Trip from Delaware to Utah National Parks and Grand Tetons

[LarryDel]

Planning on a trip beginning June 1 for 2 months. Any suggestions on what routes we should take. I was thinking of the southern routes but then realized the weather might be too hot at that time of year going through Texas and the lower part of Arizona. Your suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks...

[ppine]

People from the East have a hard time visualizing the weather changes in the West with latitude and elevation. Southern Utah will be hot by June. I would go there first. The Tetons never get hot, but they get crowded in the summer.

I would take a more northerly route going across. We used to drive across the country every summer for years. There is no best route. It is good that you are going for two months. Avoid traveling more than around 300 miles in a day. Take time to stop and rest.

[trailertraveler]

Lots of choices. Do you want to take interstates or the "Blue Highways"? You will most likely want to start by picking up I-70 from I-95. We prefer taking I-68 to I-79 to I-64 rather than staying on I-70. In the Saint Louis area, you have some choices. I-70 will take you West through Colorado to Utah. You could also pickup either US-50 or US-36 to travel through the heartland of the country. Another choice is to take I-44 to I-40. Amarillo would likely be the warmest spot along this route. I-40 follows Historic Route 66 through New Mexico and Arizona.

There is a lot to see along I-40. In Amarillo, there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Big Texan on Old Route 66. In New Mexico, Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center, the Turquoise Trail, the Sandia Crest Highway and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion. In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park are not far from the Arizona/New Mexico border. Homolovi Ruins State Park is near Winslow where you can stand on the corner.

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area.

Grand Canyon National Park is not far North Of I-40. From there, it is not far to many of the Utah National Parks and other great places. US-89 can take you all the way to Grand Teton National Park with many great places along the way.

[Dick_B]

Mountain Directory West is a handy reference.

[Captain_Happy]

If you going to any of the Utah National Parks, you'd better start off in the southern part of the Utah because in June it's already pretty warm. any later like July, it'll be up in the 100 degree range or higher. Then work your way north where it's a lot cooler.

[RGar974417]

We went to Yellowstone in 2016 from Reading,Pa. We took I'70 then I-72 to Missouri RT 36. Nice 4 lane road,65mph. Then I-29 to Nebraska Rt6 to I-80. Right on Missouri RT 36 is Pershing State Park.Electric hookups, showers $22 a night. We enjoyed stopping at the Harold Warp Pioneer Museum in Minden,Nebraska. If you like history,old cars,trucks,tractors etc, they have them. There is also a campground there. $35 a night for full hookups and the price includes one ticket to the museum.