1st Road Trip from LA - Denver

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

I would recommend you decide on the basic stuff first, like if you want to do the trip to Denver, or a loop out of Vegas and what your personal 'must see's' are as all trips are unique and this one is yours ! Once you have finalised that part we can certainly help fill in the blanks and answer any further questions. There are no bad choices, just lots of great options so follow your gut feeling.

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Hi Dave. Thanks for asking.

The trip I really want to be doing and that i first thought about was LA-Vegas-Zion-Bryce-Moab-Denver. Which is fine for me. But, then I read about the roads to Denver and maybe snow so I thought about getting to Vegas, and doing the loop, maybe to zion, bryce and moab and then getting back to Vegas.

I friend of mine was talking to me about Sequioa NP, and that got me wanting to go there too. But as you say, the less places you go, the better so i can get to know more. Still want to go though.

Would like to saty in park lodges and take small hikes and really get the feeling of driving around but also to sleep and wake up in these magical places. Do not want to be on the road all the time. Just enjoy as much as we can without overdoing it in 10 days.

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The trip I really want to be doing and that i first thought about was LA-Vegas-Zion-Bryce-Moab-Denver. Which is fine for me. But, then I read about the roads to Denver and maybe snow

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Well it's true there is a risk of snow heading to Denver but the same risk applies to Sequoia NP, Bryce canyon and other places. As we can't predict the weather it does make an itinerary harder to decide on when travelling off season. The good thing is the Colorado road crews are good at what they do as they get plenty of practice and have the right equipment and I-70 is a priority to keep the Nations traffic moving. I did lay out one possible itinerary for this trip earlier in the thread.

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Vegas, and doing the loop, maybe to zion, bryce and moab and then getting back to Vegas. Do not want to be on the road all the time. Just enjoy as much as we can without overdoing it in 10 days.

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This is where the 'balancing act' comes in, finding the ideal solution that matches your needs, too much or too little is different for everyone. Some like to stay in the same place for 2 or 3 days and others like to travel through and get an overview, possibly with future trips in mind. That's why I suggested you get the basics done and then we can get a better picture of what you want to do and help with the finer detail. Your first itinerary could work, but you could feel like you are pushing on too quickly as we touched on earlier in the thread.

From Vegas you could do something like this.
Vegas (1 night)
Zion. (2 nights)
Bryce canyon (1 night)
Capital Reef via UT scenic 12 (1 night)
Moab (Arches and Canyonlands) 2 nights
Grand canyon south rim (2 nights)
Vegas (1 night)

You could also consider heading from Vegas through Death valley to Yosemite NP and Sequoia NP and possibly include the Grand canyon but you would run a higher risk of weather disruption and possibly road closures in the Sierra's.

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Originally Posted by nykogut

Would like to saty in park lodges and take small hikes and really get the feeling of driving around but also to sleep and wake up in these magical places. Do not want to be on the road all the time. Just enjoy as much as we can without overdoing it in 10 days.

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That's always one of the tough parts about planning - finding that balance between getting to all the places you want to see and making sure you actually have enough time to enjoy the places you will be visiting.

If it were me, I think I'd be looking at doing either Sequoia or Moab. If you are going to visit Sequoia, then I think you'll be too rushed to make it out to Moab, but if you want to get to Moab then I think Sequoia is probably too much of a detour. (If you go to Moab, then continuing onto Denver would be shorter than returning to Vegas.)

A third option would be to basically eliminate Los Angeles to have more time to explore these places. Keeping in mind, in your original plan, you had 6 of your 10 nights in major cities, and if that's what you want to focus on, then it just doesn't leave as much time for nature.

Made my desicion. Took LA and Denver out of the picutre. I will land in San Francisco stay there for 3 nights. Have some friends where i can stay.

Then I will be off to Sequoia NP. I will stay one night in one of the lodges inside the park. Maybe the Montecito (any reviews).

Next day will drive to Death Valley NP. Looking for a place to stay. The oasis in Furnace Creek is a expensive for my budget. So looking for other options.

Next day to Vegas. Stay 2 nights. Then drive to Zion NP. Stay for 2 nights.

