Flying to Denver - Have 7 Full Days to Drive - Rocky Mountains Up North

[mnm2008]

Seeking suggestions --
Flying to Denver - Wanted to take a round trip back to Denver; Have 7 Days -- Just me n my wife (leaving the little one with Grand Parents)
Thinking off Yellowstone Natl Park; Glacier Natl Park; Banff National Park; Lake Louise and back to Denver.

I know 7 Days is too short, but my initial idea was to just drive around(I have plans to visit Yellowstone again during winter 2013).

Having said that - can anyone chime in where should i spend more time and what can be skipped?
Also how do the US Car rentals (Hertz) work in canada? Do i have to be up front about it?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You certainly have to be up front about taking a rental car across the border. You need to check the terms of your rental contract, but if it only allows travel in the US, then you would be essentially driving a stolen car if you take it into Canada (invalidating your insurance, and leaving you on your own if anything happens.)

Having said that, I don't think Canada can realistically be on your agenda unless you are significantly increasing your available time. Its basically 3 full days of driving each way from Denver just to make it to Banff, so you really would be doing nothing but driving. If the Canadian Parks are a priority, then perhaps you could look into flying into Calgary?

Even going to Glacier would be a good 4 days of driving total, which is more doable, but still very short for these very big places.

I think that 2-3 days is really a minimum just for Yellowstone, and that's a quick overview and not including the Tetons. While you might be visiting later, remember, in Winter most of the park is not reachable by car. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the Lake, and nearly all of the Geyser areas, including Old Faithful, are pretty much off limits in winter.

Considering your time, you might be better off looking at a bit shorter of a loop, perhaps doing yellowstone and the Black Hills/Badlands, or Yellowstone and Arches/Canyonlands. Those would give you roughly equal amounts of time driving vs. exploring.

[mnm2008]

I agree that was a greedy plan :) ; But Yellowstone in Winter seems to be very limited from your comments and further reading.. That was a good point.

[Southwest Dave]

With just 7 days available I would consider looking to places a lot closer to Denver. A nice loop that could be achieved in a couple of days dedicated to driving could include Rocky mountain NP, Colorado National Monument, Arches and Canyonlands NP's, [Utah] Mesa Verde NP CO, The spectacular Million dollar Highway [US550] from Durango through the mountain towns of Silverton and Ouray, Black canyon of the Gunnison, Currecanti National Recreation area, Royal Gorge Bridge [Canon City] Pikes Peak, Cave of the winds, Garden of the Gods [ Manitou Springs area] and back to Denver. You would have to pick and choose with your time limitations, but it could be more fun than spending more time in the car than out of it and it's quite spectacular driving. I think Yellowstone and Glacier deserve more time than you have to spare this time around.