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Started By
Message
Help plan trip out west
Posted on 12/22/19 at 3:33 pm
Posted on 12/22/19 at 3:33 pm
Long post but need help
Taking family out west 3 and 8 year old boys. First night BR to Dallas then Dallas to Amarillo
Staying at Big Texan plan on visiting Texas Grand Canyon
Then too Golden, CO stopping in Colorado Springs and red rocks amphitheater.
Then Cheyenne, Wy visiting Denver boulder and Fort Collins
Then staying in Gillette, WY after visiting Mt. Rushmore and possibly badlands
Then to Yellowstone (staying in the park 1 night)
Next night Jackson Hole
Then to Glenwood Springs, CO for 2 nights visiting the amusement park and the springs. Grand Junction and Vail and Breckinridge if time allows
Next North Rim of Canyon and staying in Hurricane, UT
Then to Vegas for 2 nights
Then Vegas to south rim staying in Williams
Next Lubbock for 1 night then try and make it to BR next day
Is all this possible?
16 day trip
Missing any must sees are better routes?
Taking family out west 3 and 8 year old boys. First night BR to Dallas then Dallas to Amarillo
Staying at Big Texan plan on visiting Texas Grand Canyon
Then too Golden, CO stopping in Colorado Springs and red rocks amphitheater.
Then Cheyenne, Wy visiting Denver boulder and Fort Collins
Then staying in Gillette, WY after visiting Mt. Rushmore and possibly badlands
Then to Yellowstone (staying in the park 1 night)
Next night Jackson Hole
Then to Glenwood Springs, CO for 2 nights visiting the amusement park and the springs. Grand Junction and Vail and Breckinridge if time allows
Next North Rim of Canyon and staying in Hurricane, UT
Then to Vegas for 2 nights
Then Vegas to south rim staying in Williams
Next Lubbock for 1 night then try and make it to BR next day
Is all this possible?
16 day trip
Missing any must sees are better routes?
12
Posted on 12/22/19 at 4:07 pm to Lsutmorg
Try and squeeze in Zion National Park in Utah. Not too far from Page, AZ if you wanna stay the night and drive the 2 hours to the park. Plus horseshoe bend canyon is near Page and really cool to see.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 4:12 pm to Paul Allen
Definitely Zion over the two sides of GC. Much better NP in my opinion.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 4:22 pm to Lsutmorg
Skip a day or two elsewhere and add those days to Yellowstone.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 4:26 pm to Lsutmorg
If it were me, I would skip most of the time in Colorado. Not because Co isn’t great, but because flights to Denver are so affordable that it is a lot easier to see on another trip. The rest of the listed places require a long road trip like you are taking.
And yes, you are squeezing in too much. If you plan on doing any hiking, you are going to be exhausted from all that driving.
And yes, you are squeezing in too much. If you plan on doing any hiking, you are going to be exhausted from all that driving.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 5:36 pm to Lsutmorg
Skip GJ, And Vail.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 6:09 pm to Lsutmorg
We took a long road trip this summer to many of the same places you are going. The link to the trip report is below or you can search for it on the TB. Maybe it will give you some ideas.
I would recommend seeing the Devils Tower National Monument if you are driving from Rapid City, SD to Gillette, WY. It does not take very long to see Mt. Rushmore but there are several scenic drives in Custer State Park.
CO/WY/MT/UT trip report
We generally stayed 2 or 3 nights in one location and saw as much as we could in that area. We only stayed one night when we were basically just traveling from point A to B.
Just curious, what are you going to do with a 3 and 8 year old in Vegas? Or maybe I should say, what are 3 & 8 yo going to do in Vegas?
I would recommend seeing the Devils Tower National Monument if you are driving from Rapid City, SD to Gillette, WY. It does not take very long to see Mt. Rushmore but there are several scenic drives in Custer State Park.
CO/WY/MT/UT trip report
We generally stayed 2 or 3 nights in one location and saw as much as we could in that area. We only stayed one night when we were basically just traveling from point A to B.
Just curious, what are you going to do with a 3 and 8 year old in Vegas? Or maybe I should say, what are 3 & 8 yo going to do in Vegas?
Posted on 12/22/19 at 6:32 pm to nctiger71
Stay an extra day or two at Mt. Rushmore. Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood and Custard National Park are all a good time. Spend the day a Horse-thief Lake.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 6:35 pm to Lsutmorg
quote:
Then too Golden, CO stopping in Colorado Springs and red rocks amphitheater.
Then Cheyenne, Wy visiting Denver boulder and Fort Collins
Then staying in Gillette, WY after visiting Mt. Rushmore and possibly badlands
Then to Yellowstone (staying in the park 1 night)
Next night Jackson Hole
Then to Glenwood Springs, CO for 2 nights visiting the amusement park and the springs. Grand Junction and Vail and Breckinridge if time allows
Next North Rim of Canyon and staying in Hurricane, UT
Then to Vegas for 2 nights
Yeah this is an awful plan. I would do whatever that Tejas stuff is then drive to Colorado Springs I guess or you could stop off at Sand Dunes NP instead. Then head west over to Durango via Pagosa Springs and check out Mesa Verde NP while in Durango. Then head up the SanJuan Sky Way through Ouray and over to Telluride. Then over to Moab for a day or two for Arches NP and Canyonlands NP with a touch of Dead Horse action. Up to Jackson then see the Tetons and Yellowstone. Back down through Pinedale on the way to Steamboat. After a day at the boat reflecting get home however which way....
