Has anyone done an "Out West" trip?

[TimeforMe]

If so, where exactly did you go, how did you map it, etc., etc. Both DH and I have been to Calif. and he's been out west as a child, but we would like to take our two teens on a nice trip next year. Before you know it, they won't want to come with us I know we definitely want to go to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, maybe Yosemite. I truly don't know where to begin mapping it out. I should mention we're from the east coast and the plan would probably be to fly to the west coast then drive around from there. Anyone do this trip recently?

 

[FreshTressa]

I live "out west", and one thing I can tell you is things are much farther apart than they look on a map!! It is hours between cities in many cases.

But those are all good places. I loved bryce canyon, Zion national park, yellowstone, the cliff dwellings in southern colorado and northern New Mexico.

I would start in Southern California, see disney California, hit yosemite, check out death valley, then head over to Las Vegas and the Hoover dam. From there go to the grand canyon, then over to the cliff dwellings, then head north through colorado and wyoming see all the dinosaur, see the tetons in wyoming and yellowstone. Drive up into montana to see Glacier national park then head back south down through Utah and see bryce and zion national park and some of the dinosaurs stuff, then drive back over to LA.

But that would take at least 3 weeks and A LOT of driving.

You will probably never make it up my way (I live near seattle), but enjoy our neck of the woods!

 

[Silky]

Yosemite is spectacular, especially if you're hikers.

I'd urge you to drive up the Calif. coast on Route 1. Much longer than driving internally, but the vistas are spectacular. Look for me

 

[gshoemate]

One of our best trips was out west. We drove from Michigan. Our stops were Mt. Rushmore, camping in Yellowstone, camping at the Grand Canyon, white water rafting in New Mexico, a stop at Sea World in Ohio and then back home. I agree with FreshTressa, things are further apart. Our map program said it was 8 hours from Rapid City SD to Yellowstone. It did not take into account all the mountain driving and it really slows you down. First you should figure out the places you want to visit and then decide where you are going to fly into. I know alot of people visiting Yellowtone will either fly into Salt Lake City or Idaho Falls and then get a rental and drive from there. For info on Yellowstone and trip planning, a great site to visit is www.yellowstone-natl-park.com loads of information there. Whatever you plan on doing, have a great time. It has been almost 5 years since we have gone out there and I sure do miss it. There are alot of beutiful sites out west.

 

[FreshTressa]

Oh, yeah, the california coast is BREATHTAKING!!!

 

[DemonLlama]

My parents took me from Houston across Texas, into New Mexico (primarily around the Santa Fe area), then north through Colorado, Wyoming (primarily the Tetons), and Montana. We drove and camped as we went. We did this a few times over several summers. Each time that trip took us about three weeks, not staying in one place more than two nights. It was back in the 70s and we had a big van (no such thing as minis!) that accomodated a ton of supplies as well as a daybed on top of it all for me to climb in and nest. Great memories -- but LOOONNGG drives!

 

[browneyes]

My SO and his brothers are thinking about going to The Redwood Forrest within the next year or so. He's been driving me crazy wanting more info. It'll take about 47 hours of constant driving time for them (he had me map it for him already ). I'm ready for him to go on that trip right now. I think he wants to go to the Grand Canyon while he's out there.

 

[nuke]

I just watched a show on the Travel Channel about a train that does the National Parks from Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon.

It hit Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Bryce, Zion, and a 3rd in Utah but I forgot the name, then the Grand Canyon. The scenary was beautiful!

I've been to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, The Black Hills (Mt. Rushmore), and Devil's Tower. I lived in CA for 5 years and never went to Yosemite. Doh! I kick myself now.

 

[Silky]

I took a rock-climbing course near Jackson Hole and was fortunate enough to climb the Grand Teton. Beautiful country.

 

[FreshTressa]

Hmmmm, not sure the redwoods are worth THAT kind of drive!!

