Swamp Travel Guide - Basically Everything Out West

[Ryan]

In addition to our Appalachian trip, we're now thinking of a Western tour in July-August. I'm gonna hit you with our major destinations - just word association me with ideas about those, or anything in the vicinity.

Keep in mind the boys will be 10 and 7 - We're mostly looking for pretty places, easy-to-moderate cool trails, kitschy highway shit, and because we're cramming it into 2 weeks, not a lot of deviation from the long-ass drives from place to place. Also yes, we've considered the heat in all the hot places. I'm leaving out the random hotel-only nights in between (BARSTOW, HELLO!)

1. Flagstaff/Sedona/Grand Canyon
2. Zion
3. Sequoia/Kings Canyon
4. Monterey/Point Lobos OR Pinnacles
5. You guessed it, Disneyland

Considered for "collect 'em all!" purposes but probably out of reach/not for us:

Joshua Tree
Death Valley
Yosemite
All the other Utah stuff
Lake Mead

[brian]

If your kids were a little older I'd suggest some of the more "out of the way" of the Big Five national parks in Utah as being cooler and usually less crowded (Arches, Canyonlands especially), but at that age I get why you'd want to be closer to the highways and all of the availability of other stuff to do as well. Given that, Zion is a great choice. Definitely fits the bill as far as plenty of kid-friendly short hikes and things like that.

Grand Canyon, if you're going to be doing a safari like this, is probably a must-see.

[govmentchedda]

Grand Canyon was great, but I'm nervous to take my boys there until I know they won't fuck around, punch the other, and slip and fall to their ultimate demise. Which is to say, there is a dearth of guard rails at the south rim.

The car ride from Grand Canyon to Las Vegas is basically the Radiator Springs portions of the Cars movies.

[Nonlinear FC]

Yosemite is mind-blowing, even for younger kids. While it can be crowded, I'd still say it's worth it.

[sancarlos]

For national parks, I'd make your hotel reservations at nearby towns, rather than actually in the parks. Easier and cheaper. (Might look at their car/shuttle policies, too.) Yosemite is great, but crowded (if you go there, I'd recommend Sequoia National Park, too - if you hike a bit, you see dozens of enormous sequoias). Yellowstone is great, but crowded. Grand Canyon, too. If you are in the four corners area (Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah), Mesa Verde National Park is worth a visit. As far as routes go, I drove I-70 from Denver to Grand Junction in July, and that was a pretty drive (for an interstate highway). Get your Disneyland/Universal stuff booked way in advance. If you've already been to Disney World in Florida, you know the drill.

[A_B]

I can't imagine paying for two pretty significant vacations in one year. Jelly.

[GoodKarma]

I'll second Zion...lots of stuff for kids around there. You can also get to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, which is some different scenery than the more popular south rim. Bryce Canyon is also nearby Zion...the kids might think the hoodoo's are cool and the hikes there are pretty easy.

Between Zion and Grand Canyon there is also Lake Powell and, if you are dog/pet/animal people, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (look them up if you're not familiar with them). To give you a sense of timing: while staying in Springdale UT (by entrance to Zion) wife and I did half day at Best Friends, stopped at Lake Powell for pictures; went to north rim for some walking/milling around; got the evil eye from polygamists driving through Colorado City, AZ and were back in Springdale by dinner.

Hot take: Sedona is overrated and not worth a visit

[Ryan]

I can't imagine paying for two pretty significant vacations in one year. Jelly.

Me neither

[sancarlos]

Hot take: Sedona is overrated and not worth a visit

Opposing view: Sedona is great. We were there for New Years Day, just over two years ago. I didn't want to go, but did it just to make the wife happy, and was surprised at how I liked it. I thought it would be new age types, with crystals and grateful dead shirts. But, that was a very small part of it. I thought the natural beauty of the surrounding area was spectacular. We did a couple short hikes and enjoyed it a lot. Our friends did a 4-wheel jeep excursion and enjoyed it a lot. Caveat - not sure the kids would dig it as much as adults.

[GoodKarma]

I should clarify...it's not that Sedona is bad...I just don't think it's worth going out of the way to visit. Unless you want to see the art shops specifically there is nothing to do there that can't be done elsewhere.

I do agree with Sancarlos about the kid thing...not sure if it would be fun for them.

[Steve of phpBB]

I'll second Zion...lots of stuff for kids around there. You can also get to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, which is some different scenery than the more popular south rim. Bryce Canyon is also nearby Zion...the kids might think the hoodoo's are cool and the hikes there are pretty easy.

Between Zion and Grand Canyon there is also Lake Powell and, if you are dog/pet/animal people, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (look them up if you're not familiar with them). To give you a sense of timing: while staying in Springdale UT (by entrance to Zion) wife and I did half day at Best Friends, stopped at Lake Powell for pictures; went to north rim for some walking/milling around; got the evil eye from polygamists driving through Colorado City, AZ and were back in Springdale by dinner.

Hot take: Sedona is overrated and not worth a visit

For the kids, Zion and Bryce are your best bets. At Zion you are on the bottom of the canyon looking up to the cliffs and formations, and there are good hikes to waterfalls and various scenic overlooks. When your trip gets closer, DM me and I can give you more info.

At Bryce, you are on the top of the plateau looking down, but the hoodoos are unlike anything else I have ever seen. Walking among them is an special experience. Bryce is about 90 miles from Zions, less than two hours each way.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon is great, but IMHO, if you are already going to the South Rim, there's no need to do both.

FWIW, I don't think you can drive a private car into the main canyon area of Zions anymore, unless you are staying at the in-park lodge (which is pretty damned cool). They have regular shuttle buses that go up and down the road, and that seems to work very well.

[Rams Fanny]

Hoover Dam is only a bit over 30 min from Strip and 15 min from Lake Mead and would make a nice walk break from ride from Utah. Parking is free. The kids can set foot in two states at once which they might get a kick out of. The tour of the Dam is cool especially if they would like massive turbines and other large machinery. Worth the slight detour IMHO.