Denver to Los Angeles in 7days

Hi all, planning a trip from Denver to LA. Hopefully landing in Denver on Thursday 14June 2013 by 12pm. would like to drive up to Mt Rushmore, Devils tower, Cody, Yellowstone, Montana, Jackson Hole, Utah( a lot that I'd like to see there), Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and LA. I'd like to be in LA by wednesday 20June

Is that too much for 6days or is it possible without just seeing the road?

Also the best routes- scenic where applicable- with their respective attractions?

All advice appreciated, Kyle from South Africa

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

It really is too much for the time you have available. Sure you could drive the route with 4 full days on the road but that will leave you little to no time at the places you wish to visit. You could spend 3 or 4 days in Yellowstone and a couple at the Grand canyon and only scratch the surface. If 6 days is all you have then you will need to cut back quite a bit to enjoy time out of the car. Given these circumstances I would consider keeping along the I70 corridor and visit places such as Rocky mountain NP, Colorado National Monument before heading into Southern Utah where you will find the natural wonders of Arches and Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce canyon and Zion NP's. You could then head to the north or south rim of the Grand canyon, Vegas and onto LA. With so much to see and do this would keep you more than busy enough and almost halve your mileage.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The American West is filled with great places to see, but it can be easy to underestimate just how big these places and the distances between them are. In your case, if you had twice the amount of time, you'd still be moving at a brisk pace to see everything you've got listed.

Just look at it this way, you've listed 8 places you want to see, and that doesn't include the specific things in Montana and Utah where you've said there is a lot you want to do. Even if you didn't have any driving to worry about, that would be tough to cram into 6 days, but you've got a lot of driving here. You'd need at least 4-5 days worth of driving just to cover the miles.

So, yes, you're going to have to dial things back a bit. I think the easiest way to do that is to stick to the many things that are directly between Denver and Los Angeles, like the many parks of Colorado and Utah, along with the Grand Canyon and Vegas. Even there, you're going to have to do some picking and choosing about which places you want to visit, but I think that needs to be your starting point with the amount of time you've got to work with.