 

[bambii]

and there are lots of things to see, besides Mt. Rushmore like the NeedlesHighway, the Badlands, Devils Tower, Crazy Horse, Spearfish Canyon, Custer State Park....and etc.

here are some websites

www.travelsd.com

www.travelblackhills.com

 

[Rajah]

Um, how long do you have? I could easily plan a 2-month long trip touring the West.

My suggestion would be: start in California as suggested. Hit Disneyland. West to Las Vegas, then Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Zion (I think that's about this area in the route...), Bryce, Arches, Mesa Verde, then up through Durango past Silverton and Ouray, north through the Dinosaur country to Yellowstone and the Tetons, west and north to Glacier, then come back down through the Mount Ranier area (sp?) in Washington State, down through Oregon and hit the coast, then down through the Redwoods... I'm blanking on the other Redwood-like forest but there's another one worth seeing (Muir?), Yosemite, then return to LA to return home.

That doesn't hit everything in the West (you could spend years here taking a week at a time to visit all this stuff and still just scratch the surface) but it gives a good overview, and if you're driving, that allows you to see some beautiful country between the sites, too.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have been "west" many times, and any one of those places is a trip in itself! All the Utah parks would be doable in one trip. All the Colorado destinations in another. Then you would still need a Yellowstone/Glacier park trip! And how about the beautiful NW? California would be a great driving trip if you flew into San Fransisco and drove down US 1 all the way to San Diego. A GREAT road with lots of scenery. I especially liked the Hearst Castle too. One nice thing about living in the middle half of the country, is that we can take a 2 week driving trip west and see quite a lot of the sights.

 

[mtemm]

I grew up in Southern California and one year we did a 2 week trip that was great! did yosemite, yellowstone, glacier, into Canada and BC, down the coast thru Seattle, into San Francisco for a night, then finally home. Each place could easily be their own trip, but it was a lot of fun. Granted living in CA we did Yosemite and San Francisco alone several times.

 

[Rajah]

My dad had a good question when I asked him what he'd suggest:

First question: how long will you have?

Second question, what do you want to see: Mountains, Desert, or Ocean?

He pointed out that if you're going to try to see Yosemite, you need to make your reservations about a year in advance, maybe more -- they're now that crowded and booked for visits. That's apparently reservations to *visit*, not just reservations to stay. (Can anyone living near Yosemite confirm this?)

While my suggestion would be a lot of fun and would allow you to see a lot of the West, it would also take several weeks to do properly.

So... give us some more info, and we can give you better suggestions of what to do.

 

[TimeforMe]

Hi Everyone! Thanks for all the replies. To answer some of your questions, we would most likely take the better part of 3 weeks to do this trip. I would LOVE to get as far as the Oregon coast and perhaps as far as Seattle, but I realize that might be too large of a scope to encompass. While we live very close to the Atlantic Ocean, I would love for my kids to visit the Pacific (they were too young to remember last time) definitely the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite. Some relatives did a similar trip, but not quite as long, and couldn't get reservations at Yellowstone, that's why I'm trying to get some sort of game plan together now.

Last night, by coincidence, there was a wild west show on the discovery channel that showed some of the beautiful landscape of the west. My kids have never seen anything like that! I was getting very excited.

Thanks for the links. I will check them out now. Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[daannzzz]

Last year instead of going to WDW ( yes it was difficult) I took a road trip with my father. We hit The Painted Desert and Pertified Forrest in Arizona then went to Santa Fe and up to Los Alamos. We went to Badelier National Monument and then over to Monument Valley, The grand Canyon and ended at Las Vegas ( had to get a themed hotel in there somewhere)!
I think we were both most impressed with Monument Valley. It was as majestic as it looks in all the movies. I thought it was much more beutiful than the Grand Canyon. There is ONE lone motel out there and each room has a view of the valley. It is a distant view but spectacular to get up and watch the sun rise behind the buttes. Check out this link and book early. http://www.gouldings.com/
Monument valley is on the border of Arizona and Utah near the Four corners and not a short drive but is definately worth it.