Simular itinary!

[Gwilda]

Leaving the Panhandle of FL. June 4 want to drive straight through to AZ. First stop , Havasu Falls, plan to camp two nite,s there, then go east around the Grand Canyon, up to UT. SLC, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mt Rishmore, and Bad lands. Then straight home. We have 3 weeks, will be camping.
Can this be done??
Thanks for any sugestions

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You can certainly do a loop like this in three weeks. You'll have to take quick tours of the many parks and places you'll be visiting, but if you keep that in mind, it shouldn't be a problem. Keep in mind, you'll need about 4 days to make the trip out to AZ and then another 3 days for the trip back from SD, so at least one of your 3 weeks should be dedicated just for your travel time to/from the west. That leaves you 2 weeks to explore Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Tetons, Yellowstone, Black Hills, and the Badlands. That's 7 destinations, and you are looking at 1000 or so miles of driving to get between all of them, so you won't be able to spend much more than a day or two at any one place. However, if you keep that in mind and keep moving, you should still be able to have a good time.

[Gwilda]

Thanks, your reply is encouraging! We wont be doing Grand Canyon, Bryce or Zion, already been there! so that will give me more time for Yellowstone, a childhood dream. My Grandmother went there in 1910 by train as far as the train went then took a covered wagon the rest of the way. She kept a journal and I must have read it a million times when iIwas a child, so hope to spend at least 3 days there.
Gwilda

[Midwest Michael]

If you aren't going to the Grand Canyon or any of the other parks in Southern Utah, I'd recommend skipping Arizona altogether for this trip. Nothing against Hazasu Falls, but if you aren't going to see the other things in this area, then its a pretty long detour when there is so much to see in the other parts of your trip.

Take the time you would spend going to Arizona, and maybe go through Colorado on a more direct path to Yellowstone. Or you could maybe even include Glacier NP and/or Teddy Roosevelt NP in a more northern loop.

[Gwilda]

But Havasu Falls really is part of the grand Canyon! A 10 mile walk down is something I have thought about for years............