Then one night to Bryce Canyon and back to Vegas. Take flight there back to my country 2 days later through SF.

Trying not to do over do it, staying the nights recommended. Still need some tips on places to stay. Not the camping type.

Thanks to all for your help.

Have you considered going from DV direct to Zion and then just enjoy Vegas at the end of your trip ? I would also consider Yosemite NP as you are starting from SF. I would actually choose it over Sequoia NP and hope that the Tioga Pass is open (CA120) and cross the mountains and down to Death valley. I would also consider dropping Bryce canyon as great as it is. Whether you choose Yosemite or Sequoia your are back to the original problem of not having enough time to enjoy either park with the drives either side of your night stay. Bryce being the 'out of the way' option or you could leave SF a day earlier. For DV lodging you could look at Panamint Springs or Stovepipe Wells or else it will be Lone Pine before, or Pahrump after your visit.

I agree with Dave, if you're starting from San Francisco, then I'd certainly include Yosemite within your plans. There are groves of Sequoia Trees within Yosemite if that's your primary reason for going to Sequoia.

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back to Vegas. Take flight there back to my country 2 days later through SF.

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This part has me a bit confused. Your planning to spend 2 days in Vegas, then go to Utah, and then go back to Vegas for another 2 days? Or are you flying back to SF and spending 2 more days there?

Either way, rather than using those 2 days to spend more time in a city, I'd use it to spend more time in the parks - perhaps doing both Sequoia and Yosemite or adding the Grand Canyon to your plans (which I'd probably consider doing instead of Bryce anyway).

Zion NP or Bryce Canyon NP, tough choice and a very subjective choice. My wife and I both liked Bryce more than Zion, and would recommend two or three full days at Bryce, only one needed at Zion, unless you go on some long hikes. We let the weather dictate our choices: we visited Bryce during the summer due its much higher altitude and Zion during the Fall (much lower altitude) [The Zion/Bryce Canyon area ranges from 3,000 feet in elevation in Zion, to 8,000 and 9,000 feet elevation in Bryce Canyon.]

Zion NP has a number of hotels and eateries and outfitters right outside the gate. The gateway motels/restaurants were fewer in number and a little further for Bryce but not terribly so.

The truth is guys, I have already been to Yosemite when I was younger. I went there with my parents so I would like to get to Sequoia NP. Thinking about your advice on leaving SF one day earlier so i can get to the parks one more day.
From Vegas, thinking of driving straight to Bryce canyon and then come back to Zion.

I have to take a plane back from vegas to SF. that was what you were asking because my plain leaves from SF. Planning on spending one last night in SF. So will continue with inital idea of 2 nights in SF, 1 night in Sequoia, 1 in Death, 2 in vegas, and then see how i will do with bryce and zion becasue of all the mixed reviwes i have read about how many days you should spend in these 2 parks.

For a November trip you probably will be better off in the lower elevation Zion.

Bryce temps: http://www.intellicast.com/Local/His...ation=USUT0030
The higher elevations in Bryce would be even colder.

Zion temps: http://www.intellicast.com/Local/His...ation=USUT9755

Yes it's your trip and you must go with what works for you and your gut feeling and that's why each trip is unique to the individual and why you will get different opinions on things like 'Bryce or Zion'. Both parks are magnificent in there own way and I love both, but I enjoyed many short walks and easy strolls in Zion that were not long hikes but took up time ( Along the Virgin river, Emerald pools, Weeping rock for example) and in Bryce the beauty for me was from the overlooks that were all close to the road, the rim trail and Bryce Amphitheater. We arrived late afternoon and walked around the rim between Sunrise and Sunset points and the next morning drove to the far end of the canyon and visited all the viewpoints on the way back which puts them all on your side of the road and saves crossing traffic at every stop. We then strolled down a way to the Queens garden, went to Bryce Amphitheater and stood in awe for ages before departing later in the day. If you can split your time between the two you can't really go wrong but be aware that Bryce can be really cold because of elevation. I would still say you will get more time at them if you go from DV to Zion and spend your 2 nights in LV before flying back to SF.

Have a great trip !