In 2022, we made a cross country road trip to move our son to California. We hit seven national parks and some great state parks along the way.
I made notes about what we liked and what we wouldn’t repeat to help you with your travel plans. As our son was starting a new job, we had to make the drive in the summer. Unfortunately, it was too hot to do some of the hikes we had in mind. If you could do this trip in the fall or spring, I think it would be perfect! Even without the hikes, there are so many viewpoints that it is well worth visiting all of the parks! My notes made after our trip appear in green.
California Road Trip
June 4th – Day One – Saturday – Leave at 5:30 am – Drive to Fort Morgan, Colorado (approx. 13 hours, 33 mins) (929 miles) – did not make hotel reservations, as we wanted to see how far we could drive
June 5th – Day Two – Sunday – Eat Breakfast – Leave at 9am – Drive to The Grottos Trail (.6 mile loop) near Aspen, Colorado (approx. 3 hours, 50 mins) (227 miles) – nice, short hike, pretty
Drive to Weller Lake Trail(1.1 mile) (12 mins) – very pretty, nice, short hike
Drive to North Star Nature Preserve – Park in South Gate Put In/Take Out Lot – take East of Aspen Trail along road to get to James H. Smith Nature Trail (.57 miles) (12 mins) – pretty, but we ended up at the wrong entrance – we were a little tired, so we didn’t bother going to the correct one
Drive to Annabelle Inn– 232 W. Main St – free breakfast, wifi, 2 outdoor jacuzzis (approx. 8 mins) (2.4 miles)–paid– booked – check in 3pm – check out 11 am – cute, nice place to stay
Dinner – Hickory House Ribs– 730 W. Main St. Aspen – dine in, outdoor dining (ribs, BBQ, catfish, pork, chicken) – food just ok
Paradise Bakery – open until 9pm – dessert – 320 S. Galena St. – did not do
June 6th – Day Three – Monday – Eat Breakfast – Drive to Maroon Bells (22mins – 10.4mi) – hike either Maroon Bells Scenic Loop (2 miles) or Crater Lake Trail (3.5 miles) – Make Reservation on April 12th – Must arrive before 8 am and leave by 4:30 – we did both and added upper scenic lake trail, LOVED, our favorite hike
Drive to Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge (1 hour 10 mins) (49.4 miles)– fridge, microwave, breakfast, wifi – access to springs, towel rental $5/towel – will charge when booking for one night stay – may cancel 48 hours prior – check in after 4, check out by noon – booked – standard hotel, booked because we wanted to use the hot springs, which were great after our long day of hiking
Rent bikes for the Glenwood Canyon Trail – Canyon Bikes $12.99/hour/bike (2 hour minimum) located next to hotel – did not do
June 7th – Day Four – Tuesday – Eat Breakfast – Drive to Arches National Park, Utah (approx. 3 hours) Moab – Take Route 70 to Exit 214 (HWY 128) (134 miles to byway) ( 52.4 miles) – Colorado River Scenic Byway – Reservation 12 – 1 entry time – must enter within time frame, once entered may enter and exit as often as we’d like – the scenic byway was beautiful! Loved Arches!
Scenic Drive in Park – beautiful!
Stop at Visitor Center to ask about Ranger Star Gazing Program, if can’t find online, on way in or way out. (right) – restrooms, drinking water – stop at all of the lookouts, only takes a few minutes and the views at each one are different and worth taking a look
Moab Fault Overlook (right) (3 mins) (1.2 miles)
Park Ave Viewpoint (left) (3 mins) (1mile)
La Sal Mountains Viewpoint (right) (2 min) (.5 mile)
Courthouse Towers Viewpoint (right) (3 mins) (1.2 miles)
Tower of Babel (right) (1 min) (.5 mile)
Petrified Dunes Viewpoint (right) (3 mins) (2 mile)
Balance Rock Trailhead (right) .3 mile loop (5 mins) (2.9 miles) – short, easy, even in the heat
Turn Right on The Windows Rd.
