Las Vegas/Durango/Albuquerque/Boulder/Grand Junction/Las Vegas

My wife and I are hoping to do the above trip in the Summer of 2011. We have 6 weeks from July 12th to June 22nd and start with 5 days in Las Vegas. After that we hope to drive the route above seeing as many new sights as possible. We love the desert and the mountains and have been to Denver once before and Las Vegas many times. We hope to stay at least a week each in Albuquerque, Durango and Boulder. The rest of the time will be devoted to catching as many not to be missed places as possible. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in anicipation.
Dave and Susan

elcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Six weeks is an abundant amount of time to have for just poking around, far more than we can possibly fill with recommendations. You can start with some of the major National Parks: Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Chaco Culture, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Bryce Canyon and Zion; add a few well chosen National Monuments: Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater, Wupatki, Canyon de Chelley, Yucca House, Petroglyph, and Colorado; throw in a good mix of state, native and local parks such as Valley of Fire, Monument Valley and Garden of the Gods; stop by the odd wildlife refuge, forest and conservation area; and still only scratch the surface in the area you'll be driving through. For local attractions in the cities where you'll be spending more time, just check with the local tourist information office, library or town hall. You will be as busy as you want and can stand.

AZBuck

Hi AZbuck and thanks for the reply. We are just back from spending September in Tucson! We love your town and the places around. Off to do some planning. Cheers from Scotland, Dave

Hi Dave, glad you found your way to the forums !

That's a nice amount of time you have for your trip, I'm jealous ! As Buck said, you won't be short of possibilities and you can create a nice loop, catching some amazing places along the way. Use the search function with key words [top right of page] and you can also scroll down where you will find "similar threads" which in turn will lead you too more, so repeat as necessary. You can also find planning, routes, attraction ideas etc in the tool bars above. Do a little digging around with a good map to hand, and as you build your trip and new question come up, just ask and we will help to fill in the blanks.

If you have the time you might find some ideas from our latest venture helpful.

[PS Can you keep your snow from blowing down South, we just can't cope with it down here ! ;-)

Hi Dave, Thanks for sharing your wonderful travelogue. We were in Denver in July 2000 and took a few day trips. One was to Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in the U.S. You can drive to 14,100 feet above sea level and walk up the remaining 100ft. to the summit. Another was through the Rocky Mountain National Park. Can't wait for Summer!
Cheers from Scotland, Dave
PS.... What snow? ;O)

Coming over to Las Vegas from Scotland in June. This is the first leg of a round trip from Las Vegas to Las Vegas. It seems a bit far for a one day trip and I was hoping someone could suggest a good place to stop over on the way. It looks like we will be heading out of Vegas on the 15 North towards St. George Utah. We could change this plan if this turns out to be a bad choice. We will be staying 10 days in Durango before driving down to Albuquerque.
Cheers,
Dave


Mod note] Please keep all questions regarding the same trip in the on thread, Thanks !

Hi Dave.

Heading up I 15 isn't a bad choice, past Zion NP, the Grand canyon North rim and through Page and by Monument valley, but you do have other options. Another would be to head over the Hoover dam and go by Grand canyon South rim, Monument valley and Four corners. There is very little in the time either route would take.

Whichever way you decide you could take the 'other way' back from Grand junction perhaps ?

It looks as though you prefer to stay for longer periods of time in one spot, but I would consider taking a little more time between your destination points and enjoy the journey in between, and less in time in Durango. An overnight stop heading on I 15 would put Page AZ 'somewhere in between' and heading to the South rim would make Cameron AZ [Trading post] a good spot.

I have merged your threads as it helps a great deal to give meaningful advice when members can see the whole picture.

My mapping software shows the fastest route from LV to Durango is I-15 to UT-9 - then either through or around Zion to US-89 to Page. An option here would be to visit the Grand Canyon North Rim. From Page, you would take AZ-98 to US-160 and follow that past 4 Corners to Cortez and Durango. An option here is take a detour through Monument Valley.

Going the other way, the Grand Canyon South Rim is an option.

I think it boils down to this - how many days are you willing to take to get from LV to Durango, how many hours a day are you willing to drive, and what might you want to see?

Thanks glc. I have a few restrictions which I am trying to fit in. I am now looking to get to Durango fast. Leaving Las Vegas on 17th June and arriving in Durango on the 19th June. Thinking about the route via Flagstaff and Tuba City to Durango. Staying in Durango for about 10 days before travelling down to Albuquerque. From Albuquerque down to Ruidoso NM for a few days and back to Albuquerque until July 7th. Then the Boulder visit followed by Grand Junction back to Vegas via I 70 and I 15 staying a couple of nights in Grand Junction and another two nights in Richfield UT . We may miss out Boulder and go directly to Grand Junction from Albuquerque. How does it all sound. I don't want to rush past everything.
Cheers from a chilly Scotland!

You are looking at right around 550 miles from LV to Durango. You can do this easily in 2 days with some limited sightseeing, and the drive time is pretty close on either major route - via Flagstaff or Page. Those would also be your most economical overnight choices.

If you go via Flagstaff, you could fill up the first day with a Hoover Dam tour, taking a look around Kingman, then taking old 66 from Kingman to Seligman. On the second day, you could go through Monument Valley or visit the 4 Corners tourist trap.

Just curious - why 2 nights in Grand Junction and 2 nights in Richfield? I can think of much better ways to spend your time between Boulder and LV.

