Northren Utah to LA California

[tonibug1616]

Hey everyone! I am new to this site and road trip planning so hopefully all works out for us. A group of us are planning a roadtrip end of June from Logan, UT to Los Angeles, CA. End destination is Manhattan beach. It only takes about 12 hours but we wanted some fun and random stops and sites to see along the way. Any suggestions? Or any idea on where to find information?

Thanks!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

It's a recurring topic here. Computer based time estimates are a joke. So forget 12 hours, especially if you were thinking you could do this nearly 800 mile drive in a day. You need to set aside two full days for this trip. That will leave you a little time for some short time outs, but considering you'll have to navigate almost the entire L.A. Basin on your way to Manhattan Beach, not a lot. For example, unless you add a third day, it's probably not worth your while to try to squeeze in a visit to Zion National Park.

AZBuck

[Southwest Dave]

You would need a helicopter to get there in that time. An hour for lunch and 2 x 30 min pit stops to fill with gas, go to the bathroom and have a mental/ physical break would mean having to average almost 80mph. To do that, and get through LA without a police escort, would mean having to see well into triple digit numbers on your speedo.

Putting the 12 hours aside, how many day's can you [want to] make available for the trip ? We can then make some suggestions.

[tonibug1616]

Well thankfully we are in no hurry. Good to know not to rely on the computer time estimates. LA traffic is what we were most worried about and sounds like it is crazy. 3-4 days on the road is what we are looking at now to be ideal. We are then spending a week in LA/beach. Then 3-4 days on the way back.

[Southwest Dave]

You have quite a few options, and can explore more by taking a different route in each direction. I suggest you do a little research to find what suits the interests of the group. National parks could for instance include, Zion, Bryce canyon, where you could head through Page [Antelope canyon/Lake Powell] to the South rim of the Grand canyon, or simply visit the North rim, head through Zion and down through Vegas. Between Vegas and LA there is Mojave National preserve plus many more options. Returning you could head through Death valley, the Great basin NP and up past Bonneville Salt flats to US 50 and create a loop.

These are just a few of many options, so do a little research and discuss things as a group, and then we will be pleased to fill in any of the blanks. You could also consider taking 6 days one way and 2 the other depending on your tastes.