Owl Rock and Garden of Eden Viewpoint (left) (4 mins) (1.4 mile)
Windows Trailhead (right) .7 mile loop, if not too hot take Primitive Loop Trailhead to South Window Arch, when trial is a V shape, turn back and finish loop (4 mins) (1.4 miles) – did not do, too hot
Double Arch Trailhead (right) .6 mi (2 mins) ( .2 mile) (.1 mile if you walk across to it)
Panorama Point (right) has pit toilets (8 mins) (3.6 miles)
Turn Right on Delicate Arch Rd
Delicate Arch Trailhead (on left, but entrance looks like a loop from the right) 3 miles, no shade – skip, unless cool and cloudy – did not do, too hot,
Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint – 50 yards – Upper Delicate Viewpoint .7 mile (9 mins) (3.9 miles) – did do, was way too hot, would have been much nicer in cooler weather, all uphill
Drive to Hampton Inn – 488 N. Main St. Moab (31 mins) (18.7 miles) – good location, had discount code
Dinner – Milt’s Stop and Eat– burgers and shakes – 356 S Mill Creek Dr. (11am – 8 pm) (5 mins from hotel) – outside dining only, too hot to eat here, but very popular and crowded
Moab Diner– 189 S. Main St. – 6am – 9pm (4 mins from hotel) – pretty good
Desert – Sweet Cravings Bakery and Bistro – 397 N. Main St. (8am – 4pm) (3 mins from hotel) – did not do
Go stargazing in Arches – if no program go to Balanced Rock (25 mins) (13.8 miles) – went to Balance Rock, could see more stars in Hawaii, but it was nice
Notes: Best times to avoid crowds, before 8 am and after 3 pm – bring a lot of water and snacks – ave temp is 93 in June – takes 4.5 hours to drive all paved roads taking 10 minutes at each scenic spot
June 8th – Day Five – Wednesday– Fiery Furnace guided hike – 2 hours – 9AM – 11:30 AM – $48 (pd) – LOVED, must sign up in advance, had to squeeze through and climb over rocks, moderate level of difficulty
Entry Reservation Time 7-8am
Check in at visitor center for hike (15 mins) (5 miles)
Scenic Drive Day 2 – stop at all of them, only takes a few minutes and every lookout is different
Salt Valley Overlook (24 mins) (14 miles)
Fiery Furnace Viewpoint (2 mins) (.6 miles) –
Sand Dune Arch Trailhead (right) .4 mile – turn back when it intersects with Broken Arch Trail (5 mins) (2.2 miles) – only did part of it, would have done more, but had the fiery furnace tour
Skyline Arch Trailhead (right) .4 mile RT (1 min) (.7 miles) – short, easy hike
Devil’s Garden Trail – hike to Landscape Arch .8 mile (3 mins) (1 mile) – added pine tree arch, started to get too hot
Finish drive around loop at Devil’s Garden – bathrooms at the campground
Shopping/eating in Moab (37 mins back to hotel) (22.4 miles)
Stargazing
June 9th – Day Six – Thursday– Canyonlands National Park – glad we went, but the least interesting of all the parks, in my opinion – did not do any hiking, only scenic viewpoint stops
Scenic Drive
Island in the Sky Visitor Center (38 mins from Moab) (32 miles)
Shafer Canyon Overlook – right – .3 mi RT – (2 mins) (.6 mile)
Shafer Canyon Viewpoint – right (12 mins) (6.9 miles)
Candlestick Tower Overlook – right (10 mins) (6.4 miles)
Buck Canyon Overlook – left – .1 mile -(5 mins) (2.3 miles)
White Rim Overlook Trailhead – left – (5 mins) (2 miles) skip 1.8 miles RT
Orange Cliffs Overlook – right – (3 mins) (1 mile)
Grand View Point Overlook– .1 mile – (2 mins) (.2 mile)
Turn Back and go to Upheaval Dome Rd
Green River Overlook (100 yards) (15 mins) (7.5 miles)
Syncline Loop Trailhead (12 mins) (6 miles) – did not do
Hike Upheaval Dome to 1st lookout – 1 mile – RT – did not do, too hot
Drive to hotel in Torrey – take scenic byway 24 – (3 hour 2 mins) (175 miles) – will be driving through the back way of Capitol Reef National Park – check if need reservation
The Noor Hotel – 877 UT-24, Torrey – good location, nice
La Cueva Restaurant – fabulous lunch, dinner – can walk from the hotel
June 10th – Day Seven – Friday – Capitol Reef National Park – unfortunately, it was too hot to hike, but the views were wonderful
Panorama Point – right – .3 mile RT – (8mins) (5.8 miles)
Visitor Center – right – (4mins) (2.6 miles) 8-6 daily – ask about conditions of Capitol Gorge Drive – ask if cherries are ready to be picked – they were not, nice store with preserves and delicious pies and pastries
Fruita – pick cherries if open (3mins) (1 mile)
Scenic Drive – drive to end of road (17 mins) (6.9 miles)
Capitol Gorge Drive (unpaved – check road conditions at Visitor Center) (7 mins long) (1.3 mile to end) used to be a trail for pioneers – did not do, son not willing to risk car, totally would have done it in my SUV
Hickman Bridge Trail 2 mi RT – left – (23 mins) (9.7 miles) – did not do, too hot
Take Scenic route 12 (National Scenic Byway, stopping at lookouts) minimum 3 hour 122 mi road to Bryce – absolutely gorgeous! Not sure if we found every overlook, but we tried!
