Help us plan a trip out west -- Painted Desrt -> Grand Canyon -> Vegas -> Yosemite?

[Anonymous]

DH and I are TTC and want to plan a trip before the adventure truly begins. Would love to go to London, but don't think that's in the budget right now.

For a budget of about $2,000, what would you recommend for a trip west? We would love to hit The Painted Desert, Grand Canyon, maybe Vegas, then Yosemite. We are up for camping or hotels.

Have you been on a similar adventure that you would recommend?

[Anonymous]

Yes. How long do you have? That is a lot of driving between those locaions. All fabulous places to visit.

What time of year?

[Anonymous]

About 15 years ago I took a trip to the 4 corners area with a boyfriend. We spent 10 days and did lots of driving and still felt like we had just a taste of the southwest. It was my favorite trip of all time. We saw the Grand Canyon, santa fe, arches, monument valley, painted desert, petrified forest, newspaper rock, the Hopi reservation and mesas, Mesa verde, meteor crater, dinosaur tracks, canyon de chelly, and other places I can't recall. A few of the stops (like dinosaur tracks, meteor crater) we just checked out because they were on the way to one of our primary destinations. We didn't have a huge amount of money to spend, and there were few pricey lodging options anyway. We stayed mostly at b & bs, a couple of inexpensive hotels- one just outside the monument valley park and one on the Hopi reservation, and once in a campground in our SUV. One of the b & bs, near Mesa verde, had an archeological dig going on at the time we were there, and we were allowed to observe. It was all just so awesome. Have a great time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. How long do you have? That is a lot of driving between those locaions. All fabulous places to visit.

What time of year?

We are flexible on the time of year and could skip Vegas entirely, but am open to stopping in if we are driving right by it.

We have 7 days or less! It is a lot of driving and we want to do some exploring, so maybe we should tack Yosemite and Vegas onto a different trip? I dunno-- I need suggestions.

[Anonymous]

I would fly into Albuquerque, focus on the parks and sites in the general 4 corners area and save Vegas and Yosemite for another trip.

[ThatSmileyFaceGuy]

Anonymous wrote:I would fly into Albuquerque, focus on the parks and sites in the general 4 corners area and save Vegas and Yosemite for another trip.

Phoenix would be cheaper to fly into and then take to 2 hour drive to Flagstaff and make that your base of operations

[Anonymous]

I've done similar trips a bunch of times and I was also going to suggest Phoenix or Albuqerque as a place to fly into - Southwest usually has cheap flights to both. Then get a map and pinpoint everyplace you might want to see and go from there in a circular pattern so you aren't wasting time. I think trying to do Grand Canyon and Yosemite on the same trip is too much. Vegas is maybe ok - I did it once when I flew into Phoenix and went to the Grand Canyon. If you go that far, don't miss Hoover Dam.

There are some other great places, you haven't mentioned, such as Canyon de Chelley (not sure of spelling) in Arizona - it's a State park. There is Bryce and Zion National Parks in Utah, less than a day's drive from the Grand Canyon. Also, Pagosa Springs and the Durango railroad area in Colorado. Anything you do will be a lot of driving but so worth it.

Everytime I went I just stayed in Hotels. I always found cheap ones that were fine. Pre-kids, I never booked in advance unless I wanted to stay in a State or National park. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Go to Tripadvisor.com

[Anonymous]

I think that the Grand Canyon and points near by (NOT Yosemite) would be good. The Painted Desert, Meterior Crater, and Petrified Forest were places we stopped that weren't too far away. Just be careful when estimating driving times, especially for roads that look twisty on a map! You don't want to spend the whole time in the car. Be vigilant about filling up your tank--gas stations are further between than they are here. I would check average weather highs/lows and precipitation for Flagstaff to decide when you want to go--probably sometime in the spring or fall.

[Anonymous]

If you have 7 days or less, it would be hard to do both the Grand Canyon and Yosemite in one trip. I've done a lot of traveling in the southwest as both a child and adult and my favorite places are the Grand Canyon, Sedona (do a Pink Jeep Tour), Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, the Million Dollar Hwy (550) in Colorado, Zion & Bryce Canyon. I'm not a fan of the Painted Desert (but maybe that's because I've seen lots of deserts) or the Petrified Forest (most of the petrified trees have been stolen). We did a trip once where we flew into Denver and drove to Phoenix over about a week. It's a lot of driving, but many of the highways themselves are spectacular. If you like hiking and mountain biking, look into the Utah National Parks - they're gorgeous too.

[Anonymous]

I would suggest using Las Vegas as your base, and then visiting Zion, the north rim of the Grand Canyon, and Bryce Canyon. You could also add in Death Valley and Mojave National Parks in California. Valley of Fire along Lake Mead is a great place to see along the way from Vegas to Zion.

Another option from Vegas would be Death Valley, Eastern Sierras (including Mono Lake and Bodie) and then over Tioga Pass into Yosemite, back around the southern part of the Western Sierras via Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. (If you have time, try to see Mineral King.)

If you like kayaking, an easy trip is from the base of Hoover Dam down the Colorado River- some great hikes along side canyons on the way.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't go in the spring--we lived in Flagstaff and it is just WINDY in the springtime.

[Anonymous]

Here is another suggestion:

Fly into San Jose. Rent a car and drive to Yosemite. Spend a few days there. Drive to Napa or Sonoma. Do an overnight in a B & B, hit the wineries.

Drive to Rockefeller National Forest and get a small cabin on the Avenue of the Giants, maybe in Humbolt. Spend 1-2 nights. Breathtaking. More moving than the Grande Canyon.

Drive to San Francisco. Spend one night.

If you can squeeze an extra 2 days, and/or do a return flight out of one of the So Cal airports:

Drive down the Pacific Coast Hwy to San Simeon. 1/2 day in Monterrey, camping in Big Sur, Hearst Castle the next day. Dinner in Santa Barbara, red out out from one of the many LA airports.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you cannot do Grand Canyon and Yosemite in one trip. I love the idea of San Simeon, although there are fix or six tours for Hearst Castle - you could spend 3 days just at San Simeon - Death Valley is also a great spot to drive through but definitely during winter months.