US Road trip Seattle to Arizona and back!

Nelly 21

We have made a start on planning this years holiday, as the title says, we are flying in to Seattle and driving down to Phoenix and back up to Seattle. We have the first week or so booked as we are driving over to Glacier National Park and then down through Utah to Arizona- taking in parks like Canyonlands, Zion ets. One of our stops will be Salt Lake City. We are also stopping in Sedona.

On the way back up we would like to to go through Yosemite and on up to Portland before reaching Seattle again.

If anyone has experience of any of these places and routes I'd love some advice.

RobertKK

If you are going to Glacier National Park then you have to visit Yellowstone NP and the Grand Tetons NP on your way to Salt Lake City.
Temple Square the home to the Mormons is a beautiful place to visit with flowers, water features and architecture.
There is Antelope Island State Park on the Great Salt Lake just outside SLC.
I did a route last year tha went from Zion NP to Bryce Canyon NP, then the next day onto Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley which has a lovely camp site. Next day went to the Grand Canyon, but I was heading back to Las Vegas.
I think it is a most beautiful part of the world, but I like rural settings...

TeaBagMania

How long are you staying? That is a lot to see and do, not to mention a ton of driving.

You're going to love it, there is a lot of beauty in those NP's and you don't want to be rushed by a schedule

Just FYI you have an Irish brother in SLC in case you need any assistance along your travels

have fun and be safe

circular flexing

Spent some time in Grand Canyon and Zion - I actually preferred Zion. Make sure to get the annual National Park Pass as well.

Utah is a strange state - they only serve full strength beer in restaurants and state-run off licenses, otherwise it's Utah beer which is like water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Utah

myate

When are you planning on going? As mentioned that's a lot of driving involved.


I've spent a lot of time hiking & doing photography in the national parks in southern Utah (Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Grand Canyon in Arizona) and other parks like Monument Valley, Antelope & everything in between (Bears Ears, White Pocket) (basically WestWorld if you watch it!). I've also spent a tonne of time in Yosemite in all seasons. I go to the parks & avoid cities as much as possible with the exception of San Francisco. Parks like Arches & Canyonlands are next to each other & you can base yourself in Moab (best outdoor town in the world) but I spend a week minimum there at a time. Depends on your schedule & what you want to see/do.



There's a great road trip forum (RoadTripAmerica) that was great help when I first starting doing road trips around the parks.



Best tip is to look at Google Maps & do a quick driving directions from A to B...if it says it takes 4 hours to get from A to B, it will take 4 hours. It's very accurate for US roads, and most roads around parks are small roads & not freeways or highways.

granturismo

When are you going?

Some of the more popular inpark accomodation or in towns adjacent to national parks accomodation may be booked up for July and August already. Also prices may be cheaper either side or July/August.

Some high roads will be closed off in Autumn.

Nelly 21

I should have said when we are going! We are flying into Seattle in August and leaving in September. We have 3 and a half weeks in total..

I should also say we have done some of the parks. We went on a big trip in 2014 and went to Zion and Arches and some other parks (including the grand canyon) and I loved it so much I want to go back to experience them again, and use a good route and be well organised beforehand!

We have drove a good bit in the US before and the hope is to spread out the driving, have a couple of big driving days and other days where we just do a couple of hours. Also there will be a few places where we spend a couple of days

Nelly 21

RobertKK wrote: »

If you are going to Glacier National Park then you have to visit Yellowstone NP and the Grand Tetons NP on your way to Salt Lake City.
Temple Square the home to the Mormons is a beautiful place to visit with flowers, water features and architecture.
There is Antelope Island State Park on the Great Salt Lake just outside SLC.
I did a route last year tha went from Zion NP to Bryce Canyon NP, then the next day onto Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley which has a lovely camp site. Next day went to the Grand Canyon, but I was heading back to Las Vegas.
I think it is a most beautiful part of the world, but I like rural settings...

We originally planned to go to Yellowstone but more or less cut it out for time.

I love rural settings myself. We have been to the grand canyon so don't mind not seeing it again but I really want to go through Zion again. I dont think we were in Antelope canyon or monument valley

Nelly 21

circular flexing wrote: »

Spent some time in Grand Canyon and Zion - I actually preferred Zion. Make sure to get the annual National Park Pass as well.

Utah is a strange state - they only serve full strength beer in restaurants and state-run off licenses, otherwise it's Utah beer which is like water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Utah

LOL this is a pain. I have an image of drinking a beer out by the mountains!!!

We had an experience before in Utah where the restaurant was closing we sked was there anywhere else to go, they said you're in Utah you know! I said we're Irish you know!!!

Nelly 21

myate wrote: »

When are you planning on going? As mentioned that's a lot of driving involved.


