Major road trip next summer!

[audreyh1]

My wife absolutely loved this. But she bemoaned the fact she could not take home some petrified wood.

Now if you’ve come this far I will let you in on a secret destination.
Walnut Canyon is just surreal for me.
And I grew up in Arizona

There was a nice gift store outside the visitor center at the I-40 exit for Painted Desert NP (also Petrified Forest) and we took home a beautiful piece.

From that same exit it’s worth driving the Petrified Forest road to the Blue Mesa Trailhead and taking the short loop hike. That’s me on the trail. The area is so visually interesting.

 

[TripleLindy]

Wow - that is my kind of road trip! Personally, I’m a much bigger fan of Glacier over Yellowstone, but Yellowstone seems to fit better with your route. If you’re a hiker, I’d encourage you to add Glacier to the trip and stay at the Many Glacier lodge. That’s the prettiest part of the park. Zion is close to Vegas and the Zion Lodge is great, especially since no cars are allowed inside the park unless you’re staying there.

The Jenny Lake Lodge is our favorite spot in the Tetons. Wonderful “cabins” and a top notch restaurant. We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone and weren’t impressed. Other than being inside the park, it’s not like there are great trails right outside your door - just Old Faithful. Fall is our favorite time of year for that area.

 

[skyking1]

Sounds good OP. Take the train at Skagway, do not bother paying to to go Mendenhall Glacier at Juneau.
You can ride a bus out there for the same results. We had crazy hot weather in June on that trip and enjoyed the empty pool when the folks crowded off to go to Mendenhall.
If your trip goes into Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier, I would try the excursion there. We did not but it looked fun.
I'll wave when you go by

 

[Pluperfect]

Everyone says we should see Glacier Natl Park, but how many mountains do we need to see? If you have traveled this route, or parts of it, all advice is welcome.

I'm firmly in the "how many mountains do we need to see" camp. And one thing I learned about Glacier is that it was formed by glaciers and is not made up of glaciers. So it's really just mountains.

However, if you're on I-90 anyway, you'll be pretty near Glacier, and could do a detour that isn't an out-and-back. And it's very likely a place you're not going to be near again. So I'd say do it. Since you're in a car, you can get to the park in the afternoon and poke around a little, and the next day you could drive the Going to the Sun Road and out the other side of the park and continue to Yellowstone if you want just a taste.

I'd recommend also going to the Many Glacier area if you have time because the setting, with the lake, is so pretty. In fact, you could stay in the hotel there after driving the Going to the Sun Road, and then leave the park the next day.

When we were there, we were in an RV and had to leave it in an RV park in Columbia Falls while touring Glacier. Driving a car and staying in hotels along the way would have been much more convenient. But we still managed to do a hike from the Many Glacier area up to an actual glacier--about 10 miles round trip. But you'll see lots of glaciers on your cruise; I've done a glacier cruise to Alaska and I've done a hike to touch a glacier and I can't say my life is greatly enhanced by actually touching one. However, our walk took us through a big herd of sheep and they were fighting right near us, and the clacking of their horns was LOUD. When we came down there were all these people looking at the sheep with binoculars and I was thinking, "Heh. We were just up there."

Also, on the Going to the Sun Road there was a fog bank in the valley that we drove above that was super cool. But of course you never know if you'll get a cool fog bank or encounter a herd of sheep. So maybe a one-day visit to some place you're pretty sure you'll never get to again is sufficient.

 

[Pluperfect]

And I second the suggestion of hitting Yosemite while you're in the neighborhood. We were there in early June this year. We'd been there a couple of times before, in the Fall. But the waterfalls aren't flowing then, and I wanted to see them but not enough to ever make a special trip.

There was no room at the inn for our big motorhome, so we stayed on the side of the road near Lee Vining and got up at the crack of dawn to drive in. We walked up to Glacier Point, for views of Yosemite Falls. That took about 5 hours, and we were happy we went early because it was almost all in the shade on the way up. Then we ate cold pizza in the Swinging Bridge picnic area, and then went to look around the Ahwahnee Hotel (we'd been there for brunch a long time ago) and sat in the big chairs there for about half an hour.

Then to Yosemite Lodge to do the Lower Yosemite Falls walk. We were going to head home from there but stopped for a burger at Yosemite Lodge, and realized it would be great light for Bridal Falls, so we went over there. Watched the rainbow on the falls disappear as the sun went behind a peak. Then we drove the two hours home, along a blissfully unpopulated curvy road.

Is this a pace I would recommend for most people? Definitely not. If we'd been in a car, we could have stayed one night in the park and split our sightseeing up into two days. (That's one reason sightseeing in an RV often involves more nights in a given place, since you have to work around ceck-in and check-out times, or else find something to do with the RV in the middle of the day while you're sightseeing before heading out.)

