Early Fall 2012 Western US Roadtrip
Hello all! I've been using Roadtrip America for a couple of months now to plan a 2 week roadtrip for myself and my soon-to-be husband for next fall. Let me start by saying this site and forum have been an incredible resource for me! I'm a veteran weekend roadtripper, but I'm new to trips that last more than a few days, so I needed all the help I could get!
Now that we've spent a considerable amount of time deciding what states, cities, attractions, etc. that we can't afford to miss, I'd like to post the plan and see what you veterans think about the distance and pacing. If we're in over our heads, I'd like to know now so we don't get too attached to the itinerary!
We're from Florida, and one of my close friends lives in Seattle, so we're planning on flying in late on a Friday night, 9/14, spending Saturday in Seattle with my girlfriend, and then leaving early Sunday morning heading east on I-90. We want to be back in Seattle by Friday night, 9/28, so we can fly out early on Saturday, 9/29. The basic plan is to travel down to the Grand Canyon through WY, MT, & UT, and then head back up to Seattle through CA & OR. The breakdown will go something like this:
Day One - Seattle to Deer Lodge, MT
Day Two - Deer Lodge through Yellowstone to Bridger-Teton Nat'l Forest, WY
Day Three - Bridger-Teton to Antelope Island State Park on the Great Salt Lake, UT
Day Four - Salt Lake to south Zion Nat'l Park, UT
Day Five - Zion to Grand Canyon (we hope to camp at Toroweap Point, but the contingency plan is the North Rim in case road conditions prevent us from getting to Toroweap)
Day Six - Grand Canyon to Death Valley, CA
Day Seven - Death Valley to Mammoth Lakes, CA (specifically Silver Lake)
Day Eight - Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite Nat'l Park
Day Nine - Yosemite to South Lake Tahoe, CA
Day Ten - Lake Tahoe to Umpqua Nat'l Forest, OR near Crater Lake
Day Eleven - Umpqua to Portland, OR
Day Twelve - Portland to Hoh Rainforest near Forks, WA
Day Thirteen - Forks to Seattle, WA
We're not at all interested in cities or urban areas, and hope to hit as many National Parks & Forests as we can, as well as a few State Parks. The only city we'll be stopping in purposefully other than Seattle is Portland, OR because we're interested in moving there (it's a 5-10 year plan, at least ;)) No amusement parks, no tourist traps if we can help it, no museums. We just want to experience nature in the Western states.
Based on that, is this trip do-able, or are we over-reaching? Neither of us are opposed to spending a whole day in a car, but obviously we don't want to spend *every* day stuck in the car watching nature fly by. We know we won't be able to see and do everything we'd like to in this time, but from my estimation, we'll be able to meander a little here and there and still enjoy ourselves. I've used Google Maps to figure out driving times and distances, always overestimating based on what Google said. If there is a better program for realistic driving times and itinerary building, suggestions are welcome!
Any and all advice or comments appreciated, since like I said, I've never done this before and want to get it right! Thanks in advance, and sorry if this post was too long, I have a tendency to be long-winded. :)
Lots of long days just driving, it seems
Hello Duncable,
While I haven't looked at your proposed intervals with mapping software, I've spent a good bit of time RoadTripping MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, AZ, and CA. Here's what jumps out at me regarding your plans:
Day one from SEA to Deerlodge is a long day. No problem in my personal opinion, but you're looking at blowing past some pretty fine scenery just to get to Deerlodge on Day One.
Day Two including getting to and through Yellowstone makes me wonder "why bother?". It'll be around a half-day's HARD drive just to get to Yellowstone from Deerlodge, and travel through the park is slow. You'd be looking at a less-than-cursory glance at one of the most spectacular National Parks we've got in the Lower 48.
I've been to Antelope Island (but never camped there). Accessing Antelope, however, means passing through a highly congested urban/suburban area running between Logan and Provo, including SLC. Antelope is close enough to the flight pattern for SLC to see and probably hear airliners coming and going. Yes, it's unique, but as a destination for those seeking to avoid cities and congestion, it strikes me as a curious choice. You'd face a 50 or so mile slog through the remainder of the SLC basin to reach Provo enroute south, too. I'd much rather spend a night in the eastern Unitas below Green River, WY or even over in Park City, UT and head south from there, having never dropped down off of the Wasatch to the SLC basin.
The remainder of your proposed trip lies outside of areas where I have a lot of experience, but it seems as there's a continuation of the "all go and no slow" itinerary.
If you're driven to see Yellowstone, may I suggest stopping in or near Missoula, then down US 93 to Lost Trail Pass, then over into the Big Hole, then to Dillon, Twin Bridges, and Ennis, MT, and entering Yellowstone from West Yellowstone, MT. There you can use West Yellowstone as a base for at least a full day inside the Park, departing for points south afterward. I'd make time for that by eliminating Antelope Island. You may also enter Yellowstone from Red Lodge and the surreal alpine tundra experience of the Beartooth Highway, but be aware of its short season--highways which top out at 12,000' can close early in the season. Either way, plan to spend at least one full day in Yellowstone if you're going to the time and trouble to get there. Finally, be aware of the grizzly and black bear presence in Yellowstone and vicinity. If you're tent-camping, you've got to study up on the various precautions. Also, you're traveling at the beginning of hunting season, so be aware of the likelihood of NF campgrounds hosting groups of hunters, particularly in MT and WY.
These observations and suggestions are of course purely my own personal preferences. The opinions of others, and your own mileage, may vary.
Enjoy planning and taking your Autumn 2012 RoadTrip!
Foy
I double-checked, and.....
.....my recollection of the causeway access point to Antelope Island is dead on target. You drive through the suburbs of Layton, UT to the edge of the lake, across the causeway, and you're then on Antelope Island. Take a look at a map and note the SLC airport is on a small peninsula north of I-80 and west of I-215/I-15. The main runways (yes, there are 2 parallels there) run north-south, so the flight pattern will always have dual lanes of flight traffic either descending parallel to Antelope or climbing away from it. I forgot Hill Air Force Base right there on the north side of Layton, too. Oh, and a large oil refinery on the east shore of the lake just south of Kaysville, too, with a ton of train traffic north and south. Bottom line is it's a highly developed urban/suburban/industrial corridor wedged in between the Salt Lake and the Wasatch Range all the way from Logan on the north to beyond Provo on the south. The north end of the island is only around 3 miles from Layton and the south end only 4-5 miles from SLC International.
And yes, US 191 south of the Jackson area to and over I-80 is what I was mentioning. US 191 from Green River to Dutch John is a nice high plateau ride, you cross the dam some 400' over the Green River (and can drive down a river access road to the base of the dam), and the Uinta Mountains from there toward Vernal are very nice, especially in late September when the aspens are golden.
Most any route you'd take from Vernal over towards I-15 at or south of Provo will be nice, too. I drove US 40 from Park City to Grandby, CO in late July, and the area just east of Heber City was very nice, forested, high elevation, and cool temps. Strawberry Reservoir is surrounded by NF lands and there must be many campgrounds, as surely you'll find many NF campgrounds all the way from Jackson, WY to Zion.
Frankly, I think the Great Salt Lake is over-rated. Approaching from the west or northwest, which means approaching from the most remote part of the Lower 48 (northeast NV and northwest UT), yeah, that'd be pretty neat. Approaching from the wannabe LA Basin which I find to be a good description of the SLC area, not so much. It's hard to get close to (surrounded by marsh for the most part, and it smells terrible (hydrogen sulfide gas--a natural smell of highly saline waters, but it still smells like rotten eggs). Give me some freshwater lakes any day.
Foy