Larb Hollow Overlook (37 mins) (25.9 miles) left
Steep Creek Overlook (16 mins) (9.6 miles)
Homestead Overlook (4 mins) (1.6 miles) left
Calf Creek Viewpoint (28 mins) (19.3 miles) right
Boynton Overlook (9 mins) (5.4 miles) right
Head of the Rocks Overlook (7 mins) (3.8 miles) right
Upper Valley Granaries (23 mins) (17.8 miles)
Powell Point Vista (11 mins) (10.5 miles)
To Best Western Plus Ruby’s Inn – 26 S. Main St., Bryce Canyon, UT (approx.. 35 mins) (29 miles) – oh dear, crabbiest people in the world! Restaurant was dreadful, nowhere good to eat in the area, but fabulous location
June 11th – Day 8 – Saturday –Bryce National park
Visitor Center open 8-4:30
Scenic Drive and hikes
Bryce Canyon Lodge – Sunrise Point – get there for sunrise – hike Navajo/Queen’s Garden combo loop – 3 miles – includes Sunset Point – moderate/difficult hike, switchback trail, lots of up and down, but beautiful, I thought it was worth it, we did go first thing in the morning to beat the heat
Inspiration Point – .6 miles to see lower, mid and upper – we did do this, but boy were we hot! great views
Bryce Point – .2 miles
Paria View
Piracy Point
Farview Point
Natural Bridge
Agua Canyon
Ponderosa Canyon
Black Birch Canyon
Rainbow Point – hike Bristlecone loop – 1 mile – goes through Yovimpa Point (restrooms) – did not do hike, too hot
Fairyland Point
Visitor Center open 8am – 4:30
Bryce Canyon Lodge Restaurant – no reservations – can check on wait – food wasn’t great, but our server was hysterical
Drive to Zion – approx. 2 hours 17 mins – Scenic Hwy 12 to 89 to 9
Lots of Pull outs near park towards the end of the drive – after the tunnel – tunnel was cool, be sure to drive through it
LaQuinta Inn and Suites by Wyndham – 792 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale – standard, had discount, close to park
June 12th – Day 9 – Sunday – Zion National Park
Have to take shuttle in park on Scenic Drive
Court of the Patriarchs Viewpoint – .2 mi RT – right side of road
Emerald Pools Trail – Lower Pool – 1.4 mi RT – left side of road – loved
Zion Lodge/Red Rock Grill is across the street – right side of road
The Grotto Picnic Area – scenic area/bathrooms/picnic tables – lame
Big Bend Viewpoint – bathrooms
Riverside Walk Trail – 2 mi RT – ends at the Narrows – end of road – nice hike
Go back to lodge – check in
Stay at Zion National Park Lodge (check in after 4) – stayed in a cabin in park, great location, on the small side, and had some ants
June 13th – Day 10 – Monday
Hike Angel’s Landing – 4.4 mi RT – hard – disappointed that we did not do, too hot
Drive to Valley of Fire – 2 hours 59 mins – 144 miles – to Fire Wave Trail – $15
Visitor Center 9-4 – park closes at sunset
Bathrooms at (1st one) Elephant Rock Trail, Seven Sisters Trail, Visitor Center, Petroglyphs Canyon Trail
Mouse Tank Rd to White Domes Road – stop at overlooks
Fire Wave Trail/Seven Wonders Loop/Pink Canyon – if not too hot – 1.8 mi – Start at Pink Canyon – can turn back at fire wave and will be a .8 mi hike – did not do, too hot and trails were closed
Drive to end of road – White Dome Trails Outlook/Bathrooms
Drive to hotel – Bellagio – 62.5 miles – 1 hr 20 min – 3600 S. Las Vegas Blvd. – check in – loved, had a view of the fountains, watched them over and over
Dinner at hotel, watch fountains outside
June 14th – Day 11 – Tuesday – Breakfast – Sadelle’s in the Bellagio – yum!
