Denver to Portland & Everything In Between

Greetings from Colorado,

I live in Denver and have decided to hop in the car with my girl for about 12 days and experience America this July. We have decided to drive up to Grand Tetons & Yellowstone for sure and then head towards the west coast from there - hopefully making a stop in Portland to see some friends. I would love any advice in regards to scenic drives, national parks, places to camp, things to see, etc. We are avid outdoors people. We love to camp, hike, bike, cave, boat - pretty much anything. Pretty much any advice you have on anything in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, or Utah would be great appreciated. Thanks!

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Greetings from Colorado,I live in Denver and have decided to hop in the car with my girl for about 12 days and experience America this July.

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Would you prefer to spend more time driving or being outdoor people? To get to all of the places you have listed above, would require that you drive at least 475 miles every single day. Since much of your potential route is likely to be two-lane, it will be tough to avoid driving less than eight hours per day which doesn't leave much time for caving, camping, hiking, biking, boatin' etc. So, let us know which activity (driving or outdooring) is the priority and we can offer some suggestions.

Mark

You're probably right - like most people, I want to pack too much into one trip. We may not make it all the way to Portland, which I would have no problem with. Heck, we might not make it much past Yellowstone, which would be fine.

The bottom line is... if you were at Yellowstone & had about 10 days to do whatever you wanted, what would you do? Is there a stretch of highway in Montana that you absolutely would not miss? Is there a national park in Washington that would be worth spending a full day of driving to experience?

To answer your question more specifically, though - if I had to choose between being outdoorsy & driving on this trip, I'll probably have to say driving. I want to see as much of this beautiful country as I can.

Hope that helps to clarify what I'm thinking.

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You're probably right - like most people, I want to pack too much into one trip.

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Me, too. My problem is that I never want to turn around and go home -- which can make for long days. Except that I really enjoy working here and so usually head back, sooner or later.

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The bottom line is... if you were at Yellowstone & had about 10 days to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?

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I would spend the 10 days in Yellowstone... In particular, I would hike to the Hoodoos and maybe a couple other less visited places. I would certainly drive the Dunraven Pass road and stop at every overlook to catch views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. A great audio book is read (& written) by Tim Cahill and will provide ample inticement for wandering as you drive around Yellowstone. Another resource is the Wyoming travel encyclopedia.

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Is there a national park in Washington that would be worth spending a full day of driving to experience?

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There are at least two, that would fit that bill for me any day of the year. Olympic National Park is a rain forest and the area around Toh is one of my favorites. Crater Lake & Wizard Island is truly something to behold.

I don't know when in July you will be on the road, but being in a small town on July 4th is pretty fun. Just about any town will do. One that comes to mind is St. Helens, Oregon -- we were there a few years ago.

Another great camping experience is Moran State Park on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. Catch a ferry at Anacortes - it's a great ride. Some photos at Our trip to the San Juan Islands. After the islands, take Route 20 across Deception Pass & Rt 101 to Olympic National Park.