I've spent a lot of time hiking & doing photography in the national parks in southern Utah (Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Grand Canyon in Arizona) and other parks like Monument Valley, Antelope & everything in between (Bears Ears, White Pocket) (basically WestWorld if you watch it!). I've also spent a tonne of time in Yosemite in all seasons. I go to the parks & avoid cities as much as possible with the exception of San Francisco. Parks like Arches & Canyonlands are next to each other & you can base yourself in Moab (best outdoor town in the world) but I spend a week minimum there at a time. Depends on your schedule & what you want to see/do.




There's a great road trip forum (RoadTripAmerica) that was great help when I first starting doing road trips around the parks.



Best tip is to look at Google Maps & do a quick driving directions from A to B...if it says it takes 4 hours to get from A to B, it will take 4 hours. It's very accurate for US roads, and most roads around parks are small roads & not freeways or highways.

Ive been plugging places into Google maps to check out distances and printing some maps. I love the parks! Im really excited about that

Elvisjuice

did something similar last year . Flew into sf drove to yosemite stayed 4 nights drove through death valley which was unreal to vegas then onto grand canyon north rim as was on the southside before then onto zion and bryce cannon. Thought zion was a bit too touristy loved it though , bryce cannon was crazy unreal formations . One thing about the parks is book your accommodation way in advance as they fill up quick and are pricey but worth it as it saves time driving in and out each day .

Going next year to glacier , yellowstone and grand teton can't wait.

Nelly 21

Elvisjuice wrote: »

did something similar last year . Flew into sf drove to yosemite stayed 4 nights drove through death valley which was unreal to vegas then onto grand canyon north rim as was on the southside before then onto zion and bryce cannon. Thought zion was a bit too touristy loved it though , bryce cannon was crazy unreal formations . One thing about the parks is book your accommodation way in advance as they fill up quick and are pricey but worth it as it saves time driving in and out each day .

Going next year to glacier , yellowstone and grand teton can't wait.

We were looking at accomodation and there were crazy prices. I know its all worth it in the end. Your trip last year sounds great. You stayed 4 days in Yosemite? Was there loads to do? Ive seen the grand canyon, loved it!

This year was meant to be yellow stone and glacier but as we wanted to go to Arizona we had to cut one park out. We plan on doing Yellowstone and mount rushmore next year!

Elvisjuice

Nelly 21 wrote: »

We were looking at accomodation and there were crazy prices. I know its all worth it in the end. Your trip last year sounds great. You stayed 4 days in Yosemite? Was there loads to do? Ive seen the grand canyon, loved it!

This year was meant to be yellow stone and glacier but as we wanted to go to Arizona we had to cut one park out. We plan on doing Yellowstone and mount rushmore next year!

yep am big into hiking so went walking each day , loads to do even if you don't do long walks , all depends on what you are into . Found the Fodors book on national parks of the west very good .

myate

You could spend a year in Yosemite & not hike all it's trails. I generally spend a full week at a time in a rental cabin in Foresta, again usually booked a full year in advance, usual park prices at around $200 a night or thereabouts. The valley floor is busy, no sugar coating that, busy even in September still - September is my favourite time of year there though apart from middle of winter as it's still nice & warm but no bugs & even though there's people around, there's no traffic jams like summer. Best way to avoid people (that's what we're into!) is get up early pre sunrise, and stay into the evening. As soon as you hit most trails after a mile or so the crowds disappear. Go up to Tuolumne Meadows, it's unreal up there, less busy too. If you're into hiking, I recommend Clouds Rest trail as being the best view in the park at the summit (better than standing on Half Dome which I've also done a few times). It's long though 14 miles at nearly 10,000 feet up (altitude issues for some) so not for everyone!
Here's a highlight of our last trip in 2016 for the NPS Centennial, hit 8 parks in a month...always better seeing clips of some of the parks! - https://m-capilitan.wistia.com/medias/6t7515don0

Nelly 21

myate wrote: »

You could spend a year in Yosemite & not hike all it's trails. I generally spend a full week at a time in a rental cabin in Foresta, again usually booked a full year in advance, usual park prices at around $200 a night or thereabouts. The valley floor is busy, no sugar coating that, busy even in September still - September is my favourite time of year there though apart from middle of winter as it's still nice & warm but no bugs & even though there's people around, there's no traffic jams like summer. Best way to avoid people (that's what we're into!) is get up early pre sunrise, and stay into the evening. As soon as you hit most trails after a mile or so the crowds disappear. Go up to Tuolumne Meadows, it's unreal up there, less busy too. If you're into hiking, I recommend Clouds Rest trail as being the best view in the park at the summit (better than standing on Half Dome which I've also done a few times). It's long though 14 miles at nearly 10,000 feet up (altitude issues for some) so not for everyone!
Here's a highlight of our last trip in 2016 for the NPS Centennial, hit 8 parks in a month...always better seeing clips of some of the parks! - https://m-capilitan.wistia.com/medias/6t7515don0

I really don't know what I'm more impressed with about that video!!! Wow! That's really some way to collect your memories! Looks amazing!!!!! You would need to be well fit for some of those trails!!!!