Fall Travel from Boston to the Grand Canyon and back

The fastest and most direct route from Niagara Falls doesn't take you anywhere near Chicago, it would be I-90/I-271/I-71/I-70/I-44/I-40. The triptik isn't showing you this.

Tusayan has a few hotels, including a Best Western and a Holiday Inn Express, but rooms are over $100 a night. They are 2 and 3 star rated. If cost is not a major object, you can't beat the location. The one exception is a little "mom and pop" motel which I forget the name of - it's right on the main drag between 2 of the bigger hotels. They don't take reservations, do not advertise anywhere, and seldom answer the phone. You show up, first come first served. The rooms are around $85, clean and comfortable, minimum amenities.

I think you could take the southern route (I-40/I-81) back home and do it in 6 days. It's only 100 miles longer than the direct route, the only problem might be the traffic in the I-95 corridor between DC and Boston.

Thank you for that GLC.
*Just finished reading SouthWest Dave's awesome trip report which includes many spots that we plan to see. What incredible pictures. After that I read the thread on America's scariest roads, and that got me thinking, what can we expect crossing the Rockies on I-70? Also any other heads up we should know about on this route?

Crossing the Rockies on I-70 is easy, but if you follow my route you won't be doing that! Maybe you should tell us what you want to see between Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.

The most direct route from Niagara to the parts of Colorado and Utah, that you've already mentioned that you're interested in visiting, like Bryce and Zion, does go through Chicago, sort of. I-80 runs along the south edge of Chicagoland, although it doesn't actually go through downtown Chicago. There is the chance of hitting some traffic in this area, certainly, but its not something you need to lose sleep over. If you are really worried about it, then you could always head south to I-70 a bit sooner, and head through Indianapolis and St. Louis.

I-70 really isn't scary at all, and you shouldn't have any problems. If you start heading off onto 2 lane roads through the mountains, you'll run into roads that are a bit more of a challenge.

With regards to the Grand canyon lodging, when coming in from the North or East [depending on final plan] you can enter the Grand canyon by the Eastern kiosk gate along "Desert view drive" [64] from 89. This is the way I would recommend entering the National park as it follow the path of the Colorado river into the canyon and offers some great views. The first views are from the Old watchtower as you enter the park which give you a real "buzz". If you arrived nearby early evening you could spend your time looking around the stores and having a nice meal before turning in for the night, all at The Cameron trading post. The food and shops are great, but we were in the RV park so have no idea about the rooms but the whole place looked well kept. As you drive through the park you could spend night 2 in Tusayan [nearest lodging to Southern kiosk], Williams or Flagstaff.

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*Just finished reading SouthWest Dave's awesome trip report which includes many spots that we plan to see

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I am glad you enjoyed it ! I presume you found the Colorado trip, but another that includes places you are planning on visiting [Grand canyon, Zion etc] started from San Fran, and if you have the time [or inclination] to take a look you can find it here.

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After that I read the thread on America's scariest roads, and that got me thinking, what can we expect crossing the Rockies on I-70? Also any other heads up we should know about on this route?

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You will be fine, as Michael said some roads can be more challenging than others but are generally all paved and in good shape and any that aren't [ Like Mokee dugway] normally have plenty of signage that warn you and give you alternative routes, but these are very few and far between, unless you go looking from them that is ! ;-)

Bryce is a wonderful place but if you decide to head that way, make sure you take lots of layered clothing, it can get bitingly cold up there. Worth it ? Every moment !! Not the cheapest lodging but check out "Rubys Inn" by the park entrance and for Zion the lovely town of Springdale offers lodging options.

You will have to consider at what pace you want to go at before deciding on where you head, as with most of us time is the "enemy".

Okay - if you want to take I-70, follow my routing but stay on I-70 at St. Louis. This will both eliminate the Chicago area and save over $15 in tolls.

Cameron is a good lodging choice but the Trading Post is $99 and up, depending on season. There really isn't anything cheap anywhere near the Grand Canyon without going to Flagstaff or Williams. There's nothing cheap near Monument Valley either - the hotels in Kayenta are $80+, the closest cheap places are in Blanding. For lower cost lodging near Bryce, the town of Panguitch has a few motels, I stayed at the New Western for $45 in February 2009. It's a former Best Western and it's okay.

Thank you all for your expert input. And for great trip reports, again, the photos are unbelievably awesome, in the true sense of the word! We really appreciate this as we set off on this grand adventure. Taking into account your responses and further research on this sight as well as googleearth and AAA, I think we will head for Niagara Falls, then make our way down to I-70 and head for the Grand Canyon from there. We just need to make up our minds about heading for Arches/Monument Valley, or continuing on for Bryce/Zion. I know there is beauty and wonder in both options. Any thoughts you might have are welcome. And thanks again, this is an invaluable help.

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I know there is beauty and wonder in both options. Any thoughts you might have are welcome.

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Moab and Arches NP are just a short detour from I70 and could be used as an overnight stop whether you head to Monument valley or Zion and/or Bryce. No right or wrong answer, just tough [yet enjoyable] decisions with excellent choices. The main thing here is, the more you try to cram in at this end of your trip, the faster pace you are setting yourselves to get out there and back, which could then feel like a chore.

Going back to your first post, you were considering flying and then touring, if that was still considered to be an option you would have a whole lot more time enjoying these places. Sorry if that's added confusion back into the mix, but it would open up a lot of possibilities, if for instance you started a loop trip from Denver.

Thanks SW Dave - yes we have plenty of choices!!! And you are right about not trying to fit too much in because we have to get back within a specific schedule. Our primary goal is to re-visit the Grand Canyon (we were there on our honeymoon 20 years ago!), everything after that is a bonus. As regards flying to Denver or Phoenix or some where, and then touring from there, that is still a possibility, but we are geared up now to see America by car. We are all getting into the planning and enjoying the adventure already. At this stage we are planning our overnight stops and interesting sights to see along the way. Thanks SW Dave and everyone else for your helpful input. I'm sure we will have more questions soon :)

Hello, back again with more queries :)

We have sorted out our route using Google Maps. I know from reading many other threads that the times given for point to point journeys are not always in 'real time'. If any of you have the inclination we welcome feedback about our proposed journey. Just to note, the quicker we get to Moab, the more time we have to spend in the area we want to explore the most. Having said that, the whole idea of this road trip is to see America, and not always from a car window going 65mph! So we want to make one or two nice stops each day. I know we have two very long days - we are open to any suggestions on breaking our overnight stays down a bit better. Thanks.

Day 1: Boston - Niagara Falls NY (470 miles; 8h11m)
Day 2: Niagara falls - Richmond IN (453 miles, 7h30m)
Day 3: Richmond IN - Kansas City KS (561 miles; 9h30m)
Day 4: Kansas City KS -Denver CO (600 miles; 9h30m)
Day 5: Denver CO -Moab UT (354 miles; 6h)