12 night trip: CA to UT & CO Natl. Parks

By the time you hit Moab, you'll know whether Colorado is going to work for you or not. I'd let the parks make the decision on how long to stay for you when you get to each one along your route. You might find one or two in that first group that you or the team might not want to leave.
I would say it's an aggressive plan for 3 weeks, let alone 2. Probably doable, if you like long drive days, as you suggest.

True Romance wrote:
I am planning our summer roadtrip for June. Time is tight this year and I think I only have 12 nights. Might be able to squeeze in a few more nights if needed.

Main goal is visiting the NP's in Southern Utah and Colorado. Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Arches (already have done Grand Canyon), then into CO for Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Rocky Mt.

Main question, how long do you think I should spend in each park? I was thinking 2, but if there are some parks we can drive into for just a night, which ones are those? I have 3 kids ages 15, 13 & 10 who do not like to hike. We do small hikes, probably under 3 miles round--trip. So going on major hiking trails is not in the plan.

Thanks in advance for any tips. Below is my rough plan.


Rough draft plan for the trip.

Looking at the itinerary you posted, a suggestion or 2, for your Colorado portion.

If you reserve early, you can get a site inside Mesa Verde NP. That will save you some driving while there. Morefield CG is located about 4 miles inside the entrance, but another 11 miles to the beginning of the places you want to see, and more like 17 miles to the cliff dwellings. You'll need reservations for the 3 major cliff dwellings, so make those on line as well, or plan on being at the visitors center very early in the morning you want to sightsee (like right at 8am).

At the Great Sand Dunes NP, you have 3 options in the immediate area for places to stay; Pinon Flats inside the Park (no hookups), Great Sand Dunes Oasis (commercial w/hookups) just outside the Park, or San Luis SP about 15 minutes away. As noted from a previous post, in June, HAVE BUG SPRAY! Black flies are awful in that area. My preference is for the San Luis SP, since you'll have electric avaiable there, and common water and a dump station.

When you leave GSDNP, your best bet is to NOT go to I-25. Instead, head west out of the park (or San Luis) to CO 17, and make a right. Take that north to where it joins US 285. Take US 285 north over Poncha Pass (an easy one) to Salida area, and continue on to Buena Vista area. Some folks might recommend you stay here (I would also) and NOT do RMNP, but I'm going to address getting to RMNP here. Take US 24 from Johnson Village outside Buena Vista to CO 9 at Fairplay (which can be a great place to stope and see South Park City). Take CO 9 over to Breckenridge and Frisco, and continue on CO 9 to Kremmling and then US 40 to Hot Sulphur Springs and Granby. Go north/east on US 34 to Grand Lake.

There's a bunch of USFS CGs in that area, some reservations, some first come/first serve. There's also 2 commercial campgrounds just outside Grand Lake, and then inside RMNP there's Timber Creek CG, which is all first come/first serve. I've never seen it fully occupied in the many times I've been over there.

You'll be on the WEST/quiet side of RMNP, and can still access all of the things you might want to see, without having to go through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Longmont or Estes Park (depending on your route). The west side is more relaxing. In Grand Lake there's the lake itself, with paddle boats/canoes that you can rent for the kiddos. There's also a very short hike on the extreme end of town that they may also enjoy.

You'll also have access to Trail Ridge Road from this side. You could plan on taking it up and over Milner, Iceberg and Fall River Passes (at the Visitors Center up top) and continue on over to Estes Park, if you want to see the town. Or you could do a loop and take the Old Fall River Road back up (if it is open when you're here in June -- sometimes doesn't open until July). If OFRR is closed, you can double back on Trail Ridge Road back to the west side.

I've spent a lot of time in Rocky and Estes Park over the past nearly 40 years. And as much as I love it, Estes Park is just getting way too crowded. The west side is more enjoyable and since you're not planning on hiking, you're not really missing out on anything.

One thing to be aware of -- it is likely that the entrance fee to Rocky will be increased to $70 starting this season. We will know for sure in the months ahead, but the tentative plan is to increase to $70 for May through September.

That's an amazing itinerary. Thanks for sharing! I think the planning is half the fun.

I agree with the dropping of the CO portion as painful as that is for me to say. CO is too far out of the way in 12 days and will drastically decrease your time in and around the big five in Utah. You have about 53 hours drive time in 12 days and that doesn't include food stops, traffic, weather, a tire emergency, packing up and unpacking each camp site, and more.

I'm doing a very similar 14 day trip from SoCal in March and decided to go south after Moab (instead of into CO) down to Monument Valley,Sedona, Joshua Tree and back home in LA. Decreases my driving time and increases my time spent in locations.

I hated dropping CO for another time, but having been in many of the parks you have on your current list, 12 days including driving time from your home and in between parks is barely enough IMHO just for the Utah portion. While most of these Utah parks are close by, you will lose half a day or more packing up, driving to, and settling in to the new location each time you do it. Especially with three kids along. That means your one night planned in that park becomes a few hours after you get there and settle in. Additionally, these parks will all be very busy resulting in longer wait times for shuttles (Zion comes to mind), a harder time getting camping spots that reserve months in advance, and not to mention extra fuel expenses. Mostly though, it's the time you will lose just getting from place to place. Zion is a three day park minimum IMHO. Plus, you can add Canyonlands NP as well. It's just outside Moab a short drive away from Arches. That will ease the pain of losing CO.

Long driving days means less time on vacation unless you love to drive. In that case, add Alaska as well. ;)

Here is a possible 12/13 day plan focusing mostly on just Utah:

1 night out in middle of NV
1 night Great Basin NP
3 nights Zion NP
1 night Bryce Canyon NP
2 night Capital Reef NP
3 nights Moab for Arches and Canyonlands NP's
2 nights return back to NorCal

My apologies if I sound like a Debbie Downer. Not my intentions of course.

Thanks Dadio24, that's a good tip on Mesa Verde. Okay, I might be able to pull out a few more nights. On this plan, what should I cut down or add to?

1 night out in middle of NV
1 night Great Basin NP
2 nights Zion NP
1 night Bryce Canyon NP
1 night Capital Reef NP
2 nights Arches NP
2 nights Durango
1 night Great Sand Dunes NP
2 nights Rocky Mountain NP
2 nights return back to NorCal

(We are not afraid of long driving days)

I agree - drop the CO portion and spend more time in the UT parks.

IMO, you will need at least 1 day at Great Sand Dunes, so make reservations for the night and get there early and you will need sunscreen & BUG SPRAY! Mesa Verde is a long day to drive in and out (keep in mind that some parts are closed now and you can't see some of the best parts). You can take a small side-trip and go a little south to Aztec and see ruins that are very similar to Mesa Verde. Rocky Mountain is great in summer. Small hikes and great time for family (Sept/Oct is my favorite time for elk bugling). Also, North Rim of Grand Canyon is neat for one afternoon/evening. Go slow over Wolf Creek pass and enjoy some time in Pagosa Springs for tubing and soaking.

12 nights, 2 there and 2 back (Frisco to Moab is 950 mi) leaves you with 8. Unless you plan a driving windows tour you need to pick a couple parks and keep the rest for a later visit. Probably Utah parks since RMNP is at least another day and a half drive each way.