<p>I am trying to organize a road trip from Southern California (home) to Yellowstone. Late spring, 7-10 days with time driving no longer than five hours a day. Occasionally camping and/or staying in inexpensive hotels. Any suggestions? Things not to miss? Fabulous hikes? Giant balls of string, worlds largest frying pan, “pools of mystery” etc ?Great and cheap places to stay? Thanks in advance!!</p>
<p>It is still winter in Yellowstone in what you would consider late spring in California. We used to camp there regularly in the first week of June and it could still be very cold at night, with snow not hard to find. You will have to be aware of mountain safety and passability as well as tourist sites.</p>
<p>Since it’s been a lot of years, I’ll just put in my 2 cents for Grand Teton, our favorite national park. Wonderful hikes and such a nice, compact size compared to Yellowstone.</p>
<p>7 to 10 days from southern California to Yellowstone and back, driving no more than 5 hours a day? I did a quick google map, and Yellowstone is theoretically 18 hours of driving (by the most-direct, no-stops route, bypassing everything of interest except (if you’re interested) Salt Lake City). Which, by my math, leaves you 3 days in Yellowstone itself, which is not enough to begin to see Yellowstone itself.</p>
<p>My advice: do the 18 hours of driving in one big painful chunk, and spend the rest of the time camping and hiking in Yellowstone, which is wonderful and deserves as much time as you can give it.</p>
<p>By late spring, I am thinking about the last few weeks in May…is that too wintery? I do not mind a bit of snow. We hiked Bryce early May and actually enjoyed the cold and patches of white. Is the last week in May or first week in June too early for the Grand Teton?
I maybe need to rethink my time frame…</p>
<p>We did this trip with our kids about 10 yrs ago. 1st night you can camp at Lake Mead or stay in Las Vegas. Next night we drove to Salt Lake City. Visited the Mormon Temple. Next day drove to Grand Tetons. It was a long drive but scenic. We stayed in a Lodge on one of the lakes. Can’t recall the name right now. Grand Tetons several days. Next stop Yellowstone where we camped. After Yellowstone we headed to Sun Valley Idaho. Stopped at the Crater of the Moon state park. Definitely interesting. From Sun Valley we headed into Sawtooth for the day. We passed campgrounds but we stayed in a motel. From there we headed towards Reno and down 395 towards Mammoth. We did not have reservations that night and could not find a room till we reached Mammoth. I think we were gone 2 weeks. We went the middle of August. It was already getting cold.</p>
<p>You can do it but I recommend not sticking to the 5 hours/day so you can cover more ground and spend more time in the places you’ll enjoy. </p>
<p>Depending on what you like - to head fairly directly to Yellowstone -<br>
- SoCal to Las Vegas (roughly 5 hours)
– or, skip Las Vegas and drive to around St. George, Utah. You can visit the west side of Zion NP (it’s off of I-15 and there’s no connection to the main part of Zion). - Back on I-15 head north towards Cedar City. You could detour from there on 14 to Cedar Breaks NM - it’s kind of like Bryce Canyon. Continue to Brianhead Utah (ski area) and back to I-15 at Parowan then head north again.
- Right off of I-15 just past where I-70 heads east is an old Mormon fort - Fort Cove. It’s worth a look around for 30 minutes or so.
- Head north to Salt Lake City area and stop at the great salt lake and take a dip if it’s warm enough. It’s really weird to float in the great salt lake.
- Head up to Grand Teton NP and then to Yellowstone NP. Check out both parks.
- On the way back you could head into Idaho and check out Craters of the Moon NM and then head towards Lake Tahoe and back home.</p>
<p>Another return option is to head towards Colorado from Yellowstone NP and hit Rocky Mountain NP, hit I-70 west through Vail, Glenwood Springs, etc.
- Once in Utah on I-70 take 191 south through Arches NP and stay in Moab.
- You could also hit Canyonlands NP in Utah south of Moab or you could head over to Capital Reef NP.
- From the Capital Reef area take hwy 12 through Escalante. This stretch of highway is one of the most scenic highways in the country. You’ll see why. If you take it, stop at Escalante Petrified Forst State Park and do a short hike to see some of the petrified wood in the area.
- From Escalante keep heading west to Bryce Canyon NP with a possible detour to Kodachrome Basin SP for a look at Grosvenor Arch. You can do it usually in a car but an SUV/truck is ideal since if I remember correctly it’s a graded dirt road to Kodachrome Basin but that helps to keep the crowds away.
