Southwest Trip Suggestions

[iodeac 138]

Hi everyone, I don't post here often but you all have lots of useful and entertaining threads including this one.   My wife and I live in NC and we're thinking of doing a trip to the southwest this year.  I've been to California but never to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, or Utah and we really want to visit some of the national parks.  I've never seen a desert or the Grand Canyon either so I think it will be pretty amazing.   We'll have about 10 days total and we're trying to find that balance between seeing everything we want to see and not totally exhausting ourselves from driving so much.

We're working on a light framework for our trip, but right now we're thinking of flying into Denver, renting a car and driving to Rocky Mountain National Park and staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.   We were then thinking about staying at the hot springs in Glenwood Springs CO and from there we would drive to Moab UT to see Arches, then drive to Bryce Canyon and Zion the next day.  We'd hit the Grand Canyon after for two days, then drive to the Four Corners Monument and Mesa Verde.  We'd head to Santa Fe for a day or two, then drive back through Colorado to fly out of Denver.

Right now it's a ton of driving basically every day but there is a ton we want to see.   Any ideas or suggestions of places to stay would definitely be appreciated.   Not sure if we can pull all this off in 10 days so we might have to cut a few more places out.  As it is my wife really wanted to go to Yellowstone but that would be way out of the way for the circuit we want to take.

Thanks!

[6th Street 6390]

You are going to be underwhelmed by Glenwood Springs. Not much there other than a giant pool that is full of people.  Better to drive < 1 hour south to Aspen and enjoy the food, drink, and scenery.  If Aspen is too far out of the way, you can stay in Vail village. 

[Horn Draoi 255]

9 hours ago, 6th Street said:

You are going to be underwhelmed by Glenwood Springs. Not much there other than a giant pool that is full of people.  Better to drive < 1 hour south to Aspen and enjoy the food, drink, and scenery.  If Aspen is too far out of the way, you can stay in Vail village. 

This.  Glenwood Springs is a 2-3 hour visit.  Depending on your interests, Santa Fe is a 1 day visit on your tight schedule.  I’d stay at La Fonda (my oldest was probably conceived there) and then head to Taos for the day.  Taos is the real Southwest, where Indian, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures meld and clash-it’s an edgy, vibrant place.  Stay at the Taos Inn.

[Firemans4Horn 18036]

Too much driving for 10 days. If you want to do Bryce/Zion/Grand Canyon fly into Las Vegas and make that your 10 day trip.
 

But trying to do all that AND RMNP AND Santa Fe makes this sound like punishment instead of a vacation. 

[Carl Spackler 3479]

I realize time is at a premium on your trip, but if you go to Moab and see only Arches NP, you're doing it wrong.  You need to find time to add the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands NP.  It's spectacular.

Edited February 19 by Carl Spackler

[Surly Bevo 24908]

1 hour ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Too much driving for 10 days. If you want to do Bryce/Zion/Grand Canyon fly into Las Vegas and make that your 10 day trip.
 

But trying to do all that AND RMNP AND Santa Fe makes this sound like punishment instead of a vacation. 

I was about to say, does OP realize the distances involved once you get out west and the fact that once you add in mountains and elevated terrain, etc it doesn't always move as fast as running 80+ in Texas?

[Brisketexan 105082]

38 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

I was about to say, does OP realize the distances involved once you get out west and the fact that once you add in mountains and elevated terrain, etc it doesn't always move as fast as running 80+ in Texas?

Yeah, that's a LOT of miles to cover.  Suggest trimming about 25% of that itinerary off.  Give yourself time to actually pause and enjoy the amazing places you'll be seeing.  Oh, and if you want a hot springs experience that also scratches your New Mexico itch, a full day and night at Ojo Caliente will do that.  It's in Georgia O'Keefe country, spectacular scenery.  And, only an hour or so to Taos and/or Santa Fe when you're done.

And, if you're willing/able to spring for one of the suites with a private outdoor hot tub.....you're guaranteed to get some quality sexy time out of it.

Edited February 19 by Brisketexan

[Brisketexan 105082]

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, that's a LOT of miles to cover.  Suggest trimming about 25% of that itinerary off.  Give yourself time to actually pause and enjoy the amazing places you'll be seeing.  Oh, and if you want a hot springs experience that also scratches your New Mexico itch, a full day and night at Ojo Caliente will do that.  It's in Georgia O'Keefe country, spectacular scenery.  And, only an hour or so to Taos and/or Santa Fe when you're done.

And, if you're willing/able to spring for one of the suites with a private outdoor hot tub.....you're guaranteed to get some quality sexy time out of it.

