was posted by another fodorite long ago, showing the parks, with a chart of distances and times between sites:

http://ohiohickstraveltips.weebly.co...-utah-map.html

I would probably do a loop from Vegas and visit Grand Canyon for a night, do a drive through of Bryce (probably ok on road, snow on trails), a couple of nights in Zion, a night in Death Valley. This could be done in the other direction if that worked better in terms of weather and lodging.

Or I would do a California loop and visit San Francisco, Yosemite, the coast down to Monterey (much below that is closed) and/or the coast up to Point Reyes.

Personally I would

emalloy

hit post too soon.

Personally I would do either California or GC and some Utah parks, not try to do both.

sludick

We just returned from a visit to Arches and Canyonlands national parks. March would be an excellent time for a visit. (While you're there, don't miss Dead Horse Point and Goblin Valley state parks too.) You might include Capitol Reef national park as well.

I'd skip Yosemite this time, for all the reasons stated previously. For Grand Canyon - Montezuma Castle is close to Sedona and Saguaro NP is reasonably close, south of Tucson.

https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

janisj

>>I'd skip Yosemite this time, for all the reasons stated previously. else they might go.

Without more input from the OP we are all shooting in the dark here . . .

db6040

"emalloy on Mar 2, 17 at 8:01am
hit post too soon.

Personally I would do either California or GC and some Utah parks, not try to do both."

Agreed 100% with what emalloy posted above. With 10 days, I wouldn't want to attempt Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. I would plan for one or the other and see things in the vicinity of whichever one I chose. Do you have airfare booked?

Michael

If going to Yosemite in March, a nice activity is snowshoeing around the ski resort. Snow shoes are available for rental and no other special equipment is needed.

Taken during a snowshoe "walk":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7624516613985/ and next two pictures.

Barbara

If you're considering Yosemite, which is always lovely, also consider how to get into the park. Storm damage is currently blocking two of the three main access routes from the west.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-...303-story.html

starrs

I vistited the Grand Canyon for the first time in March of one year and we also went to Arches on that trip. Delicate Arch had been on the top of my bucket list and we were the ONLY ones at Delicate Arch that morning. Amazing! I'd also consider Mesa Verde NP. If you decide to not do the California part of the trip, you could fly into Phoenix or Albuquerque and do a great loop for a southwestern trip for 10 days. Stop in Sedona or Santa Fe before heading north to the parks. Be sure to spend some time in Monument Valley. The best Indian fry bread I've ever had was at the Cameron Trading Post as you leave the Grand Canyon heading east. Hubbell Trading Post is like stepping back in time.
https://www.nps.gov/hutr/planyourvisit/index.htm

That would be my choice = 10 days in the gorgeous southwest.