- From Bryce you go by Zion (main entrance) and then back to I-15, Las Vegas, and home.</p>
<p>There’s excellent camping all along the way as well as decent inexpensive motels.</p>
<p>There are plenty of variants to the above of course. I think you’ll have a good time. It’s a general road trip I’ve taken a number of times.</p>
<p>I like the sound of the first scenario with the start of the trip driving right thru to Zion. We drove through Bryce and on to Monument Valley last spring.</p>
<p>North Rim of the Grand Canyon might be worth a peep, but you won’t have time to do much. Bryce Canyon is my favorite of all the parks and it’s even less out of your way than the North Rim. I like Arches though that sand blowing into my camera killed it. I wouldn’t try to do too much. I’m still frustrated that I didn’t give Bryce enough time 30 years ago and haven’t managed to get back.</p>
<p>Another year we did Lake Mead, Zion, Bryce, Moab and Arches NP,Mesa Verde NP, Durango, Telluride and hit the Four Corners and Grand Canyon on the way back to Southern Ca. That was a great trip.
The western state driving vacations are some of my favorite trips we have done with our kids. I guess the next time I do any of these trips it will be just my H and me.</p>
<p>As an ex-resident of Jackson Hole, I will warn you that the last week in May/first week in June can find the low trails still snow-covered, and the high trails impassable on foot. However, all is dependent on snow totals, so you might want to log in to the ranger service site in early May to see what sort of amounts accumulated.</p>
<p>The climate of Grand Teton/Yellowstone is very different from Bryce Canyon because of latitude and altitude. Are you interested in extensive multiday backpacking trips? If so, July is much better. The wildflowers will be emerging too.</p>
<p>For Teton hikes, hike around Jenny Lake to Cascade Canyon, up the canyon (where there are often moose snacking on young aspen leaves) to Hidden Falls, and then on to Lake Solitude, a total of 9.2 miles. Breathtaking views of the granite spires.</p>
<p>I did a trip like this about 33 years ago…went to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone…in JULY. It wasn’t warm them. We also went to Crater Lake on our trip…and it was snowing…in JULY. They were playing Christmas carols in the lodge and told us the first snow was usually about that time…and the always celebrated it with Christmas in July.</p>
<p>I would take winter camping gear if I were going in spring.</p>
<p>Grand Tetons were spectacular and should not be missed. Personally, I liked that better than Yellowstone.</p>
<p>^ We were in Jackson Hole in August for their Highland Games and it snowed then. Granted it didn’t stick much but it was extremely cold!</p>
<p>We split the following week between Yellowstone and Grand Tetons - other than the geysers and paint pots (fabulous for my d who had just finished Advanced Chem;)) Yellowstone was uneventful. We all LOVED the hiking in Tetons.</p>
<p>Better than a giant ball of string: [Idaho</a> Potato Expo Main Page- The Idaho Potato Expo, located in Blackfoot, Idaho, is an expo dedicated to the history and current information regarding the potato.](<a href=“http://www.potatoexpo.com/]Idaho”>http://www.potatoexpo.com/)</p>
<p>We stopped here on the way to Yellowstone from So Cal. Also enjoyed the town of Smoot Wyoming which has the only second-hand taxidermy store I’ve ever encountered.</p>
<p>Hey Highland… Snow in August? Yikes! The Potato Expo is looking better and better. (Thanks ILOVELA.)</p>
<p>We have winter camping gear and are thoroughly prepared to forgo the tent if it is cold enough to snow.</p>
<p>My mom and I did this exact drive – SoCal to Yellowstone and back – one summer in mid-July in 2006.</p>
<p>We opted for the Zion, Moab/Arches and Yellowstone route. We were gone for 2 weeks, but also stopped by my cousin’s ranch in Montana, met the relatives in South Dakota, and stopped along the way when we felt like.</p>
<p>I don’t have any specific planning tips for you, but make sure to enjoy. The best scenic desert you can find in the western US, some great horseback riding opportunities (if you’re into that thing, we had a terrific trail ride out in Moab along the Sundance Kid haunting grounds), awesome pictures, and mother nature at her most extreme.</p>
<p>I’m jealous. Enjoy! :)</p>
<p>Another vote for Grand Tetons. Lots of hiking; we did a trail that required a boat to get to the trailhead and then it was about three miles. Not too bad and the view was terrific. If you do Yellowstone, there are very few tourists out before 10 am. This is a good time to see some of the more popular areas. We camped – the morning we left, it was 28.9 degrees at 7 am (we used the meat thermometer to check, and the kids and I have not let DH hear the end of it since). :)</p>
<p>We loved Mesa Verde NP. Arches was cool. We did Craters of the Moon and as we arrived, it started hailing. The contrast between the black rocks and the white hail made for some really great pics.</p>
<p>We did a coast-to-coast trip twice a few years ago – three weeks if you’re driving both ways. We do the marathon drives so that we can have more time to see the sights.</p>