Moab or Durango/RMNP?

flintsters wrote:

Next summer my family (myself, wife and 3 daughters ages 12, 10, 5) will be going cross country.

We are leaving from Vermont with our first major stop being at Estes Park.

I know it'll be crazy busy, but I suspect that our kids will be looking for a little bit of energy after several days of sitting and cooped up.

We had originally planned to go to Moab to see Arches, Canyonland, etc for a few nights before heading down to Grand Canyon.
I keep hearing about how brutally hot it will be then (end of June) and we'll primarily be limited to early morning and late afternoon activity. Is it still worth it to do Moab area or are we setting ourselves up?

Instead we could go elsewhere in Rocky Mountains on way to Grand Canyon.

I was considering a stop at Great Sand Dunes and then Durango as a possible substitution but I am certainly open to suggestions. From what I can tell the travel time and distance is essentially the same.

If it helps, our planned stops over 7-8 weeks include:

Estes Park
Moab
Grand Canyon
Zion
Bryce
Grand Teton
Yellowstone
Cody
Devils Tower
Custer State Park
Indiana Dunes

I had originally planned to go to Glacier after Yellowstone but the combination of wildfires and travel time made me reconsider that idea. Thoughts???

Mission?

Do you want to see it all or do You all want to Have FUN?

What do you normally do in the Summer?

Are girls Hikers or Shoppers?

Do they enjoy the Water?

Do you have a stop with some recharge time?

Go for the full 8 weeks - one week out one week Back leaves 6 weeks or 42 + - Days.

Things are not close - in the mountains you will average say 35-40 MPH - on travel times think 50 MPH - Think Loop - Keep the things you want to do in three or four main spots with a stop in a city (SLC or Denver to recharge) ski resorts have tons on activities in the Summer - a trip into Moab or the Grand Canyon North Rim might provide some Cool times.

Look into the other Mountains of Colorado - Buena Vista - San Juans - Look these sites over for more ideas - Family that did this every year - Stans photo Album to help with what you might enjoy -

Will let you think about it and digest a little after everyone gives you the perfect trip, then chime in again.

Best of Luck,