Route & Point of Interest NV, Salt Lake UT, Yellowstone, Grand Teton

I would eliminate Page (hot), Denver and Mount Rushmore (both out of the way) and concentrate on Yellowstone and Grand Teton Nat'l Parks. Both are so different from each other with lots of different things to do in each park. They are both huge areas to explore and you can easily fill a two-week vacation.

In Yellowstone you'll have a lot of slow driving and walking to do. Grand Teton has excellent gorgeous hikes for all abilities to beautiful little lakes. You can take a gentle float down the Snake River in the park and maybe you'll spot a moose in the water with you. We did! For your son (& you, too) there's a chair lift to the ski area, the Jackson town rodeo.

Colter Bay RV in the Tetons has full hookups. Right next door is Colter Bay campground without hookups but has a water fill, dump station and showers. It has 300 sites and none are reservable. Closer to Jackson is Gros Ventre campground in the Teton park and it, too, has 300 non-reservable campsites with water fill and a dump station. You'll see lots of animals in this campground. You will have no problem getting into either of the dry campgrounds without having reservations.

In Yellowstone, Fishing Bridge RV is the only one in the park that has hookups. There are also quite a few reservable and non-reservable campgrounds in the park and many more outside the park. West Yellowstone and the nearby area has a nice selection, including some state parks.

Explore each of the park's websites for campground information and ideas on what to do in the parks and road conditions.

From Las Vegas you could take I-15 north into Idaho to Idaho Falls. Then pick up a beautiful easy river highway, Highway 26 east and take it into Alpine, Wyoming. Then take 89 north into the town of Jackson (good grocery stores and fuel prices) and continue on 89 north into Grand Teton Nat'l Park. Then continue north on the park road which will take you directly into Yellowstone. If you want to get to West Yellowstone outside the park, just continue driving through the national park to W. Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park

Grand Teton Nat'l Park

Thank you for your responses. Our trip will start from Las Vegas, NV. I have not updated my profile, but we now live in Las, Vegas. We have already been to Zion National Park few times. Camped out there, then drove to Bryce Canyon. Also have been to Grand Canyon and Sedona, AZ few times. Camped at Williams, AZ then drove to Grand Canyon and Sedona on different days.

There is no specific reason on stopping by at Denver, CO on the way to Mt. Rushmore other than to take a break from driving. The same reason for stopping at SLC, UT. I was using MapQuest when I was looking at driving routes to Mt. Rushmore and it showed a route that would pass by Fort Collins or Denver, CO area. On the way back from Yellowstone NP, MapQuest showed a route that would pass by the SLC, UT area.

We are fairly new to TT camping and have not been to many places. It is unfortunate that I just received my approval for my 2 week vacation request for my son's summer vacation. I spent hours today looking for RV campgrounds and almost ALL are fully booked. I saw few places that have one night availability left. We have always wanted to do extended road trip with the family. Would like to see new places, given the time we have.

It seems like Mt. Rushmore is really too far to drive. Considering now od just dropping it off the list. We would like to keep at least Yellowstone NP. So, any suggestions on places that we might pass by on the way to Yellowstone NP from Las, Vegas? Would like to see lakes, river and forest/trees and mountain views.

My main questions to those who are familiar with the areas I mentioned are:

1. Which is the BEST route to take that have the LEAST amount of hills or mountain pass (freeway to USE or AVOID), between places I listed?

2. Any areas of interest between each stops, or nearby our stops?

3. Recommended RV campgrounds at the points of interest?



1. "Best" is always subjective, but you've qualified that with the least amount of hills or mountain passes. With that in mind, at least for the first leg of your trip, from Page AZ to Denver or Fort Collins CO, I would suggest this: Take AZ 98 to US 160, and then take US 160 all the way east to I-25. That takes you through Cortez and Durango, where there's lots to see and do (Mesa Verde NP, the Silverton-Durango Train, among other things) and on to Pagosa Springs. This route you'll have Wolf Creek Pass to go over, and while it's steep on the west side/headed eastbound, it's also very doable and RVs/trailers do it all the time. This route on US 160 will take you across the San Luis Valley through Alamosa (Great Sand Dunes NP) and over North La Veta Pass, which is not much more than just a hill, not a challenge at all. You'll get to Walsenburg with a minimum of mountain driving in Colorado, and then can take I-25 north to Denver area.

