Road Trip Planning and Pre Planned Routes
Interested in taking a road trip? Below are a selection of pre-planned routes that have been put together by the US-Parks.com team. Road trips are one of the best ways to explore some of the many US National Parks and Monuments.
You can visit multiple parks in one route and experience several different types of scenery. From Arches National Park to Yellowstone National Park, check out some of these wonderful trips.
As we like to say, pack your bags, load up the car and take a road trip!
Road Trip Quick Links
The Grand Circle Road Trip
1 Week Grand Circle Road Trip
Yellowstone Arches Road Trip
Northern California Road Trip
Yellowstone Badlands Road Trip
Yosemite and Big Sur Road Trip
Portland and Crater Lake Road Trip
Olympic and St Helens Road Trip
The Grand Circle Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
1200 Miles 10+ days.
The Grand Circle Road Trip
This road trip starts out in Las Vegas and takes you through some of the most outstanding scenery in the US. First stop is Zion then on to Bryce. After Bryce a beautiful drive along Route 12 passing Grand Escalante on to Capitol Reef. A quick drive to Arches and Canyonlands and then Monument Valley. Finally on to the Grand Canyon (South Rim) and then back to Las Vegas.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Monument Valley Tribal Park, Grand Canyon
1 Week Grand Circle Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
1030 miles, 7 Days
1 Week Grand Circle Road Trip
Start and end in Las Vegas. This road trip takes you quickly through the high spots of the Grand Circle. It takes you to Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley and Grand Canyon. Mileage does not include sightseeing.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Monument Valley Tribal Park, Grand Canyon
NEW! East Coast & Smokies
Approximate Mileage/Time:
2000 Miles 15 days.
East Coast and Smokies Road Trip
Road trip starts out in Washington D.C., our nations capital. After exploring the capital, you head east to the coastline to Assateague Island National Seashore. After visiting Assateague then head south to Cape Hatteras. Then on to Congaree, Great Smoky Mountains and to Shenandoah National Park. Then drive back to Washington D.C.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Assateague Island National Seashore, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Congaree National Park, Cape Lookout National Seashore
Yellowstone & Arches Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
1300 Miles 12 days.
Yellowstone Arches Road Trip
Road trip starts out in Salt Lake City, which is one of the least expensive airports to fly into, immediately you drive north to see Yellowstone. Spend some time in Yellowstone then head south to Grand Teton. Then on to Dinosaur and to Moab to see Arches and Canyonlands. Then drive back to Salt Lake City.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Timpanogos National Monument
Northern California Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
1300 miles, 12 days
Northern California Road Trip
Start and end in San Francisco. Mileage does not include sightseeing. Take a journey that explores National Parks, Monuments, National Seashores and more! This road trip also includes Lake Tahoe and a beautiful drive along the coast. You may want to extend the time to visit the numerous state parks and tourist areas.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, Redwood National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Yellowstone Badlands Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
1900 Miles 13 days.
Yellowstone Badlands Road Trip
This road trip starts out in Denver and takes you through multiple different landscapes. First through Rocky Mountain and then a beautiful drive to Steamboat Springs. Then on to Dinosaur up past Flaming Gorge to Grand Teton. Then Yellowstone Bighorn NRA over to Mt Rushmore, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave and Badlands. Then back to Denver.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park
Yosemite and Big Sur Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
795 miles, 6 days
Yosemite and Big Sur Road Trip
Start and end in San Francisco, California. Mileage does not include sightseeing. Take a road trip through San Francisco California, Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, Big Sur and along some of California's most spectacular coastal scenery.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, Big Sur State Park, Point Lobos Preserve, Ano Nuevo, Big Basin State Park
Portland and Crater Lake Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
990 miles, 7 days
Portland and Crater Lake Road Trip
Start and end in Portland, Oregon. Mileage does not include sightseeing. Take a road trip north from Portland along the Oregon coastline and over to Crater Lake National Park and down to Redwood National Park.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Redwood National Park, Crater Lake National Park
Olympic and St Helens Road Trip
Approximate Mileage/Time:
662 miles, 6 days
Olympic and St Helens Road Trip
Start and end in Seattle, Washington. Mileage does not include sightseeing. A road trip that takes you through Olympic National Park, Mount St Helens and Mount Rainier.
Park Highlights for this trip:
Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier, Mount St Helens National Volcanic
Share Your Comments & Park Experiences
over the years. Thumbs up! So far our favorite has been the
Yellowstone and Arches. Next summer is the Grand Circle route. Or
possibly summer 2013 depending on how winter and spring go.
years. They have helped us come up with some great trips. Thanks for
the ideas.
we are all over the place with these ideas you guys have suggested.
would love to see even more! right now, we think its between northern
cali and portland and crater lake. decisions!
further east as well? Thanks!
some National Park Camping/RV. We would fly in from the east coast and
rent an RV. Both boys are scouts and will in 3 years do a Philmont
hiking trip so looking for something different than that. Any
suggestions anyone has to offer is greatly
appreciated!!!
big fan of the scenery farther north like Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand
Tetons or Rocky Mountain. If your kids haven't been to Yellowstone,
it's definitely very different experience with the geysers. However,
places like Arches and Canyonlands also offer some very interesting
viewing. OR, you could go completely different to something like
Olympic National Park and get in some amazing rainforest scenery. I
find that place spectacular!
to see our son and his family, from there we like to take a trip to
Glacier National Park in Montana, taking the most scenic roads there,
any suggestions ? thanks
a start location and end location including places to visit along the
route.
want to consider heading north through Grand Teton and Yellowstone
first then leaving Yellowstone through the north entrance through
Gardiner, then heading northwest to Glacier. There is quite a bit of
National Forest areas along that way which would add to the route
being very scenic. Again, this all depends on how much time you have
before you need to be in Glacier.
this year on making some major updates/changes to our road trips so
it's always nice to hear what people would like to see. I will add
your thoughts to our wish list and we can see how something might work
into our plans for this years project.
trip plan. Like Cape Cod, Cape Hatteras and the Great Smokey
Mountains.
enhancing road trips and adding new road trips. We plan to have east
coast trips included in these enhancements. Thanks for the
input!
British Columbia, and up to Alaska. I would start and end in Salinas,
CA. I have no time limits! It would be just me. I love the outdoors,
and not las vegas, and I don't drink, so no wineries!. I would like to
see all the national parks and Monuments, and whatever else might be
awesome to behold! Im looking forward to camping, hiking, swimming,
and kayaking. I would love to have some help planning this
once-in-a-lifetime trip! Thank you so much!
all the National Parks, National Historic Sites, National Recreation
Areas, and National Monuments as listed on the National Park System
Map and Guide. Yes, this will be a "monumental" challenge, but if I
believe you guys are up to it! I'd really like to see a map that shows
the quickest route to see all these places as I hope to make this trip
of a lifetime! Thanks!
Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. Where to go and what to see along
this route?
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