I am thinking of booking an end of summer vacation, flying into Denver the first week of August. Just waned to run this by the group for some ideas before I book.

Fly into Denver. Stay somewhere on the west side of Denver, maybe Golden? Day trips to Boulder, Colorado Springs, Rocky MTN National Park, etc. Some hiking, some sightseeing, etc. This will be 4-5 days.

Then drive over to Moab and spend 2-3 nights. Arches National Park. Maybe a Jeep / 4 wheel tour.

I have been to both places before, family has never been. Kids are 16 and 12. We are flexible and love to do all things adventurous.

Before anyone says "That's a lot of driving", we do not mind. Our beginning of summer road trip took us to Nashville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Niagara Falls, Pittsburg and home. So if it takes 5 hours to get from west Denver to Moab, that's nothing to see Arches.

What do you recommend in those areas?

Pretty sure you have to schedule in advance to get into Arches. If staying in Moab, I liked The Gonzo Inn, but it’s been a few years. Outside of town on the river is The Red Cliffs Lodge. Highly recommended. Enjoy!

Arches is timed entry, reserve in advance. Chris' hotel suggestions are good. I've stayed in good and bad there, and the bad aren't really that bad. Moab has grown quite a bit and can get very crowded, not like it was when I first started going in the 80s. But it's right in the middle of so much beautiful country.

Here are a couple of resources for Utah, I'm sure there are more, but these kind of cater to the adventure/ outdoors crowd. Sone parts of the sites are subscription, but it was worth it to me when I was getting over that way a lot.

https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/

https://climb-utah.com/

There are some neat hikes in Canyonlands Needles district (south of Moab). (No timed entry at Canyonlands, at least not as of a year ago.) Canyonlands Island in the Sky (north of Moab) isn't as interesting to me, although it does have the iconic Mesa Arch (sunrise photos, crowded) and the Schaeffer Trail (if you have a basic high clearance vehicle, 4WD not required).

To me, your trip isn't "a lot of driving". Things are just further apart out west.

Make sure everyone has Camelbaks and stays hydrated.

Enjoy, feel free to email me. I've spent a LOT of time in the area.

Stay off the interstate highways. There are many fantastic roads, though it will add a bit to your drive time.

Do the zip zine adventure. I know, you are thinking "It's basically a desert and rocks, how can it be fun"? I thought so too, but it was a lot of fun. They did a great job. The UTV ride in and out was a hoot.

We got back from our Colorado run a couple of weeks ago.

From Canyon Lake, TX, to Borger, TX(north of Amarillo) to meet new baby family member. Then up through both Texas and Oklahoma panhandles to Woodland Park, Colorado(west of Colorado Springs) to visit dad. Day trips to Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, Cripple Creek, and Victor, Colorado.

Then up Mt Blue Sky/Mt Evans - the highest paved roadway in North America at over 14,000 feet, which is just west of Denver. Saw marmots , mountain goats, and bighorn sheep. Then to Breckenridge, and stopping for night in Silt, Colorado. During this day’s drive, we stopped off at different waterfalls and river crossings.

Then through Palisade(known for their peaches) then down to Ouray, Silverton, and Durango. Did waterfalls in Ouray, started up Imogene Pass, but turned around due to it getting too late. Saw a moose mom and calf before Silverton and a red fox just outside of Ouray. Stayed the night in Durango.

Played in Durango next day, and then drove down to El Pinto Mexican Restaurant just north of Albuquerque. REALLY good this trip! Drove down to Elephant Butte Lake, ending up the night in El Paso.

A lot of pictures and miles, but a lot memories.

ftttu, what were you driving? Imogene can be quite challenging. I've done it from the Telluride side a few times.

If you hit Zion the Bumbleberry inn is nice

If you're making that drive for scenery, I'd at least take 285 out of Denver to US50. Cut down through Placerville and enter Utah at La Sal. You should also consider taking US160 over Wolf Creek Pass to Durango, then on to Cortez, Monticello and up to Moab. If your schedule permits, perhaps ride the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge RR.

This is all summertime routing. Winter only for the extremely adventurous.

Reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park if that's on the plate. Be sure to being cloths for ANY kind of weather and good bug spray for mosquitoes. Enjoy your travels.

I was in S Utah in May with the son. We did a motorcycle trip through the area, Moab, parks, to Bryce and around.