As an alternative, you could also take the same route, but at Pagosa Springs, take US 84 south into New Mexico to Chama and then take US 84 south to US 64 and take that east to US 285 where you can head north and hit Alamosa, avoiding Wolf Creek Pass. It's going to be hilly in places but no high mountain passes like Wolf Creek.

Alternatively, you could also take the same route, but in Chama NM you could do the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, which is an incredible excursion and one that really should not be missed. You could also take NM 17 north out of Chama to CO 17, which will take you over Cumbres and La Manga Passes, but these are not difficult passes to cross, and it's a beautiful drive.

There's other routes as well, that I'm sure others will suggest. These suggestions meet your criteria for the least amount of mountain passes/hills, but you're going to have some mountains to cross in some form.

2. As noted, there's Mesa Verde and Durango-Silverton Train in the 4 Corners area (and so much more). In Alamosa area, the Great Sand Dunes are an impressive sight and can be seen for miles around as you drop down into the San Luis Valley. There's the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad that you could take either at Chama NM or Antonito CO. There's way more to see and do in the southwest part of Colorado.

3. There's all sorts of campgrounds along the routes noted above, both commercial, USFS and National Park. Depends on your specific needs. RVParkReviews is a good starting point to scope out specifics.

What I've given you here is one very small tip of one very large iceberg, just in the first leg of your trip. And this doesn't even get you to Denver or Fort Collins, where there's also lots to see and do in each city, not even counting trying to get up into Rocky Mountain National Park.

There's a lot to do just in this first leg, unless you're interested in simply getting to Denver/Fort Collins as quick as possible as a stopover, and continuing on to subsequent legs. Perhaps more information as to what you want to accomplish in each leg of your trip, would be helpful for us to hone in on some specific recommendations.

My advice is to get a copy of Mountain Directory West to help plan your routes.

I don't know if you have specific reasons to visit cities like Vegas, Denver, and SLC, but if not, there are far, far better destinations than those places.

Antelope Canyon and Page AZ will be incredibly hot in late June/early July. Antelope Canyon is impressive, but Page not so much. Have you been to Zion and/or Bryce? Bryce is higher in elevation and much more tolerable the time of year you will be travelling.

Have to agree with skipping the Black Hills. Long ways from home and you'll have to pass up on some amazing scenery.

If it were me for this time of year and with two weeks, I'd consider places like Durango (narrow gauge railroad is great), Salida through Leadville, up through Estes Park, up to the Tetons and Yellowstone, then back home. One can plan a route to these destinations and only travel over some of the lower/easier passes in Colorado.

But your limiting factor will be your late date in making reservations. For many places, the first week in July was booked many months ago. It's a tough week to even try to boondock as places are generally full for the whole week of the 4th.

Just my two cents worth.

There really isn't any way to avoid a lot of mountains, you can stick to Interstates as much as possible since the grades are limited on the Interstate system. Colorado is nothing but mountains in the area you are going to. And Yellowstone is at 9000 ft.

For only two weeks you may want to rethink this path you have. You will be spending almost all your time driving. Maybe substitute Rocky Mountains NP for YNP. And drop Rushmore, an hour at Rushmore was plenty for us.

You are going to driving right by dozens of major attractions and it's hard to list ones that you may want to see.

Near, but not in the Vegas area I recommend staying at the Valley of Fire State Park, about 55 miles northeast.

For Yellowstone, take a day to visit the Tetons.

If you are into photography, it is worth paying extra for a photo tour at Antelope Canyon. The Upper Canyon is easier to hike through, but busier, the Lower Canyon requires some ladder climbing, but is far less busy.