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

[ADOR]

Hello there folks. We are planning on doing a 2-week road trip this coming June, to the first week of July. Our tow vehicle is a 2005 Hummer H2. Travel Trailer is 18ft, 3,100lb dry. I know that our tow vehicle is not the best for towing, but that is all we have. This is our Start and End points, and places we want to visit:

Start of Trip - Las Vegas, NV

1st Place to Visit - Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ (2 days to spend)
2nd Place to Visit - Fort Collins or Denver, CO (1 day to spend)
3rd Place to Visit - Mt. Rushmore, SD (2 days to spend)
4th Place to Visit - Yellowstone National Park, MT (3 days to spend)
5th Place to Visit - Salt Lake City, UT (1 day to spend)

End of Trip - Las Vegas, NV


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?


I know we will spend a lot of time on the road. Maybe 2 weeks is not enough. We will just have to make the best of the only time I was allowed to be off from work.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[ADOR]

creetch, thanks for the website. I have been checking them out almost every 30 mins. Same with the Colter Bay. Still no vacancies. I will keep on trying. I might get lucky one of these days before the trip (just like what happened with the YNP campground).

[creetch]

Flagg Ranch is in Teton and may have openings

http://www.gtlc.com/headwaters-lodge.aspx

[ADOR]

Getting close to finalizing the entire 2 week road trip reservations. Booked for 3 nights at the SLC KOA. Just waiting for a spot to open up at the Colter Bay Village RV park for the remaining 4 nights of the trip.

I am trying to find the easiest hill to climb to avoid overheating the truck. I hope we don't experience any mechanical problems during the trip.

[4runnerguy]

Instead of SLC, how about a little further south near Provo. Several interesting trips to take from there. Check out my links for those drives here. Plus there's Timpanogos Cave National Monument to explore up American Fork Canyon.

From SLC, take I-15 to US 20 to West Yellowstone and go into the park from there.

I don't know why you're worried about the performance of your vehicle. You have a lot more HP and Torque than we do and we tow a trailer that isn't much different in weight than yours over many steep passes here in the west. Remember that once you're off the interstates, the speed limits often are much less, so you're not needing to keep up a high speed anyway.

[bclan6]

you definitely want to get the Mountain Directory Books by R & R publishing. I just bought mine a few weeks ago and the shipping was very fast (there 3 days later).
There is one pass I know for sure that isn't mentioned in that book though. It's Piney Pass between Victor, Id and Palisades, Id on hwy 31. Not a big pass though. In Yellowstone, going from south entrance up to Old faithful there is a small pass. Some campgrounds have restrictions on vehicle plus TT total length. So be aware of that too.

If you enter Jackson from the south, you'll be ok as long as you do not go from Jackson to Victor, Id. That crosses over Teton pass with 10% grade, and little guardrails. That's hwy 22 so stay clear of that.

Hwy 26 is ok I think, but I'm not sure about the colorado areas. There is one pass on I70 that is kinda scary, but I did it in a blizzard, pulling a uhaul, at midnight, next to a semi almost running me over and I was 22 years old. We were the last ones to go over it before they closed it behind us due to the storm. We should've waited but I was young n stupid. Point is, you can do it but check the Mountain directories and atlas and be careful in weather.

The directories will tell you the speed limit, size of road, how many miles the grade is, and if there are hairpin turns. I steer clear of anything with 35>mph turns. Getting my RV to that speed going downhill hill makes me nervous, but I'm just starting out driving these things in an RV and not an SUV myself.
Google maps doesn't really help me other than to see the kind of turns the passes have. It's too hard to tell if the grade is steep or not. Googling the pass names and asking on these forums have given me tons of info.

Good luck!

[kknowlton]

Plenty to see & do around SLC. There are of course the sites downtown - Temple Square, the Gateway (outdoor shopping area), Beehive House & other historic sites, the Family History center, etc. This is The Place State Park and the zoo are up not too far from the University of Utah. Thanksgiving Point is quite a draw as well. When we are there to camp, we stay at the SLC KOA; convenient location and way nicer than you'd expect for a near-downtown CG.

