How to plan a great American road trip

3295 MILES, 8 STATES, 11 DAYS

American road trip is a rite of passage in the US and is as ingrained in the culture as American baseball and apple pie. Development of the highway system in the 1950’s followed the growth of the Automotive industry as the largest industry segment. Read this article to know more about How to plan a great American road trip.

By 1960’s one sixth of working Americans were employed directly or indirectly by the industry. Traveling on newly built highways, in tail finned cars, Americans were on the move taking in the sights and scenes of the country, eating at road side diners and overnighting at motels.

Our great american road trip started on a cool friday morning in the beginning of May. We journeyed on a 12 day road trip covering the best national parks in the United states starting with Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and traveling through Yellowstone national park, Grand Tetons national park, Canyon lands national park , Arches national park, Bryce canyon national park, Lower Antelope canyon, Zion national park and ending in Grand Canyon and passing through some of the most beautiful and scenic parts of the US.

The sheer expanse of thousands of miles of pristine landscape and stunning mountains was humbling and deeply enriching. Decades from now, when our children become old and have their own grandchildren, they are surely going to still remember and talk about this great american road trip.

Starting from Denver, we rented a spacious Chevy Suburban and hit the road after stopping at a local Costco and loading up on water and snacks. it took us seven and half hour drive with couple of stops to reach the town of Custer, SD and checked in at Bavarian Inn, 855 N Fifth Street. Charming and functional lodge – Custer itself is a small place so there are not many options for stay.

Mount Rushmore, Keystone, SD

After viewing the impressive 60 foot high busts of the four presidents carved into mount Rushmore in the Black hills region of SD, we left Custer, early morning next day and went to the Crazy horse memorial which in my personal opinion was more impressive than mount Rushmore. Crazy horse is the worlds largest mountain carving located in the black hills of south Dakota. It depicts Crazy horse – a Indian warrior riding a horse.

Road trip route map

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AND BEAR TOOTH HIGHWAY

On recommendation from biker friends, we decided to drive to Yellowstone through Rt.212 – Bear tooth highway. This added about 3 hours more to the total journey but was so much worth it. Reaching a summit of over 10,900 feet and crossing through some daring landscapes and through the Bear tooth pass, this is the most scenic highway in the US as per Charles Kuralt of CBS fame. The route is so scenic that we had to stop multiple times to soak in the amazing scenery and take photographs.

From the Cooke City, Montana area, the Road travels through the historic mining communities of Silver Gate and Cooke City, Montana, and continues on for 68 breathtaking miles past the Bear tooth-Absaroka Wilderness and over the Bear tooth Plateau at an elevation of 10970 feet and to Red Lodge, Montana. 17 miles from Cooke City

We reached lake lodge inside Yellowstone National park rather late and checked into the lake lodge which is inside the park property and besides the Yellowstone lake and was in a very picturesque area . The lodges were charming and functional. Comfortable for a good night rest.

MAMMOTH SPRINGS

Had a early morning photo tour of Hayden valley and were lucky to find a mother Grizzly with her two cubs and a group of deers by the lake. Overall very much worth it . After a quick breakfast headed out to see Fishing Bridge, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – Upper and lower falls – took some photos at the lower falls, and then headed off to Mammoth springs which is in the north west end of the park. It was took us an hour an half to get to this area due to construction work doing on .

In the evening we headed by to a different lodge in the south east end of the park – Grant village. Yellowstone national park is so huge that if you are based in any one area of the park it will take a few hours every day to get to destinations in the other end of the park. Next day we had an early start as usual and went to the Old faithful Geyser. Watched the geyser erupt and then had a sumptuous brunch at the historic old faithful inn. Value for money and good food.

GRAND PRISMATIC

Next on,  we headed to the Norris Geyser basin and saw most of the key attraction including ones in upper , lower and mid basin. The star attraction of the day was Grand Prismatic which is an amazing sight to behold and so stunning with the saturated colors.

Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in United states and is named so for its striking coloration. Its colors match the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism – red , orange, yellow, green and blue. We walked around the grand prismatic along the board walk and then drive to a hiking point to climb a nearby hillock and see grad prismatic from an aerial view. This was the best part of the day and the best part of Yellowstone so far. Have not seen anything on the planet even close to this.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

Drive to Grand Tetons was just over an hour from Yellowstone and we took some photographs along the way at the numerous view points and then headed to Jenny lake. At Jenny lake we took a short boat ride to the opposite bank and did a couple of hikes. A short hike took us to a small waterfall wherein we took some pictures. After a day long hike we left for Salt Lake city, UT.