Posted on 12/22/19 at 6:44 pm to 8thyearsenior
I would see Little Big Horn and Mesa Verde in there's time. LBH is a bit out of the way, but Mesa Verde is really cool.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 6:50 pm to RogerTheShrubber
quote:
LBH is a bit out of the way
It's a lot out of the way and almost everything eastern and central Wyoming is pretty crummy, with a few exceptions of course.They could maybe catch that and Badlands/Rushmore/ Devils Tower on a Glacier NP trip next year. The mountains and the west get to you, this trip will start the itch. They'll be back.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 7:15 pm to Lsutmorg
quote:
Taking family out west 3 and 8 year old boys. First night BR to Dallas then Dallas to Amarillo
This is a 12 hour drive, do all of this in one day.
This was our trip last year
and here is the the review:
Roadtrip Review: Colorado and East Utah, Pic Heavy
The pictures have turned into links in the thread, just click on any you want to see.
This post was edited on 12/22/19 at 7:18 pm
Posted on 12/22/19 at 7:36 pm to Lsutmorg
Last year we did minuteman missile site, badlands, Rushmore, Custer state park, wind cave, jewel cave, devils tower, and other small stops along the way in 7 days. As mentioned Custer state park deserves some time.
This year we are doing sand dunes, black canyon, dinosaur, arches, Canyonlands, Capitol reef, Bryce, Zion, 4 corners, and Mesa verde in 13 days.
This year we are doing sand dunes, black canyon, dinosaur, arches, Canyonlands, Capitol reef, Bryce, Zion, 4 corners, and Mesa verde in 13 days.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 8:50 pm to jsquardjj
agree, trim out about half those places. spent a week doing Yellowstone and Jackson Hole(Tetons) and could've used another week in that area.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 10:57 pm to Lsutmorg
Here’s my suggestions:
1. BR to Amarillo
2. Amarillo to Fort Collins/Denver/Boulder
3. Colorado to Jackson Hole
4-10. Have fun in Teton and Yellowstone (you can stay in West Yellowstone for a couple days, it’s a much shorter drive than JH to Yellowstone)
4a. I recommend doing Beartooth Pass, Jenny Lake, Uncle Tom trail, Fairy Trail while you’re there.
11. Jackson Hole to Zion
12-14. Have fun in zion and at Bryce (short drive from Zion)
15-16. Drive back to BR (may need an extra day/half day)
It’s easy to get wrapped up in huge itineraries like these. I’ve done these kinds of trips several times now and still made the same mistake last summer, just because you want to see everything out there.
You’ll thank yourself later if you spend a lot of time in a few places instead of a little time in a lot of places.
1. BR to Amarillo
2. Amarillo to Fort Collins/Denver/Boulder
3. Colorado to Jackson Hole
4-10. Have fun in Teton and Yellowstone (you can stay in West Yellowstone for a couple days, it’s a much shorter drive than JH to Yellowstone)
4a. I recommend doing Beartooth Pass, Jenny Lake, Uncle Tom trail, Fairy Trail while you’re there.
11. Jackson Hole to Zion
12-14. Have fun in zion and at Bryce (short drive from Zion)
15-16. Drive back to BR (may need an extra day/half day)
It’s easy to get wrapped up in huge itineraries like these. I’ve done these kinds of trips several times now and still made the same mistake last summer, just because you want to see everything out there.
You’ll thank yourself later if you spend a lot of time in a few places instead of a little time in a lot of places.
Posted on 12/23/19 at 7:49 am to TigerSaintInDallas
agree with all the others.
skip one of the states, there’s just too much to see especially with kids. We spent 2 weeks in CO in July and didn’t even get started seeing everything. We hit all four parks plus telluride/ouray/silverton and then buena vista
Year before we did crater lake, Idaho, YS and Tetons.
Year before that we did SF to sequoia to southern Utah.
everyone will be happier to not be in such a rush. You could do 2 weeks in YS and GT area alone
skip one of the states, there’s just too much to see especially with kids. We spent 2 weeks in CO in July and didn’t even get started seeing everything. We hit all four parks plus telluride/ouray/silverton and then buena vista
Year before we did crater lake, Idaho, YS and Tetons.
Year before that we did SF to sequoia to southern Utah.
everyone will be happier to not be in such a rush. You could do 2 weeks in YS and GT area alone
Posted on 12/23/19 at 7:50 am to cgrand
our road trip motto has always been...see what you can and save something for next time
Posted on 12/23/19 at 7:56 am to nctiger71
Not really sure never been. Planned on staying at circus circus for the kids and maybe spending a day at lake mead.
Posted on 12/23/19 at 8:24 am to wickowick
Would a 3 year old be able to do the whitewater trip?
Posted on 12/23/19 at 9:21 am to Lsutmorg
quote:
Would a 3 year old be able to do the whitewater trip?
The trip we were on, he could, unless the water was really up and flowing. We used Mild to Wild rafting in Moab. It was more of a float trip and there were no size limits.
We also used Gypse Guide and it was great for the national parks
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