Fall Travel from Boston to the Grand Canyon and back

Hi, we are new to this Forum and hope that someone may give us some much needed advice. We plan to rent a car to travel from Boston to the Grand Canyon in mid-October. We have a total of 15 days. We thought about flying out to AZ and traveling from there, but we would really love to show the family the best of America. We have teens interested in US History, and we are interested in sites of natural beauty. The idea of small town America is really appealing, so we probably won't stop in any major cities. Is it realistic for us to make this journey given our time restrictions? We thought we might travel northern routes on the outbound leg and southern routes back east. Would love to rent an RV, but cost, plus insurance (non-resident drivers), plus gas, is prohibitive. Will most likely stay in motels/hotels along the way. Have looked at the AAA website for route planning. But really unclear which is best route. Also, any idea how many days it will take to make it to the canyon, given that we would like to see a sight or two along the way each day. Any suggestions would be greatly apprreciated. Many thanks!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Yes, you can make a great trip to the Grand Canyon and back in two weeks, and while much of it will be driving, you'll be driving through varied (and beautiful) parts of the country with time to make the occasional stop on the way and still have a few days at the Canyon. For a 'northern' route you might want to look at I-90/I-80/I-76 to Denver and then I-70 across the Rockies, using US-191 to head south past Arches National Park and Monument Valley to the Canyon. And for a 'southern' route, I-40/I-44 to St. Louis and then I-70/I-81/I-84 back home (or vice versa). Either of those routes could be driven in 5 days, but allocating 6 to each allows you time to stop at the many attractions along them and still have 2-3 days in northern Arizona.

AZBuck

AZ Buck, thank you for your response. I was beginning to feel doubtful about the trip but am looking forward to it once again now that I know it is doable. Just a few more wee questions if you don't mind:

*Is it possible for you to suggest a good, accurate, up-to-date, easy to read, State-byState road map? I will be hopefully downloading a Trip-tick based on your suggestions, but a good lamintated map is invaluable.

*Will the route that you suggest allow us to take in Bryce Canyon and Zion? I've read that they are fabulous.

*We are a family of five, and have encountered problems booking rooms to accomodate us, any 'large' families out this with suggestions to get around this? Also, in terms of budgeting, what is a good ball-park figure for hotels/motels on the road?

Thank you, what a wonderful forum!

Appologies, a few more questions:

*from reading other posts I understand that winter conditions could hinder road travel in early November. Are there any road alerts that we should know about given our estimated traveling dates:
Boston to Grand Canyon October 18-23
Grand Canyon to Boston October 26 to October-November 1

*Ball-park figure on miles we should travel each day? Speed limit on interstate roads?

Thank you again

If you want to visit Bryce and Zion, just continue west on I-70, rather than going south at Arches. US-89 will take you near both parks, and down towards the Grand Canyon.

For a good laminated map, I've got the Truckers version of the Rand McNally atlas. It costs a bit more than the standard paperback atlas (which you can get for about $5) but its laminated and spiral bound so it holds up extremely well. My 07 version is still going strong - and I my maps get a whole lot of use and abuse. Atlases made by American Maps have also gotten high marks on this site.

We generally recommend keeping your driving distances to 500-600 miles per day. Interstate speed limits will typically be 65 mph in the east, and 70-75 in the west.

The one area where weather will be a big concern is if you are planning to visit the North Rim. By late October, the north rim is starting to shut down for the year, and it will be in reduced services mode until snow eventually forces the closure of the highway. If you are only planning to stop at the South Rim, this won't be a problem at all. Otherwise, there is a chance you could see snow elsewhere along your trip, but that's just going to depend upon the luck of the forecast.

Consider 500-600 miles a day to be equal to roughly 9-10 hours on the road. When driving at the speed limit you will not be able to maintain Interstate limits as an average speed over long distances by the time you add in time for rest breaks and to fill with gas etc. As an example; if you were to travel for 10 hours at 70 mph and only stopped for 1.5 hours in total [lunch and a couple of short breaks] your average speed would only average out to just under 60mph.

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We are a family of five, and have encountered problems booking rooms to accomodate us

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Generally, local fire codes limit occupancy of a hotel room to 4 people. This site may help you find a way around that.