Drive to Death Valley National Park – 2 hour 7 mins – 114 miles – to Zabriskie Point Rd
Drive to Zabriskie Point Rd – scenic viewpoint – 710 ft. alt. – bathrooms – short walk to lookout – .4 mi RT – did it, barren but neat to see
Drive to Badwater Basin – 25 mins – 20.1 mi – lowest/hottest spot on the continent – 282 ft below sea level – stairs to wooden platform overlook sodium chloride pool – can walk on salt flats if you want – so cool!
Drive to Artist Dr. Scenic Look – 9 mile drive – stop at Artist’s Palette (about 4 miles in – will be a road to the right, leads to parking lot – short walk to palette – 20 mins 12.5 mi – .4 mi RT – only went part way, too hot, was disappointed, really wanted to see
Drive to Devil’s Golf Course – 19 min 9.7 mi – dirt road – did not do, again not our car, would have done in my SUV
Lunch at Ice Cream Parlor at The Ranch at Death Valley – 11am – 8pm – 15 min 9.6 mi – was closed
Visitor Center – 8am – 5 pm – water/snacks/souvenirs/bathrooms – 3 min .4 mi – ask about stargazing – too hazy for good stargazing
Gas Station in Furnace Creek – open 24 hours – most expensive – yes, we filled up, you do what you gotta do
Drive to Salt Creek Interpretive Trail – 21 min 14.5 mi – .8 mile boardwalk loop – can just stop briefly if too hot – did not do, too hot, and road not paved
Drive to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes – 13 min 10.6 mi – toilets – 2.8 mi RT – go close to sunset – walk as much/little as we want – don’t need to go all the way out – sunset at 8:08 pm – these were cool
Dinner at The Last Kind Words Saloon – 25 min 22.9 mi – 4-9pm – food was ok, fun restaurant
Drive to hotel – check in 4 pm – checkout 11am – The Inn at Death Valley – 4 min 1.4 mi – our favorite place that we stayed at – we were in Death Valley before all of the damage from flooding in both 2022 and 2023 – as of this writing, parts of the park are still closed, the Inn is open
June 15th – Day 12 – Wednesday
Breakfast at Inn
Drive to Sequoia National Park – 322 mi 5 hr 41 min – they had prescribed burns going on during our visit that we didn’t know about, was very disappointing, wish we would have driven up to King’s Canyon
General’s Hwy Scenic Drive Scenic Stops
Tunnel Rock – 12 mins – 3.8 mi
Amphitheater Point View Point – 21 min 8.5 mi
General Highway Lookout – 4 min 1.5 mi
Four Guardsman – 7 min 2.3 mi
Bear Hill Trail – 1.9 mi loop – easy – 8 min 2.6 mi – did not do, too hot and smokey
Moro Rock Trail – .5 mi – moderate – 5 min .8 mi – did not do, too hot and smokey
Crescent Meadow Loop – 1.7 mi loop – easy – did not do, too hot and smokey
Drive to hotel – Wuksachi Lodge – 64740 Wuksachi Way, Sequoia National Park – did not have AC and they were burning in the area, so could not open windows, very disappointing, but great location
June 16th – Day 13 – Thursday
Sentinel Tree
Big Trees Trail – 1.3 mi – easy – ran into hikers who saw a bear
Congress Trail – 3 mi easy – Sequoia Tunnel/Sherman Tree – 1.2 mi – easy 5 mins – 1.9 mi – was partially closed due to prescribed burns – saw three bears – mom bringing bear spray for the win! – bears showed no interest in all the people there
We then drove our son to his new home, helped him move in and flew home. I was really glad we got to fly home instead of driving back!
Although we started from Wisconsin, we knew the first place we wanted to stop and explore was Colorado, so day one was spent in the car. My next post will be short and sweet on North Star Nature Preserve in Aspen. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
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