Yellowstone-Arches Road Trip

Road Trip: The trip summary

Mileage: Approximately 1197 miles.

Main Points of Interest: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Timpanogos National Monument.

Suggested Start and End for this Road Trip: Salt Lake City, Utah

What to Expect Along this Road Trip

Start Your Road Trip
Salt Lake City, Utah is the starting and ending point to the Yellowstone-Arches Road Trip.

Yellowstone National Park
We start your journey heading to the world famous Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is famous for hosting more than 10,000-plus hot springs and geysers, the majority of the planet"s total. One geyser in particular, Old Faithful, has drawn millions of visitors yearly to Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park is also home to an abundance of wildlife from bison, elk, coyote to bears and moose. Yellowstone National Park is a natural wonder and what makes this park unique is that it contains more geothermal features than any other place on earth. There are a number of choices for lodging inside Yellowstone, but the lodges book up far in advance.  Plan ahead for staying both inside and outside of Yellowstone. Towns to consider near the park would be: West Yellowstone, Montana, to the west of Yellowstone. Gardiner, Montana, to the north. Jackson, Wyoming to the south of Yellowstone. For more options, see the lodging page. On this road trip, we suggest spending between 3-4 days exploring this magnificent park. Yellowstone can take several weeks to enjoy all that it has to offer but in 3-4 days, you should be able to get a good idea of the park.

Grand Teton National Park
After you have completed your visit in Yellowstone, we head south to Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton is located very closely to Yellowstone so not too much driving between these two parks. Grand Teton offers stunning mountain scenery and a diverse array of wildlife. The range includes eight peaks over 12,000 feet (3,658 m), including the Grand Teton at 13,770 feet (4,198 m). If wildlife is what you want to see, elk, moose, pronghorn, mule deer, and bison are commonly seen in the park. We suggest about 2-3 days visiting Grand Teton National Park and taking in sights such as Jenny Lake, some beautiful hikes in the mountains, and the scenic ride through the north and south of the park. Jackson, Wyoming and Teton Village are both great places to stay if you either do not wish to stay inside the park or are unable to get reservations inside the park. For more options regarding lodging near Grand Teton, see the lodging page.

Dinosaur National Monument
Moving southeast, we continue our road trip to Dinosaur National Monument. Dinosaur protects a large deposit of fossil dinosaur bones that lived millions of years ago. Today, many ideas about dinosaurs are changing, and the fossils at Dinosaur National Monument continue to help teach us about these fascinating animals. At the Quarry Visitor Center, on this wall, paleontologists have carefully chipped away the rock to uncover bones and leave them in place. More than 1500 fossil bones can now be seen in this unusual exhibit for viewing. Vernal, Utah is your best bet if you want to stay near Dinosaur National Monument. Otherwise, see the lodging page for additional options.

Arches National Park
Once your visit is completed in Dinosaur National Monument, we head off to a favorite of the US-Parks.com team. Arches National Park offers a wealth of beauty and extraordinary arches.  From Delicate Arch to an 18 mile scenic drive, Arches National Park has more than enough scenery to awe any park visitor. Although this park can be experienced in one day, you could easily spend 2-3 days exploring the park and many of the hikes. During your stay, there is no lodging available inside Arches so you might want to consider the town of Moab, Utah. It is located conveniently to Arches National Park and can supply the necessities such as food, gas, etc.

Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is a destination full of spires, buttes, arches, rivers and most spectacular of all, vast canyons. Canyonlands has three different areas, the Maze, Needles and Island in the Sky Districts.  Island in the Sky offers spectacular vistas while the Maze offers the wilderness at its best. The Needles is a startling landscape of sculptured rock spires, arches, canyons, grabens, and potholes.  There is no lodging inside Canyonlands National Park so depending on which part of the park you plan to visit, you might want to consider Moab, Utah for the northern section or Monticello, Utah for the southern section of Canyonlands.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Timpanogos Cave National Monument sits high in the Wasatch Mountains. The cave system consists of three spectacularly decorated caverns. Each cavern has unique colors and formations.

End Your Road Trip
Our last day is spent heading back to Salt Lake City, Utah.

What Should I bring on my Trip?

Depending on what time of year you are planning on taking this route, you might want to consider some of these items:

Summer Travel:

Shorts
Hats
Shirts :: Performance Short Sleeve
Shoes: Hiking Footwear
Soft Shell Jackets (Temperatures will vary day and night in these areas.  Be prepared with layers!)
Pants: Soft Shell Pants :: Trek Travel Pants

Winter Travel: (Winters can be VERY cold)

Shirts: Fleece :: Performance Long Sleeve
Jackets: Fleece :: Insulated Jackets :: Down Jackets
Shoes: Hiking Footwear
Pants: Fleece Pants :: Insulated Pants :: Rain Pants
Gloves and Mittens

Spring and Fall will also vary in temperatures so using any combo with the summer and winter ideas would be suitable.  Plan for layers to keep up with the temperature changes in the course of a day.

Road Trip Disclaimer