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what is a good ball-park figure for hotels/motels on the road?

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A ballpark figure is hard to come up with, as room rates vary widely with location and quality. For rough budgeting, I'd figure $100 a night being that you may have to book 2 rooms in some locations.

Midwest M, thanks for tips on Maps, mileage and weather; Southwest D, thanks for further tips on mileage, really great to have this expert knowledge; GLC, this link is a great resource, We have always had a difficult time finding a good place to fit us all. I plan to put this link to good use to find accomodation that will suit my family. Thankyou for helping us out. I am gathering more info and questions all the time, is it ok to come back in a few days with more questions?

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Appologies, a few more questions

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No need to apologise ;-)

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I am gathering more info and questions all the time, is it ok to come back in a few days with more questions?

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Of course it is, we are here to help each other.

As well as searching the forums, [you can use the search function and scroll down the page where you will find "similar threads" ] don't forget to look around the rest of the RTA site where you will find lots of info and suggestions on road tripping techniques, routes, budgeting and so on. All this can be found in the tool bars near the top of the page, but when I say the "rest of the site" keep in mind that I have been here a while now and I am still discovering new pages !

Have fun !

Thanks SW Dave.
I've been on the AAA triptik looking at our first stop en route which will be Niagara Falls. Looking at the next stop, it will most likely be in the Chicago area. The Triptik brings me through Canada for this. Would I be better off staying in US-I-90, considering immigration stops etc? Also, not very interested in going into Chicago because of the potential nightmare of finding our way around, any suggestions on where to look for lodging either before or after we reach Chicago?
Looking at accomodation in the Grabd Canyon village, looks like they are booked for our dates, but will phone them in the hopes that something opens up. If not, has anyone stayed at Tusayan? Any good? Or should we opt for Williams? All we want is a decent, clean place, we hope to be out and about in the Canyon most of the time.
Lastly (for now) on our return to Boston, we think we will take I-40/I-44 to Saint Louis, as recommended by AZBuck, however, if we were to head instead for Tennessee (Memphis and Nashville) and from here for a route leading to a stop over in Washington DC, would we be expecting too much. in terms of fitting our travel back to Boston in only six days of driving.
Thankyou!

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)

Add 20% to those drive times and reevaluate your plans. It does look quite doable but you are going to be on the road for considerably longer than you think.

Thank you GLC,

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Add 20% to those drive times and reevaluate your plans

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We will go back and rethink this.

Perhaps we can stretch it out to include an additional overnight. The first day is ok, we'll make a straight run on the Mass Pike (Sunday morning going west should be ok), but the next three can be readjusted. Suggestions are welcome. In October the nights will be drawing in, say 4-ish?, as we will be arriving in strange places in the dark, we would prefer to make reservations, at least initially.

Still doing our research, but if anyone has thoughts on 'must see' locations off I-70 in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, your contribution is welcome. Also interested in nice mom and pop shops, local cuisine, quirky, unique places to see. Except for maybe Saint Louis and Denver, we plan to skirt around Cities.

Thanks so much as always

October is still in Daylight Saving Time, so there is still light until about 6pm even at the end of the month. At the start of the month, you'll have daylight until around 7. However, it should also be noted that the sun doesn't rise until after 7 am for most of the month.

Ohio Amish Country

Hi, back again with more questions. En route from Niagara Falls we plan to divert onto US 77 south (at Cleveland OH) to Dover were we hope to explore some of the Scenic Byway of Amish Country. I viewed a post from last year, and looked at a link kindly provided by AZ Buck, which outlines some of the route we intend to take. Would it make sense for us to backtrack back to US 77 and then south to US 70 (our intended route of choice westwards) or should we head to route 71, then south. Either way we'll converge on Columbus OH, I'm just looking for the most direct and efficient route once our sojourn on the Scenic Byway is over.

On another topic altogether, I've read that the winds on route 70 in Kansas west of Salina can blow fairly hard on occaision. "Strong enough to knock over 18 wheelers" (direct quote from my USA travel book). Any one experienced this? Is there a number we can ring for alerts as we go through? Should we plan alternate route just in case? If so, any suggestions. Many thanks, as usual.

Yes, it certainly is possible to see strong wind storms anywhere across the plains - and really most anywhere across the country but the plains would be the most common area.