Farther north, near Layton, is Antelope Island State Park, reached by a causeway out into the lake. The CG there is open & sunny and can be hot; no hookups. Farther south, Provo has several highly-rated CGs and a state park (with hookups) - we haven't been there yet, but those could be good options.

About an hour north of SLC, Brigham City has 2 private CGs, a KOA and another one, decent enough for a night or two, plus another state park (Willard Bay), which has a CG with hookups. From there, it's about an hour drive west to the Golden Spike National Historic Site, worth visiting if you haven't yet been there. Each day during the season they take the trains out (2 steam locomotives, built like the original ones which met at that point where the RRs were completed & came together)and you get to see them up close.

If you're looking for the lowest, easiest way to YNP, take I-15 up to Idaho Falls, then northeast on US 20. Good roads, 4 lanes up until close to Ashton, and the climb up Ashton Hill isn't bad. If you're uncomfortable with mountain driving, don't take Beartooth - and I don't recommend doing it while towing!

[ADOR]

Hi Mike. We had to scratch Mt. Rushmore from our list for this summer. We only have 15 days for the trip. We are now focused on Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP. On the way from Las Vegas, NV, we are thinking of stopping by Salt Lake City, UT. Then Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP, then back to Vegas.

Given the change of plan, any other suggestions? This is our first road trip this far. We have been to Zion NP, Grand Canyon NP and Bryce Canyon already.

Thanks in advance.

[4xMike]

Between Rushmore and Yellowstone if you can take a short jaunt off the interstate and see Devil's Tower it's pretty cool.

And I know you said no hills, but if you can do the Beartooth Pass on the north east entrance to Yellowstone, to say the views are breathtaking is the understatement of the century. But it's a steep, narrow, windey pass that climbs to 11,000 feet. Motorhomes and rigs like yours do it all day long, but it's certainly not for the faint of heart. I do it a couple time per year with my rig and usually with a small trailer in tow.

[ADOR]

OK folks. Here is what my wife and I had finalized. I know it is a bit late, but we just made the final decision. I was lucky enough to make a last minute reservation for 6 nights at Fishing Bridge RV (we really need a full hook-up).

Day 1 is for travel to Salt Lake City, UT

Day 2 and 3 is to go around Salt Lake City, UT

Day 4 is Travel from Salt Lake City, UT to Yellowstone National Park

Day 5-9 is to go around Yellowstone National Park

Day 10-13 is to go around Grand Teton National Park

Day 14-15 is for travel back to Las Vegas


The Salt Lake City, UT stop is just an "idea". Looking at the map, this seems like half way distance between Las Vegas and Yellowstone. Any suggestions on what to see around Salt Lake City? Or are there any better place to stop on the way to Yellowstone? Any full hook-up campground for any suggested place to visit?

Lastly, going back to my MAIN CONCERN. Given our "temporary" route (Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and back to Las Vegas), any suggestion on what FREEWAY route to take that has the "slightest" or "lowest grade" elevation?

I am still hunting for a spot to open at the Colter Bay RV at Grand Teton. We are all getting excited about this trip.

Thanks in advance for the help/suggestions.

[Hank85713]

There is an old KOA in Jackson and it has river tours etc. It would be a good place to get into and day trip out of for the Tetons. Jackson is also the home of the National Elk Refuge and has a great visitor center which is taken slowly is an easy couple hours to take in. The lakes around the tetons are great and nice drives. Too many folks go to yellowstone for us and the roads are always full. East of yellowstone is cody and the buffalo bill museum. South of it is Thermopolis and a great mineral hot spring place to visit with water slides etc for kids. Once back in utah go to gobblin or kodachrome state parks, we are planning to visit them this summer, never been to either. So work your way back to lv from there, 2 weeks is quit short for long tours as noted, a lot of driving.

Look at a large usa map as in an atlass and see how to plan some stops rather than using the computer stuff, makes it easier to visualize distances, than can look at the state maps for reference.

[2gypsies1]

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

[ADOR]

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.

[Thom02099]

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.

[Dick_B]

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