Checked in at Courtyard Salt Lake city , Downtown, 130 west 400 south, salt lake city, UT by 8 pm. Had dinner and enjoyed the luxurious Marriott property. This was a welcome change from the lodge accommodation thus far. Also used this stop to do the laundry so that we had a fresh set of clothes for the next half of the trip.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Arches National Park was around 4 hours drive from Salt Lake City. Checked in at Super 8 Motel, 889 north main street, Moab, Utah. This was a fairly impressive property , conveniently located with lot of eating options nearby.

The first spot on out list was the Delicate Arch, which is the most recognized image of arches national and of Utah. The image of the delicate Arch is embedded in the licence plates and the stamps of Utah. The hike to the Delicate Arch was about a mile and half in each direction through a mountain.

The hike itself is of moderate difficulty level due to the gradual climb on the hill. Delicate Arch was worth the hike and truly awesome sight to behold. We just rested and soaked in the great atmosphere and watched the delicate arch by the sunset. Truly a hike worth it . Next day morning we left the hotel early at 5 am to reach the windows section and watched the Turret Arch by the sunrise and took some photos of the arch through the northern window. Did the 14 mile scenic drive stopping at the major view to enjoy the sheer beauty and take photographs.

Canyonlands National Park

After exiting Arches we drove to Canyon lands national park which was less than 30 miles away. Canyon lands is located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab and is the largest national park in Utah. It and has enormous canyons shaped by the Colorado river and is massive.

Pictures of Delicate Arch followed by Turret arch (lit by the morning sun)

BRYCE CANYON NATION PARK AND ANTELOPE CANYON

Drove from Arches to Bryce and reached by 3 hours. Checked in at Bryce Valley lodging, 120 North Main Street, Tropic, Utah. These were independent lodges and very charming.

Evening we drove into Bryce and stopping at the sunset point and were treated to amazing views of the hoodoos being lit by the setting sun. Did short hikes to the view points and then returned back to the lodge after having dinner at the Iconic Rubys Inn. Next morning we reached before sunrise and watched the hoodoos by the sunrise and then took the Navajo trail which goes down to the bottom of the canyon through a series of switch backs. Views of the hoodoos up-close is really breathtaking. The hike is moderate difficulty while returning back due to the hike back from the canyons bottom.

Zion National Park

2 hours drive from Bryce Canon will bring you to the most beautiful Zion National park. Due to the long weekend there was a long queue of vehicles waiting to enter the park. This delayed us for a couple of hours. Checked in at 1 Zion lodge, springdale, Utah (Inside Zion national). Very charming lodges inside the park surrounded by steep mountains all around.

Late afternoon we took the Park shuttle and headed off the 35 minute ride to Temple of sinawava. After a mile hike by the river side we reached the opening where the hike to the narrows began.This was completely a different experience of hiking the rivers through the narrows in the canyon.  From Zion we headed off to Page, Arizona. Check out Top 7 places to visit in Phuket and Krabi

LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON

2 hours drive from Zion National. Drove through the scenic lake Powell area and then Glen canyon national park. Checked into Super 8 Page, 649 south lake Powell blvd, Page, AZ. Fairly modern hotel with spacious rooms.

Even we drove to the Horseshoe bend which was about 5 miles from the hotel . After a moderate hike on sandy hill for less than a mile we were treated to the awesome view of the horseshoe bend wherein the Colorado river has cut into the canyon and made a horseshoe shape. The edge of the cliff looking into the canyon has no protection and is a steep drop. Watched the canyon during sunset and jostled with other photographers with tripods to take the classic view of the horseshoe bend. Next day morning we drove around the lake powell area and then drove to Hike the lower antelope canyon.

The absolutely incredibly beautiful canyon was formed by river waters cutting through the sandstone rocks. The canyon changes colors throughout the day depending on the angle of the sun hitting the red canyon rocks.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

Photo from the south rim of the Canyon as a storm passed by and provided a dramatic lighting and mood.

From Page we drove 4 hours to reach the south rim of Grand canyon. Entering through the eastern entrance of the south rim we had our first stop at desert view point. As we entered the watch tower area to view the most magnificent views, s quick storm just below through the canyon filling up the canyon with a magical fog and dark skies. We checked into the Yavapai lodge, 10 Yavapai lodge road. This was again a beautiful and charming property from the national park service with views onto the open forest.

Next day morning we drove to the major view points and did relatively easy hikes to get up close to the grand canyon- Yavapai point, Mather point, Grandview points

Grand Canyon and return to Las Vegas Return was an easy drive and we decided to stop over at hoover dam on the way. Hoovers dam was an impressive structure. Parking was a little tight but we did not plan to stay here for long. Drove around the dam and then proceeded to Las Vegas to board our flight back.

GRAND CANYONS SOUTH RIM

SPECTACULAR GRAND CANYON BY SUNRISE

Hope you are now motivated to plan your own great American Road trip. For more stories on intentional meandering read Planning a road trip through Seward and Kenai Peninsula, Alaska