Oh, and a couple of other thoughts: the places you're suggesting are great, but consider visiting NOT in the peak of summer.  For example, the Grand Canyon will be 1) packed to the gills and 2) hotter than the surface of Mercury.  We went over New Years one time, and it was incredible: light crowds, snow on the ground, just beautiful.  But spring or fall are also great.

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

I’ll echo what others have said pertaining to trimming the trip and definitely considering the time of year you’re planning on going.  The canyon, country and red rock/slick rock country of Utah, and Arizona is not for the faint of heart in summer.  In fact, it can be dangerous, if not deadly.

I’ve always been one who enjoys a deeper experience in a place than to skim the surface and a whole bunch of places.  Brisket’s New Mexico itinerary is excellent. Flying into Albuquerque, spending some time in Santa Fe, Ojo Caliente, Taos, and assorted trips to either archaeological sites or a day or so in White Sands, gives you a hell of a Southwest exposure.  You’ve got hiking in the Sangres, a multitude of archaeological sites, spas and Hot Springs, incredible food, fly fishing, great arts scene, and immersion in different cultures. If you do it right, you and your wife will both be as relaxed as wet noodles after 10 days and have great memories a multitude of ideas for future trips.

For the Canyon country, Fall through Spring is definitely the way to go. My good buddy and his wife spent a week in December in Zion NP and other southern Utah spots - they absolutely loved it. Snowfall contrasting with the red canyons and no crowds.

Rocky Mountain National Park is incredible but the crowds can be unbelievably high in summer. You could fly into Denver, spend three or four days in Estes Park and do some serious hiking. After that, go over the top of Trail Ridge Road and just pick a random itinerary up-and-down the continental divide to various small towns and have a great trip in summer.  You could hit touristy spots like Breckenridge and Vail or out-of-the-way towns like Buena Vista or even all the way down to Lake City. Tough to beat in the height of summer.

Edited February 19 by MalibuSheriff

[fuggled 576]

Like others said, that sounds like a lot of driving for one trip.  You could think about doing a Colorado loop if you have your heart set on Rocky Mountains.  You could go from Denver to RMNP and then head through Glenwood Springs/Grand Junction to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP (you'll only need a day there).  You could stop in Ouray or Telluride or Durango as you head down to Mesa Verde NP.  Then you could make your way back to Denver going through Pagosa Springs, Salida, etc.  There's more than enough awesome stuff along that route to fill your itinerary.

You also didn't mention, but are you going to be trying to camp and/or hike much?  Or looking at hotels everywhere?

If you end up going to Mesa Verde, I recommend staying at the lodge in the park.  There aren't many camping options and we really enjoyed the lodge when we went with the kids a couple years ago.  Also be aware that getting into the cliff dwellings requires a guided tour and all the tours book up as soon as tickets get released (on like a rolling 6 month window or something like that).  When we were booking, my wife and I had multiple browsers open trying to hit the site and were lucky to get tickets.  Things sold out in minutes.  Setup an account and login ahead of time and then practice the checkout process so you're ready. 

[TOR 5529]

Drove across Texas a year ago.  I love this state but omg I-10 makes me want to take hostages.  Fly to Denver and rent a car.

[Brisketexan 105082]

I think you could do 3/4 of that itinerary, if you're splitting it out by states.  We've done New Mexico and the Grand Canyon, and New Mexico and southern Colorado (Mesa Verde, Pagosa Springs) in one trip, if you took 10-14 days, you could definitely add a state.  But all four is a lot.  

I haven't done Utah since I was a kid, so I don't have much advice to offer there, but really enjoyed all three other states.  And we are definitely NM people.  ABQ is an EASY airport to get in and out of.

[Chewbacca 7767]

19 hours ago, iodeac said:

Hi everyone, I don't post here often but you all have lots of useful and entertaining threads including this one.   My wife and I live in NC and we're thinking of doing a trip to the southwest this year.  I've been to California but never to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, or Utah and we really want to visit some of the national parks.  I've never seen a desert or the Grand Canyon either so I think it will be pretty amazing.   We'll have about 10 days total and we're trying to find that balance between seeing everything we want to see and not totally exhausting ourselves from driving so much.

We're working on a light framework for our trip, but right now we're thinking of flying into Denver, renting a car and driving to Rocky Mountain National Park and staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.   We were then thinking about staying at the hot springs in Glenwood Springs CO and from there we would drive to Moab UT to see Arches, then drive to Bryce Canyon and Zion the next day.  We'd hit the Grand Canyon after for two days, then drive to the Four Corners Monument and Mesa Verde.  We'd head to Santa Fe for a day or two, then drive back through Colorado to fly out of Denver.

Right now it's a ton of driving basically every day but there is a ton we want to see.   Any ideas or suggestions of places to stay would definitely be appreciated.   Not sure if we can pull all this off in 10 days so we might have to cut a few more places out.  As it is my wife really wanted to go to Yellowstone but that would be way out of the way for the circuit we want to take.

