Suggestions for our X-Country Itinerary
I am planning our trip for August 2018 and would welcome some suggestions from you guys. I've been to all of these locations with the exception of Capital Reef, but my wife and four kids (11,9,7,5 in ...
Forum Discussion
I visited Zion NP briefly last July, my second time there. During the day it was upper 90s, as I expected, and I sat around the campsite through the heat of the day. Morning and evening were the only times I felt like exerting myself to see the park. It will probably be that hot or hotter in Arches, Capitol Reef, etc. during August. Are you sure you want to subject yourselves to that kind of punishment? The heat is downright brutal.
GC North Rim, yes. Zion for a couple of days, I can understand... you can always spend a day in the Narrows where it's cooler. Bryce Canyon, not too bad. Maybe Cedar Breaks? Nice and high there. Panguitch area is 8K feet too. At Capitol Reef, you can drive through Cathedral Valley in half a day and enjoy the beauty with A/C comfort. Definitely try to spend an evening at Goblin Valley SP, the kids would love it. Arches is not bad because you drive around a lot and take mostly short hikes to an arch or viewpoint, then get back into the A/C again (but beware of scheduled road construction in the park this summer). And Canyonlands, similar situation, drive around and see stuff. I would suggest driving Hwy 128 on your way out and heading to Colorado National Monument for a day's drive-through, if you intend to head across I-70. I'm sort of 'meh' about Rocky Mtn NP myself. Better yet IMO would be to head SE and take Hwy 46 through LaSal, and get over to the Telluride/Ouray area for some cool air and better mountain views. Treat the kids to a thrill ride over the Black Bear Pass and down the naked switchbacks alongside a tall waterfall, into Telluride. It might make the coasters at Cedar Point seem boring, though. ;)
GC North Rim, yes. Zion for a couple of days, I can understand... you can always spend a day in the Narrows where it's cooler. Bryce Canyon, not too bad. Maybe Cedar Breaks? Nice and high there. Panguitch area is 8K feet too. At Capitol Reef, you can drive through Cathedral Valley in half a day and enjoy the beauty with A/C comfort. Definitely try to spend an evening at Goblin Valley SP, the kids would love it. Arches is not bad because you drive around a lot and take mostly short hikes to an arch or viewpoint, then get back into the A/C again (but beware of scheduled road construction in the park this summer). And Canyonlands, similar situation, drive around and see stuff. I would suggest driving Hwy 128 on your way out and heading to Colorado National Monument for a day's drive-through, if you intend to head across I-70. I'm sort of 'meh' about Rocky Mtn NP myself. Better yet IMO would be to head SE and take Hwy 46 through LaSal, and get over to the Telluride/Ouray area for some cool air and better mountain views. Treat the kids to a thrill ride over the Black Bear Pass and down the naked switchbacks alongside a tall waterfall, into Telluride. It might make the coasters at Cedar Point seem boring, though. ;)