However, as with anything, you need to keep things in perspective. First, 18 wheelers have tall and long trailers that can act a lot like a kite when you get bad wind, the effect on a car is not nearly as severe.

Alternate routes are not applicable in this case, because you are talking about specific storms. Its not like going across I-80 will be devoid of wind, while I-70 gets hit with severe wind every day. As with any weather event, be it strong wind, heavy rain, tornados, or winter conditions, you need to play it by ear, and most importantly use common sense. If you find yourself in a storm, pull off the road and/or seek shelter until conditions improve.

quick techno questions: what is the best kind of cell phone to purchase (pay as you go, non-bill model) which is most likely to give decent coverage across the states? We want to bring our Sony laptop, is it possible to purchase an american charger for it? thanks

I use Tracfone, and I've been happy with the service. Its about the cheapest option out there, and since they contract with a variety of companies, I can think of very few areas where I haven't had service. The biggest downside with them is that the choice of phones tends to be pretty limited and are usually very basic models. They also run Net 10, which is basically the same thing just a slightly different rate structure. Just keep in mind that when you're out in really remote areas, there will often be no cell service at all. Verizon's service is also pretty good in terms of coverage areas. I've been much less impressed with ATT which is great in cities, but has some pretty large gaps in more rural areas.

Rather than purchase an American specific charger for your laptop, I'd look at getting a generic power converter that plugs right into the outlet. That way you can use all the electronics you might want to bring with you, and it would probably be less expensive.

Thanks for the tip on the track phone, I looked it up on the Target website, we can pick it up when we arrive in boston. The idea of the general adapter sounds good too, so we will probably get that on this side of the pond. One month and counting!

Look at your current power pack for your laptop - most are rated 100-240v, 50/60 Hz. If so, all you need is a plug adapter for our style outlets. We use 115v 60 Hz here.

Here is our itinerary, If you care to comment, make helpful suggestions, etc, please do.

Day 1: Boston to Niagara Falls, New York side only: 470 miles - 8 hours drive time
Day 2: Niagara to Dover OH, to Rt 39 (Americas Scenic Byway) to see Amish countryside, then on to Columbus OH and then I-70 to Richmond IN- 509, drive time 8 hours
Day 3: Richmond to St Louis, St. Louis to Columbia MO: 442 miles, drive time 7.25 hours
Day 4: Columbia MO to Oakley KS: 476 miles, 7.75 drive hours
Day 5: Oakley KS to Grand Junction CO: 495 miles, 8.5 drive hours
Day 6: Grand Junction to Moab(Arches N.P.): 113 miles, 2 drive hours
Day 7: Moab to Grand Canyon, via Monument Valley: 326 miles, 5 drive hours
Day 8: Grand canyon: NO driving!
Day 9: Grand Canyon to sedona, to Montezuma Castle N.M., to Petrified Forest N.P. to Hubbell
Trading Post to Gallup (will most likely add a night somewhere here given the
ammount of sights visited): 441 miles, 8.5 drive hours
Day 10:Gallup to Amarillo: 424 miles, 6.75 drive hours
Day11:Amarillo to Van Buren AR: 445 miles, 7 hours
Day12:Van Buren Ar to Hot Springs N.P., via 270 and Ouachita N.F. to Little Rock, to Memphis
331 miles, 6 drive hours
Day13: Memphis to Nashville to Gatlinburg (Smoky Mntns N.P.): 428 miles, 7.25 drive hours
Day14:Gatlinburg to Washington DC: 487 miles, 7.5 drive hours
Day 15:Washington DC to Boston, 442 miles, 7 hours

We may not have time for Washington DC so may have to scrap this option.
What do ye think?

I'm afraid you are still underestimating drive times - did you add the 20%? There is no way you are going to get from Moab to the Grand Canyon in 5 hours, for example. That would require a 65 mph average - which is totally unrealistic. It's mostly single track highways with the highest speed limit you are going to see being 65, and sections through towns to deal with.

Thanks for that local knowledge GLC. We have tweeked a bit more, and extended drive times, in addition we have planned for routine stops and sightseeing stops each day. We hope that we can make it to the canyon in the six days. Two and 1/2 weeks to go.