LA- Roundtrip via Sedona, Denver, Las vegas, San fran and national parks

[erossiter]

Hi all
I have done lots of research and searched through all the forums always uncovering more amazing places to visit.
My husband to be and I are travelling for 4 weeks round trip LA- LA after our Wedding, So we will be in the USA on the 2nd of April.
It would really help if anyone can see some improvements/ suggestions to our plan :-)

Flying to LAX- 1 night stay near the airport

LAX- Sedona (3 nights inlcuding 1 night stopover along the way)

Sedona- Grand canyon south rim- 2 nights

Grand canyon to Sante fe (3 nights inlcuding 1 night stopover along the way)

Santa fe to Colorado springs - 2 nights

Colorado springs to Denver- 2 nights

Denver- Bryce national park/ or Zion depending on Weather conditions (3 nights inlcuding 1 night stopover along the way)

Bryce- Las Vegas- 3 nights

Las vegas- Bishop via Death valley - 1 night

Bishop- Yosemite national park - 1 night in Yosemite somewhere

Yosemite national park - San francisco- 4 nights

San franciso via coastal road to LA- 3 nights

LA and disneyland- 3 nights

According to google maps this is a 3398 mile trip/ taking 59 hours of driving. So to me this is doable in a Month!
We do love national parks but don't want to spend more than a day/night at each, due to the time we have.

We are hoping to rent a mustang! Is this trip ok to do in a mustang? No need for Jeep or SUV?

[Southwest Dave]

You will add quite a few miles just driving around the NP's and City's, but even so your trip is going to be quite easy to achieve with a month. Remember also that drive times that come from a computer are wildly optimistic when it comes to 'real world' driving. Again, your journeys are all perfectly doable just allow longer, 20% longer is normally a safe bet.

With a stopover from LA you could possibly visit Joshua Tree NP and on the way to Santa Fe, you could possibly include Monument valley and Four corners.

It would be possible to visit both Bryce and Zion NP and I would recommend doing so. You could break the journey with an overnight in Moab and visit Arches or Canyonlands NP and then take Utah scenic 12 to Bryce canyon.

Bishop is not an ideal place to stay on route to Yosemite, simply because you will not be able to cross the Sierra Nevada on CA120 [Tioga Pass] when you travel. It will be closed due to winter snow accumulation and you will have to go south around the mountains. Lake Isabella would be an option but you could push a little further. With travel times I would actually recommend another night in Yosemite, or close by.

You won't need a Jeep/SUV for your trip. An ordinary mid-size Sedan would do the job just fine as will a Mustang if it has room for all your gear, although usualy you only rent a 'class' of vehicle rather than a specific make and model so you would have to check that out.

[Midwest Michael]

We do love national parks but don't want to spend more than a day/night at each, due to the time we have.

I've got to say, if you love National Parks, it seems like you're skipping some very popular options and spending pretty large amount of time in cities.

You are spending multiple days in every city you visit, which works out to more than half of your trip, which when you factor in the driving, means relatively speaking, you're not spending very much time in National Parks at all. That's not a problem, if you prefer cities, it just seems odd when you say you love national parks.

If it were me, I'd really be trying to hit more of the national parks in the area that you haven't listed - including Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, and Rocky Mountain NP, to name a few.

Your trip as you've listed it is certainly workable - except for the stop in Bishop that Dave mentioned - but you might think about making some changes to include a few of those other amazing natural wonders.

[erossiter]

Excellent thanks for the help guys! I agree and have decided to spend less time in the cities.

[erossiter]

Hi,
We have spent the last 6 months planning for our honeymoon trip next April! The plan has changed many times!
I think I have planned it all out now.

We are very excited.

I have booked a car from LA ending in San francisco for 20 days.

Here's the plan! Would love to know of any obvious exclusions or improvements.

Day 1- LA drive to Sedona (stopover night along the way! any suggestions?)
Day 2- Finish the drive to Sedona and explore Sedona
Day 3- Explore Sedona
Day 4- Grand Canyon- Stay overnight in Flagstaff as expensive in NP
Day 5- Drive to Las Vegas (Stop to see Hoover dam)
Day 6- Las Vegas
Day 7- Drive to Lake Tahoe via Death valley (stop somewhere along the way, any suggestions?)
Day 8- Lake Tahoe
Day 9- Lake Tahoe
Day 10- Drive to Yosmite (mostly a driving day)
Day 11- Explore Yosemite
Day 12- Explore Yosemite
Day 13- Drive to LA
Day 14- LA tourist things
Day 15- Disneyland
Day 16- Coast road to San francisco stopover where takes our fancy!
Day 17- Coast road (Big sur area)
Day 18- Coast road
Day 19- San Francisco
Day 20- San Francisco
Day 21- San Francisco (fly out)

Thanks everyone :-)

Mod note ] Please keep all questions regarding this trip in one thread !

[Southwest Dave]

Is there a reason for going all the way down to LA and then back up the coast to San Fran ? It would seem to make more sense to go to SF from Yosemite and then down the coast to LA and finish your trip where you started. It would save miles and possibly money, plus the Ocean would be on your side of the road heading south.

Otherwise it looks good with Bishop making a good choice for a stopover on route to Tahoe.