Thanks!

Honestly, that's too much to try and cram into 10 days.  Utah and their national parks is 5-7 days at minimum by themselves.  Same for southwest CO (Telluride, Ouray, Durango, Silverton, Mesa Verde, etc). And then trying to throw RMNP and the Stanley Hotel into the mix means you'll spend most of each day in the car.  Zero chance you can include Yellowstone (that's it's own trip as well).

I'd pick the area you want to see the most (Utah parks, SW CO, Yellowstone) and then plan a trip around that.  The thought of trying to cram all that into one trip is giving me a rash.

[Brew 3049]

15 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Honestly, that's too much to try and cram into 10 days.  Utah and their national parks is 5-7 days at minimum by themselves.  Same for southwest CO (Telluride, Ouray, Durango, Silverton, Mesa Verde, etc). And then trying to throw RMNP and the Stanley Hotel into the mix means you'll spend most of each day in the car.  Zero chance you can include Yellowstone (that's it's own trip as well).

I'd pick the area you want to see the most (Utah parks, SW CO, Yellowstone) and then plan a trip around that.  The thought of trying to cram all that into one trip is giving me a rash.

This, we spent 4 days in Moab and didn’t see anywhere near everything we wanted to see. We rented a Jeep and basically rode trails and hiked every day which means you aren’t seeing a large area but you are getting to really see an area. A lot depends on whether you are just trying to check a box on seeing something or if you really want to explore the area. 

With 10 days, I would pick an area or two and focus on them. Personally, I would fly into SLC and drive to Moab. Spend about half the time there and then drive south/west through Bryce/Zion and fly out of Vegas. We did Moab in July and it wasn’t busy, but it was a tad warm.  Bryce/Zion we have always done in May and they haven’t been terrible yet. Anything later and it gets rough though.

There is a lot to see/do/love about that area of the country. Think I have my wife sold on passing on another beach place and buying something out west instead. 

Edited February 20 by Brew

[texasdago 7569]

Echoing what others say... you could always just stick with SW CO and Utah... there are lots of great state parks in Utah, too... but if you're going in the peak of summer, come up with a plan that takes advantage of smaller crowds.  Also, after a couple of visits, unless you're going skiing I will say Santa Fe > Taos all day long.  More to do in town, better food, doesn't close up at 8 PM and you have hikes and mountains right next door.  

[Sam Lin 3551]

Cut Four Corners. It's neat for what it is, but there is nothing to see and it is in bumfuck and you are going to waste half a day driving and the hours it is open suck.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10230]

Adding to others, unless driving is something you really enjoy (my parents like driving as much as "seeing sights"... something needs to be cut.

At most (still likely too much) I would fly into Phoenix and one way through Grand Canyon, Bryce, MOAB, and then Colorado flying out of Denver.

[iodeac 138]

Thanks everyone, I definitely figured we were trying to pack too much into a small window of time, so we'll be cutting out some other stops.  We're planning to go in late May so hopefully the weather will be good. Another friend of mine yesterday was telling me you also have to jump on the park reservations really early since they fill up fast, did you all have that issue?

Maybe a Moab/Grand Canyon trip is more realistic for us, and we can do Colorado and New Mexico some other time.

[Carl Spackler 3479]

14 minutes ago, iodeac said:

Thanks everyone, I definitely figured we were trying to pack too much into a small window of time, so we'll be cutting out some other stops.  We're planning to go in late May so hopefully the weather will be good. Another friend of mine yesterday was telling me you also have to jump on the park reservations really early since they fill up fast, did you all have that issue?

Maybe a Moab/Grand Canyon trip is more realistic for us, and we can do Colorado and New Mexico some other time.

If you want to hit Zion or Arches, you definitely need to book reservations as early as possible.  Given that you're only about 3 months out at this point, you may run into issues with certain days or time slots being already booked up.  If I were you, I would nail down plans and check on reservations ASAP if you want to hit those two parks.  I don't believe the other 3 Utah NPs have been placed on the reservation system yet, but consult each park's website to be sure if you're thinking about hitting any of them as well.  (See my post above about Canyonlands NP.  I'll reiterate that if you go to Moab, you should do all you can to find time to hit the Island in the Sky part of Canyonlands NP in addition to Arches.)  

Also, be aware that Moab can start getting pretty hot in late May.

[Chewbacca 7767]

1 hour ago, iodeac said:

Thanks everyone, I definitely figured we were trying to pack too much into a small window of time, so we'll be cutting out some other stops.  We're planning to go in late May so hopefully the weather will be good. Another friend of mine yesterday was telling me you also have to jump on the park reservations really early since they fill up fast, did you all have that issue?

