Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t go to a national park right now - they are having staffing cut and I wouldn’t trust that it would be enjoyable. Try state parks

I would not make firm plans for things like campgrounds. But flexible plans to drive through and hike a bit? That's fine. NP

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t go to a national park right now - they are having staffing cut and I wouldn’t trust that it would be enjoyable. Try state parks

Good…keep this story and fear mongering up! Then the national parks won’t be so busy for the rest of us!

Anonymous wrote:OP here- we don’t mind the drive, we are looking at it as an adventure.

No set route yet- we did visit Yellowstone and the Tetons last summer so we won’t go that far north. Maybe LA to Vegas, through Utah for some Utah parks then on to Colorado. It’s once we get to Denver and head east that I am not sure where to stop along the way.

Definitely check out some Colorado River front resorts in Moab, and maybe even Glenwood Springs in Colorado.

I wouldn’t go to a national park right now - they are having staffing cut and I wouldn’t trust that it would be enjoyable. Try state parks

The Denver to St. Louis drive is pretty abysmal - the scenery is flat and boring and there are no real places of note in between (save for Kansas City). I live in Columbia MO - halfway between KC and STL. I absolutely love St Louis (we initially moved there from NY and could give a million recs but it sounds like you may have that covered). But if you want to stop in KC or Columbia, I'm happy to give suggestions.

The MO state fair starts Aug 7 and would be relatively on the way. We haven't been, but I imagine that would be a different experience for LA kids.

The problem with the route through Denver is that there isn’t much between there and say Chicago.

We did the southern route and hit San Diego, el pass, New Orleans, etc. if you’re committed to your route to see people, the your question really is “what’s east of Denver hut west of the Mississippi?”

If you don't already have a science museum membership, I would recommend getting one. Getting in for free at museums throughout your journey is nice. The small ones along the route can be good for a short break.

The pool in Glenwood Springs is fun and unique. It's the world's largest hot springs pool.

If you have the time, go through South Dakota when going from Denver to St. Louis. The southwest corner has lots of different wild animals, several national parks, and Custer State Park which is a gem.

When driving through Kansas City, stop at the science museum there which has a lot of train related items. There are a lot of fountains in KC, so if your kids are into that you can drive around and see them.

OP here- we don’t mind the drive, we are looking at it as an adventure.

No set route yet- we did visit Yellowstone and the Tetons last summer so we won’t go that far north. Maybe LA to Vegas, through Utah for some Utah parks then on to Colorado. It’s once we get to Denver and head east that I am not sure where to stop along the way.

We did a full cross country and back trip in 2021 from DC to San Diego and back over a month. On the way back, we did Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone (which was amazing but wish we also did Teton), Little Big Horn, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Mizzou to see where DH went to school, St Louis, Indianapolis, and then home. It was amazing. Some of these stop like Las Vegas, Indy, St. Louis were just one night pass through. You could easily adjust the route to add Colorado.

What’s your planned route, OP?

We drove to st louis (actually beyond) in a straight shot. I would zip up to Mt Rushmore as quickly as possible and then take it easy to take in Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and the Utah parks down to Moab and the Grand Canyon. These are the most impressive sites that the US has to offer.

Anonymous wrote:That sounds like a lot of driving.
Do you like driving?

It’s not if you do it over 2 weeks. I drove from NC to AZ when we moved and did it over 4 days driving around 7;hours each day. I don’t love road trips but it was fine. We stopped in major cities for a decent dinner every night. We took a southern route I40 to Rte 66. There was nothing I’d go out of my way to see on that route but there were some interesting stops along the way. Cadillac ranch in TX and the Blue Hole and Sandia Peak tramway in NM.

Do you know what route you will be taking?

Driving is easy in the West until you hit the Mississippi River. Very little traffic and people actually know how to use the left lane for just passing. Once you get close to the east coast it’s madness.

In general, National parks are great stops.
I did approx. the same drive with my (then) 16 year old son a few years ago--we started in San Diego and drove to No Virginia.
Going from LA to NM, you can basically follow route 66 with some deviations for site seeing, before heading more north to Denver.

If you haven't already been to Joshua tree, it's a great stop on the way. It will be very hot, but the park is particularly beautiful at sunrise and sunset. I loved being at the cholla cactus garden at sunrise!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a less-known national park in Colorado. It's gorgeous. You can drive to the bottom but you'll want a smaller car (no RVs or trailers, etc.) for that. You can "hike" to the bottom too but from what I've read, it's pretty rough and I believe you need permits in advance.

From Denver to St. Louis you will drive through Kansas. A couple summers ago, I was out that way and saw little Jerusalem state park. I enjoyed it, but you probably wouldn't want to go way out of your way for it. https://www.travelks.com/things-to-do/parks-and-nature/state-parks/little-jerusalem/

If you go close to Hutchinson, Cosmosphere is an incredible space museum and Strataca is a salt mine that you can tour.

That sounds like a lot of driving.
Do you like driving?

We are moving from Los Angeles to the east coast this summer. Most of our stuff will be transported by movers but we are going to drive with our elementary age kids. Thinking about taking our time and making the drive over 2 weeks or so. We want to stop in Denver and St Louis to see family and friends.

Any suggested routes or favorite stops for a cross country road trip?