Help to plan a solo road trip for 16 days

[touristdrive]

Hi All,
It felt great to find this wonderful website and forum.
I am in Chicago and would love to do a road trip starting and finishing at Chicago. I would like to see the nature and countryside of the US. It would be great if you could give me suggestions. Also, this will be a solo trip :)
Thanks in advance

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

We're glad you want to get out on the road, but you just haven't given us nearly enough information for anyone to be able to provide any useful suggestions.

Among the things we need to know, at minimum, how much time and money do you have available for this trip?

Next, you have to give us a little bit of help to narrow things down. There are literally millions of places you could go to "see the nature and countryside of the US." Are there some specific places you know you want to visit? A part of the country you want to see? A general direction you've thought about going? The amount of time and money you have available will of course have an impact on what is possible, but without having some general ideas of what you want and can do, no one is going to be able to be able much in the way of useful suggestions.

[touristdrive]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I have 16 days to start and return to Chicago. I have a car of my own (gives around 25mpg) and would like to stay in tent or motels. So budget would be around $1000 not sure if this is good or should I need more.

I was thinking about driving to Rocky Mountain National Park -> Aspen -> Grand Canyon National Park -> Zion National Park -> Fish Lake National Forest -> Yellowstone ->Mt. Rushmore -> Chicago.

Is it too ambitious? This is more like a soul searching trip and I would want to be with nature and the American countryside along the route. I don't think I will be getting like 2.5 weeks off any more and hence want to make use of it.

(Also, I was looking at google maps and in route from Aspen to Grand Canyon, it passes through Navajo Nation. Is it safe to travel through Navajo Nation? (I am not an US citizen)

Thanks.

[AZBuck]

That's Navajo for 'Yes and No'.

You're looking at about eight days worth of driving to complete your loop RoadTrip and return to Chicago, leaving you a full eight days to spend actually at and exploring the places you'll be driving to. Time is not so much of a problem for your proposed trip, although there are so many places along your route that are worth investigating, that you simply won't have time for them all, including Devils Tower, Wind and Jewel caves, the Little Bighorn Battlefield, Grand Tetons National Park, Great Salt Lake, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches National Park, Colorado National Monument, Rocky Mountain National Park, and the old Oregon Trail,

Costs: You'll need roughly $450 just for gas, somewhere between $350 (for rough campsites in state parks and national forests) to $1000 (for decent motels each night) for lodging. Food would be another $600 or so, although you could lower that a bit by bringing a cooler and restocking is at local supermarkets. Then there are park admissions and other incidentals. There's just not much chance of really enjoying this trip on a minimal budget of $1000 total.

As far as your safety on the Navajo (and Hopi and Shoshone) tribal lands that you'll be traversing, I'm not sure why you should think that they would be any less safe than any other part of the country that you'll be driving through. They certainly don't care that you're not a US citizen, and in all probability you won't even be aware when you drive onto or off of their lands.

AZBuck

[touristdrive]

Hi AZBuck,

Thank you for your reply.

Would getting rid of Aspen, Grand Canyon and Zion be a good idea? I have been reading that Aspen is best for Ski and it is so so during May.

I was thinking of making it a relatively short drive and came up with Chicago->Rocky Mountains->Great Salt Lake->Grand Tetons->Yellowstone->Big Horn & Devils Tower->Mt Rushmore->Chicago
Could you please tell me what would be a sufficient time to spend at Rocky and Yellowstone? I was thinking of 4 days at each place and hence wouldn't be able to venture deep into Utah (Bryce, Arches & Monument valley).

Increasing the budget to $2000 would be sufficient (along with tent, cooler etc)?

Thank you

[Southwest Dave]

That sounds like the makings of a nice road trip now. If SLC is an important part of your trip then it's doable, but by the time you add the mileage and time there I would probably skip that. You have a reasonable amount of time but by the time you have detoured into parks etc you still have about a weeks worth of driving and I would recommend 4 days for Yellowstone and the Tetons and at least 2 days in RMNP which is 13 of your 16 days accounted for, leaving 3 days to wander to the other attractions of which you could add Badlands NP to the list.

[touristdrive]

Thank you for your reply.

I think I will skip Salt Lake City and probably give time for me to rest and enjoy amidst the long drive.

The tentative route is Chicago->Rocky Mountain->Grand Tetons->Yellowstone->Drive through Bighorn->visit Devil's tower->Mt Rushmore and Custer lake (Badland national park)->Chicago

I am confused as to how many days would be required from Yellowstone to Chicago through Bighorn, Devil's tower, Mt Rushmore and Custer Lake, and also where do I need to make a halt. Also, if all these 4 are worth the time.

P.S. I am trying to see if I can start the trip on May 11 which is 3 days from now. Guess I need to do a super fast planning and arrangements with all your help :)

Also, is it possible to combine camping with folks at Rocky mountain? I am traveling alone but wanted to see if I can camp with a group. Just thinking out loud.

Thanks.

[noFanofCB]

The camping season doesn't really begin in RMNP until after Memorial Day (appx 1 June).

Some of the campgrounds might still have snowbanks in them and the road over the top of the ridge (E to W) is still closed. Maybe they've started plowing it or it might be a bit early for even that. I've been snowed out of backpacking trips in RMNP as late as the weekend of the 4th of July though I was at higher altitude than the car-camping campgrounds.

I was out motorcycling over the weekend and found that most of the National Forest campgrounds west of Fort Collins (north of RMNP) aren't yet open even if they aren't snow covered. That might change in the next 2 weeks as the hired campground hosts arrive.

I have little experience about sharing campsites but that doesn't sound as likely to work in the US as it might in Europe. I think that in general people in the US are camping to get away from people rather than to meet new ones. (but I could be mistaken about that)

You might want to consider being flexible about the trip. Start out with a wish list of places then assess it each night to decide if the long drive is worth the next place or whether you might want to drive less and visit more stops such as museums and monuments nearby.

I can't blame you for wanting to get out of Chicago!

[landmariner]

touristdrive,

Given that many of the northern latitude and high elevation national parks are probably not open or have limited campground services during your early- to mid-May timeframe, it might be worthwhile to plot out more of a Southwest USA road trip. That still likely rules out the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (due to elevation) as it opens with only limited services on May 15th. You should also be prepared for some cold weather camping.

Mesa Verde National Park, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Capital Reef NP, Monument Valley, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP and Colorado National Monument should all be in-play (but visit their websites and check on park availability and campground availability).

Recommend grabbing a Southwest USA Guidebook (Moon, Lonely Planet, etc.) which can quickly provide information about operating seasons, hiking, camping, and more.