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We are planning a road trip (June 2009) with our three sons, ages 16, 14, and 10. We are driving from Fort Worth, Texas to Palm Springs, California (one or two days at Disneyland). Our boys enjoy outdoors activities, and need suggestions as to best route to take and places to see on our way to our destination and back to Texas. We have 12 days for this vacation. Your input is appreciated. Have never driven this part of the country before. Thanks!
Good times! Welcome to the Roadtrip America forums.
This would make a nice loop drive for you. It's always more fun to drive different roads there-and-back so you can see new things. Of course, you could reverse the order and go north first, then south on the way home.
We generally recommend limiting your driving to about 500-550 miles per day. At that rate, you'll need roughly 2.5-3 days each way. This leaves you roughly 6 days to play and explore. I think you'll want a good two days in Disneyland....personally, my family always wants three days but we're ride maniacs...so now you're down to 4 days. How many days do you plan on spending in Palm Springs?
500-550 miles per day translates to about 9-10 hours on the road each of the driving days. This includes time for very quick stops for food, fuel, and other human needs, and time for slow-downs due to traffic congestion or a bit of highway repair work, but not time for longer, sit-down meals or exploring something along the way (except for quick looksees). If you want more time to stop along the way, and to stretch the drive out to 4 or 5 days, you'll need to take from the time at Palm Springs or Disney.
As far as finding outdoor activities along the way, check out this excellent post that lists various state and national parks along the various interstates. And even a few city/county parks. If you decide to travel the route I gave you in the map, you will want to check out the stops along I-40 and I-10. Of course, you don't have to stay on the interstate the whole way. You can veer off. For example, while going along I-40, it would be a shame to miss the Grand Canyon which is only about an hour north of Flagstaff. And it's just a bit of a detour off I-10 to visit Carlsbad Caverns. Just two examples of things you might want to budget time for.
Just a suggestion, your kids are definitely old enough to help plan this trip. If each of the kids is given at least one stop that they can choose out of the possibilities, it will usually make them more excited about the trip. As much as possible, work together as a family so you all have things you'll enjoy.
You might want to visit the tourism websites of the various states you're traveling through. You can also order a visitor's packet with guides, maps, etc. And poke around here. You can do a search in the forums or visit the roadtrip planning pages for other ideas.
The more information you can give us, the more helpful we can be. Gather some more ideas and come back here and we'll do our best to help you tweak your trip to make it a great adventure to create wonderful family memories.
Why are you staying in PS for DL? You're on the road for 4 hours each day not counting delays in rushhour. Anaheim would be a lot better to stay. The one thing you never should miss is Grand Canyon NP, but reservations are needed asa possible at www.grandcanyonlodges.com
Thank you both for replies and questions! We are staying in Palm Springs for very good reason -we have the opportunity to stay at a resort that's there at a very reasonable price for a full week. We are, however, trying to work out our vacation plans to be able to stay a second week or at least 3 more days.., allowing us time and money to stay the latter part of our vacation closer to Anaheim and then back.
AND yes, Grand Canyon is a must! Thank you so much for input. I will look into the post you refer to, Ms. Judy, and also grandcanyonlodges.com, Yeehaw!
Thanks again!
I will be checking in for any other tips and/or suggestions!
Gracias!