Hi glc and thank you for your help. Grand Junction is to visit friends. Richfield because it looked about half way to Vegas from Grand Junction. Our Boulder stay with friends has fallen through so I now have to fill ten days with hotel stays somewhere between Albuquerque and Las Vegas via Grand Junction. That is what I am doing at the moment, finding possible places to stay.. Nothing is in stone from July 6th. ( leaving ABQ) to July 17th ( Arriving Las Vegas). Again, hanks for all your help. Cheers, Dave

Understand. There's no reason whatsoever to spend 2 nights in Richfield though. In fact, I wouldn't even go near there!

If you are going to be in Durango for 10 days, make sure you take a day trip up the Million Dollar Highway to Montrose and back.

From ABQ, you could then go visit Santa Fe and Taos. Go north from there on US-285/CO-17/US-285 to Poncha Springs, then take US-50 west to Grand Junction. You can visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the way.

From Grand Junction, you can go to Moab to see Arches and Canyonlands. Then you can head to Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon via Scenic UT-12, and Zion on your way to LV.

You may even be able to work in a visit to the Grand Canyon.

You have 10 days, you might as well take advantage of it rather than just driving down an Interstate highway and biding time in roadside motels.

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If you are going to be in Durango for 10 days, make sure you take a day trip up the Million Dollar Highway to Montrose and back

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This is a great drive, but you might want to make a [full] day of it and drive the 'San Juan Skyway' that includes the 'Million dollar' section and makes a complete loop. You only need to go as far as Ridgway on US 550 and then to CO62/145 and detour to the mountain town of Telluride and to Dolores, an incredible drive !

Hi glc, Could I run my plan past you and see what you think. A little local knowledge goes a long way.
We leave Las Vegas on Friday 17th and will probably drive to Flagstaff or Tuba City where we will stay on Friday night. Saturday we will complete our trip to Durango ,hopefully arriving on Saturday late afternoon. We will stay in Durango as long as you can allow us to. At least the 28th June, a day or two later if you can. from Durango we travel down to Albuquerque where we will stay until Sunday 10th. We drive North from Albuquerque to Taos where we will spend Sunday night, before continuing North on US-285/CO-17/US-US/285 to Poncha Springs before heading West on US-50 to Grand Junction. We have yet to chose a place to stay on that trip. So Monday Night will be spent somewhere on that trip from Poncha Springs to Grand Junction.
We will stay in Grand Junction for a day or two before heading off for Moab and visits to Arches and Canyonlands. Then the trip from Moab to Bryce Canyon via Capitol Reef and UT-12 . Still not sure If I should enjoy the scenic drive in a day or stop somewhere on route. Overnight near Bryce Canyon and visit the following day before heading off to Zion. Another overnight and then down to Las Vegas.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave

Hi Dave, I plan to. Thanks for the tip. Dave

Flagstaff is going to be considerably cheaper and have a much greater lodging selection than Tuba City. LV to Flagstaff is about 4.5 hours, add 1 hour if you take old 66 from Kingman to Seligman. I'd allow 7 hours to get from Flagstaff to Durango via 89 and 160.

Taos to GJ can actually be done in 1 day without sightseeing, it's about a 7 hour drive. If you wanted to go through the Black Canyon, you could spend the night in Montrose and head through there the next day on the way to GJ.

Moab to Bryce via UT-12 can be done in one day, including a quick trip through Capitol Reef. If you wanted to make it more leisurely, there are a few places to stay in Torrey.

Almost finished the planning! One last question. We leave Taos early on 8th July and head for Grand Junction. There seem to be several ways to do this trip especially since we have an overnight somewhere between the two places. We plan to arrive in Grand Junction sometime on the 9th of July to visit friends. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Since you will have already spent considerable time in Durango (and environs) then your best bet would be to head north hugging the Front Range on US-285/C_17 to Great Sand Dunes National Park and then take scenic US-50 west and overnight in Gunnison. The next day continue on through Curecanti National Recreation Area and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and on to Grand Junction.

AZBuck

That's a nice route laid out by Buck, but you could go through Questa on NM522 to CO159 to Fort Garland on route to the Great sand dunes, it's slightly shorter. That will take you through San Luis where up on the hill is the 'Stations of the cross shrine'. I found it quite an interesting stop and the bronze sculptures are quite amazing.

Your friends in Grand junction will want to show you around I expect, but a short journey from there you can take an interesting and scenic rim drive around the Colorado National Monument.

With the number of National parks on the 'to do' list, it will make financial sense to by the annual pass for $80 from the kiosk of the first park you visit, it would have paid for itself after entering your 4th major NP.

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

... go through Questa on NM522 to CO159 to Fort Garland on route to the Great sand dunes, it's slightly shorter. That will take you through San Luis where up on the hill is the 'Stations of the cross shrine'. I found it quite an interesting stop and the bronze sculptures are quite amazing.

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That is the route I took, without knowing anything about the area. When I stumbled upon the Stations of the Cross Shrine, it blew me away. Well worth the climb to the top, and a visit to the colourful chapel, not to mention the view from the top.

Thanks everyone for all the information again. I am now at a place called Saguache and need to decide which way to go. The 285 and then the 50 over Monarch Pass or the 114 directly to Gunnison. I am tempted to go the 114 but will listen to advice. You guys have been really helpful and when we get back I will be boring you with the details of the trip! Next decvision is what type of car to hire.

I have not travelled on the 114, but the ride over the continental divide at Monarch pass is very pleasant and a good place to stop for the views and store. There is also the Mornach crest gondola ride during the summer months. Some info here.

A lot will depend on your plans and timing for the other part of the day and knowing your options is great, but some things can be left open to change as you are on the road. It will take about 45 mins longer going via Poncha Springs plus any time spent at Mornarch, but is still under a 2.5 hour drive.