Maybe a Moab/Grand Canyon trip is more realistic for us, and we can do Colorado and New Mexico some other time.

Late May is a great time to do Utah and the Grand Canyon.  Moab, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon are all great spots to visit that time of year.

[closetojumping 62568]

2 hours ago, iodeac said:

Thanks everyone, I definitely figured we were trying to pack too much into a small window of time, so we'll be cutting out some other stops.  We're planning to go in late May so hopefully the weather will be good. Another friend of mine yesterday was telling me you also have to jump on the park reservations really early since they fill up fast, did you all have that issue?

Maybe a Moab/Grand Canyon trip is more realistic for us, and we can do Colorado and New Mexico some other time.

It's fine to pare the plans back, but it is also fine to ignore all of the busybody mother hens here who don't know you and project their needs and wants on to you for the trip. It's peak surly that the first few responses are old guys telling you you'll shoot your eye out. I took my wife and 4 kids on a corona road trip in the middle of the summer of 2020 for 16 days. We went Houston to Big Bend, stayed there for 3 nights, then to Tucson for one night, San Diego for 4 nights, had lunch in Las Vegas, spent 2 nights at the Grand Canyon, drove through Navajo Nation, stayed 3 nights at the foot of Zion NP, drove through the other parts of Utah somewhat scenically, stayed a night in Durango, then did whitewater rafting and drove to Austin for 2 nights on Lake Travis at a buddy's giant lake house. 

Everyone had a great time and no one was miserable. I decided to have 2 dirty martinis for lunch in Vegas at Mon Ami Gabi, then grabbed a sixer of IPA on the way out of town, so my wife drove the 6+ hours to the Grand Canyon, but I otherwise drove the whole trip. You're not saddled with kids, so if you like to drive, you could pull it off. 

Outside of that, ignore any direction from folks telling you to skip the Grand Canyon. I went when it was crowded and hotter than Hades and I assumed it would be boring and not worth it. Well, it's over a mile up in elevation, so if you don't hike way down, it's like 75 degrees for a high in mid-summer. It is one of those places that truly lives up to, or exceeds, whatever your expectations are. There is one place on this planet that looks like that. We rode bikes on trails near the edge for one afternoon and everyone loved all of it.

We took the kids rappelling in Zion and that was badass. You cannot lose in Utah. 

Santa Fe is awesome and if you want a change of pace from touring and hiking NPs, and don't mind the drive, it's a great choice. Whoever recommended visiting Taos made a great point as well. 

It looks like an enviable trip, pared down or not.

[mchookem 16322]

lol feeling a little bit of that^ in my thread, people got me laying awake at night questioning whether i need to piss my dad off by refusing to do/see everything he wants 😄 

Grand Canyon is absolutely worth it. one of our 'way finding' trips last spring included spontaneous detours to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley/Valley of the Gods, with an overnight in Moab. i couldn't drive much thru Utah bc the landscape gave me extreme vertigo, that's how incredible it was...and we just drove by Arches and Canyonlands! 😮 i do know it gets brutally hot in the summer.

pictures of that part of the country don't do it justice, i spent most of the drive just gaping out the window going 'wow! oh wow! omg wow!' 😁

we've also spent significant time in NM... absolutely agree Santa Fe > Taos. Bandalier National Monument is a great daytrip out of SF. and of course, i live in Denver now...RMNP is do-not-miss in the summer. def an all day trip though, i wouldn't try to drive farther than Denver after a visit. we went three times last summer and i was able to buy admission tickets at 5pm the day before every time. 

my only caution would be drive as much as you want, just make sure you leave time to actually see/do. and make sure you account for the toll elevation will take on you, particularly at RMNP...we had to stop in Grand Lakes/Estes and get double espressos for the drive home each time 😁

have fun...we love road trips!

 

[Ghost of LL 15531]

I would just recommend doing the North Rim of the Grand Canyon if you're hitting the Utah parks.

We did a huge Western United States during Covid, and Zion was our favorite.  We really liked Kanab, which is really kind of in between Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim.  It's a cool little town with a number of old roadside motels that have been refurbished and are pretty nice.  And out of Kanab, we did a dune-buggy tour that was a real highlight.

The North Rim is nice because it's about 1,500 feet higher than the South Rim, so it is a lot cooler in the summer.  And, as an added bonus, it's a lot less crowded.   

[conVINCEd 21469]

The best way to see the Grand Canyon is to stay in Vegas and do one of the helicopter tours.

Vegas 2 days

get a one way rental car

Utah 3-4 days 

Telluride 2 days

Santa Fe 2 days

 

[KeysPhoneWallet 807]

I’m flying southwest from Austin to Nashville soon, great pricing on that one.