Ashland, OR to Sedona for Spring Break.

[Lakasha]

My boyfriend and I are planning a road trip to visit his mother in Sedona over Spring Break (March 21st to March 31st). We are on a fairly tight budget so will be trying to do as much camping as possible.

Currently my biggest question is where is a good spot to stop along the way from Ashland, OR to Vegas... the chances are fairly good that we won't be able to leave Ashland till at the earliest 4 pm.. I am willing to put in about 4-5 hours max driving time on Friday. I know Google Maps prefers the route through Reno but I am not so sure this route is really faster or better in any way so I haven't actually decided whether to go that way or through Sacramento. I suppose staying overnight in San Fransisco/Sacramento area could work.. we are also both very experienced campers so anyplace that would be a great spot to wake up Sat morning would work for us that isn't too far of a drive from Vegas. We would like to spend a couple nights in Vegas either on the way there or on the way back..

There is a whole ton of stuff we would both love to see along the way so we are only planning on spending a couple days in Sedona so any places that are must sees while there?? (maybe going to Oak Creek Canyon, Bell Rock Montezuma Castle/Well, and Red Rock State Park while in Sedona)...

We of course want to visit the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Staircase, Escalante and maybe Lake Powell/Glen Canyon???? I am thinking maybe staying somewhere near Kanab for a couple of days would be the easiest way to get around in Southern Utah.. My boyfriend is an avid climber and loves bouldering so we will likely be doing a lot of that in Utah.

Anyhow.. how realistic a plan is this and any suggestions on other ideas etc. Is there enough time to do all this or am I being overly optimistic.

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forums!

I think your expectations for the amount of traveling and sightseeing that you will be able to do in ten days are a bit much. Adding in a stop in San Francisco as opposed to going through Reno would add at least 200 miles to your trip.

Since you will be leaving late the first day, it's going to take roughly three days to get to Sedona, and you will be spending two days there. Figure on two days to get back, and you've already spent seven days out of the ten that you have.

[Lakasha]

For some reason I was thinking we could get to Vegas at some point Sat and then it was only a short drive to Sedona from there didn't realize I was looking at 3 days of driving to get to Sedona.

It is starting to seem that it may perhaps be cheaper to fly from Medford, OR to Vegas and then rent a car there to head to Sedona and Southern Utah..

Any sites I shouldn't miss along the way.