LA to Yellowstone with a 14-year-old

We're planning a two week trip. We are inexperienced road-trippers who got jazzed by your itinerary from LA to Yellowstone and back. Then in walked our 14 year old son who raised a major concern about being cramped in a car (Prius) driving for large amounts of time. We have yet to plot out driving distances and the amounts of time that would leave for visiting the places the trip will take us. Any suggestions?

Moderator Note: Moved from This Thread. Thank you for looking at similar threads, but because each trip is unique, we prefer that each trip get it's own thread.

Hi Roger, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

Where is your starting point? How many will be travelling in the Prius?

If your teenage son is anywhere near as tall as my sons were at that age, I would agree, it would not be fun sitting in the back of a Prius for any length of time.

By far the best way to start planning a trip is to get some good detailed maps, such as are produced by AAA (free to members) get one for every State you will be covering. Alternatively, get a good road atlas, such as Rand McNally. Maps are invaluable during the planning stage, with the wealth of information they have on them. Such as you will never see on a little screen.

Lifey.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

A few things that will make this trip more enjoyable for everyone.

First, a Prius is a very small car, and it might not cost you that much to rent a larger, more comfortable vehicle for this trip. It would be worth your time to at least shop around and see if you can find an affordable rate.

No matter what vehicle you take, make sure you are stopping frequently and exploring the many interesting things along the way so it doesn't just feel like hours upon hours of sitting in a car. The more say the 14 year old has in where you go and stop, the more invested they will be in the trip.

A little word -- he's a 14 year old, and he may complain even if he's in a larger vehicle. I say this from experience, with my 14 year old and 13 year old in a crew cab pickup on the way to Alaska one summer. Get your son invested in the trip and he will be a lot happier. Also, make sure that you stop at places at night that have a pool or other "cool" things to do. Renting a vehicle that's a little larger may mean the adults are happier, too. We own a compact car, but we don't take it on long distance trips because it's too small for comfort. They're great for commuting and running around, but not really for long distance.



Donna

Hello Roger, you are in great hands on this wonderful RTA forum. I own a hyundai elantra but i never take it on long road trips. My son is 16 and already 6'2, so i always rent larger vehicles for real comfort. Another plus is that you dont add unnessesary wear and tear on your own car. As Lifey mentioned, AAA maps are great for planning your routes. Are you planning on visiting national parks in CA on your way to or from Yellowstone, or are you ruling that out for this trip?

How much time do you have available for this trip ? It would be two long, yet reasonably comfortable days on the road in each direction and to explore Yellowstone and the Tetons, you need another 3-4 days to do it justice, so there are 7-8 days. If you have a couple of weeks then you could choose from various routes and attractions on the way up and by taking another route on the way back. Possibly going via the Great Basin, Twin Falls and Craters of the Moon and then visiting a couple of Utahs NP's on the way back.