But we didn't want to drive two hours into and two hours out of the park twice, and our main goal was seeing the waterfalls with water in them. It turned out to be an excellent way to spend one day in the park on our way through the area.

 

[TheWizard]

Keep in mind you’ll need timed entry reservations for those national parks in that time frame.

Depends.
There were no restrictions entering Yellowstone NP in early October last year...

 

[TheWizard]

My wife absolutely loved this. But she bemoaned the fact she could not take home some petrified wood.

Now if you’ve come this far I will let you in on a secret destination.
Walnut Canyon is just surreal for me.
And I grew up in Arizona

You can STEAL some petrified wood from the park and take it home with you.
But then it will HAUNT you and cause continuing bad luck going forward.

Eventually, you will give up and mail that petrified wood back to the NP in an envelope with two dollars worth of postage.

This will remove the haunting from you and allow you to live your remaining years in peace...

 

[VanWinkle]

Are the nights reserved in Yellowstone or Grand Teton NP or both?

Reserved in both!

 

[VanWinkle]

You should definitely go to the grand Tetons , but you will only need two days there to see everything. It’s extremely beautiful and very close to Yellowstone so it would be a shame to miss it.

When we took our trip, I had no clue that we were that close to glacier either and about a year after we were home I realized that and was disappointed that we didn’t go there too. I would not miss glacier.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[VanWinkle]

Keep in mind you’ll need timed entry reservations for those national parks in that time frame.

Hmm, I was not aware of that. Get them from the park service I guess?

 

[VanWinkle]

Ok, head on 40 west out of Tennessee to Las Vegas
maybe with a side trip to Sedona and/or Grand Canyon
Visit Hoover dam
Head west on 160/190 through Death Valley to Lake Tahoe
(Maybe a side trip to Yosemite NP)
Head west out of Lake Tahoe maybe through Napa Valley to the Pacific Coast Highway
Take PCH north along the ocean to Astoria, Oregon, then northeast to Seattle
Then I-90 East to Yellowstone (maybe with a side trip to Glacier NP)
Then to Jackson, Wy
Then back to Tennessee

This would probably take at least a month

Forget to mention Sedona, it's on SOs list for sure. Thanks for the tips!!

 

[imjustawarrior]

Hmm, I was not aware of that. Get them from the park service I guess?

It depends on the park and time of the year. The park's main page will lead you to what you need to know. I think if you have lodging in the park you don't need timed entry, but double check that.

 

[audreyh1]

Reserved in both!

Excellent. That will be great.

 

[COcheesehead]

Depends.
There were no restrictions entering Yellowstone NP in early October last year...

High season has reservations required.

 

[COcheesehead]

Hmm, I was not aware of that. Get them from the park service I guess?

Website

 

[Ronstar]

Forget to mention Sedona, it's on SOs list for sure. Thanks for the tips!!

You’re welcome -
You’re going to some great places during peak season. Be prepared for some places to be crowded.

 

[TheWizard]

High season has reservations required.

I had a few nights lodging reserved in the park so I'm guessing that makes it a non issue no matter what month...

 

[COcheesehead]

I had a few nights lodging reserved in the park so I'm guessing that makes it a non issue no matter what month...

Correct

 

[aaronc879]

I can't imagine going on a road trip that close to Yosemite and not staying for at least a couple days. That, along with the Grand Canyon, seem like the obvious add-ons.

 

[audreyh1]

I had a few nights lodging reserved in the park so I'm guessing that makes it a non issue no matter what month...

That’s my experience. At Grand Teton NP last year I don’t remember timed access in late Sept., but a great deal of the park was accessible before reaching a ranger station entry gate.

 

[DrRoy]

You should stay within Yellowstone while visiting there, and not spend the extra time driving from Jackson. We have spent a week each in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Glacier NP mountains are unique and worth the visit, another week for us.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We spent so much time driving in and out of the park at Yosemite when we stayed in a motel. When we went to Yellowstone and the grand Tetons, we had bought a used motorhome and we stayed inside the park. I would definitely vote for you guys staying in lodging inside the park because it’s a big park and going in and out wastes a huge amount of time.

 

[Ronstar]

Another vote for Glacier - view from the Many Glacier hotel at sunrise.

 

[VanWinkle]

You should stay within Yellowstone while visiting there, and not spend the extra time driving from Jackson. We have spent a week each in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Glacier NP mountains are unique and worth the visit, another week for us.

I have reserved 6 nights inside the Yellowstone park and Grand Tetons.

 

[VanWinkle]

We spent so much time driving in and out of the park at Yosemite when we stayed in a motel. When we went to Yellowstone and the grand Tetons, we had bought a used motorhome and we stayed inside the park. I would definitely vote for you guys staying in lodging inside the park because it’s a big park and going in and out wastes a huge amount of time.

Thanks for the tips, we do have lodging inside the park.