I’d spend a little time setting up reservations a few days ahead of time. Moab being the center is busy, we stayed at the Red Cliffs cabins south of town. Nothing fancy, fine for two guys.

I think Arches is open to all after 5 PM or so, before that, reservation for entry.

There are a lot of peripheral places to visit, much less busy than main parks. An example is ‘Dead Horse Point’ state park, next to Canyonlands.

We circled on Hwy 95 down south, a few ancient ruins, petroglyphs, Natural Bridges Monument, even a ‘slot canyon’. Mule Canyon falls was cool, 3 mile hike in.

Around Moab I've done the 4 Wheeler and ATV type tours. Personally prefer the 4 Wheeler but if you have non riders in the group the ATV was still pretty good.
Milt's was a great place to grab a burger.
Take a pass on rafting the Colorado in that area. It was a major disappointment.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
If you're making that drive for scenery, I'd at least take 285 out of Denver to US50.

This is a GREAT suggestion, but US 50 IS CLOSED. There was a problem with a bridge and it's completely shut down, completely fucking up travel plans.

US 50 Massive Detour from Colo Dept of Transportation

If you're doing Rocky Mountain National Park prepare for sticker shock. It's a bit expensive and drive Trail Ridge Road. Lots of elk, and you might see a moose or two.

If you’re going to be in Colorado Springs, I would strongly suggest you fortify yourself with a trip to Edelweis; it’s a lovely German restaurant well worth the trip.

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:
ftttu, what were you driving? Imogene can be quite challenging. I've done it from the Telluride side a few times.

A Subaru Forester Wilderness. As I said before, we got there too late, but my goal, with time, was to go as far as possible with its capabilities with just airing down. I’ve watched numerous videos on Imogene Pass as well as many other off-road trails, and I know it would have been possible to make it a far way before having to turn around.

I’m in the slow process of modifying it, but I want it as streetable as possible but still capable enough to hit these spots I’ve seen. I’m getting over 30 mpg(32-34) right now, and I don’t want it to go down too much past a 5 mpg loss with mods.

Now wife and I being retired, we will start hitting these places. Also, not wanting to rock crawl, but just trails where AWD and 4WD are recommended.

CO 67 is a pretty highway between Woodland Park and Sedalia, which isn’t too far from Denver.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
If you're making that drive for scenery, I'd at least take 285 out of Denver to US50. Cut down through Placerville and enter Utah at La Sal. You should also consider taking US160 over Wolf Creek Pass to Durango, then on to Cortez, Monticello and up to Moab. If your schedule permits, perhaps ride the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge RR.

This is all summertime routing. Winter only for the extremely adventurous.

I think you mean Interstate 25. IH-285 surrounds Atlanta.

When did Arches start the reservation thing? We never had to deal with that the several times we've been there in the past, but it's been a few years. It's definitely worth the time and effort to go see the park, and there are some good hikes, but be sure to take LOTS of water. They have filling stations at the visitor center, but once you get out in the park it's harder to come by, and you're going to need to drink A LOT.

A place I like even more than arches in Utah is Natural Bridges Natural Monument. It's more remote, less people, and hiking the bottom of the canyon is a good time. It's a few hours from Moab, though. Even further away, UT route 12 is an amazing drive, and there is some awesome hiking over in the Grand Staircase area.

If you're planning to do several National Parks, the annual pass quickly becomes a good deal. $80/year gets your whole car into pretty much any US Park Service fee area...we use it for visiting parks on road trips in the summer and the national seashore beaches in FL whenever we're down there to visit family. If you're old (IIRC 65+) you can get a lifetime pass for the same price.

quote:

Originally posted by snoris:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
If you're making that drive for scenery, I'd at least take 285 out of Denver to US50. Cut down through Placerville and enter Utah at La Sal. You should also consider taking US160 over Wolf Creek Pass to Durango, then on to Cortez, Monticello and up to Moab. If your schedule permits, perhaps ride the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge RR.

This is all summertime routing. Winter only for the extremely adventurous.

I think you mean Interstate 25. IH-285 surrounds Atlanta.

He may be talking about US HWY 285.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:

quote:

Originally posted by snoris:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
If you're making that drive for scenery, I'd at least take 285 out of Denver to US50. Cut down through Placerville and enter Utah at La Sal. You should also consider taking US160 over Wolf Creek Pass to Durango, then on to Cortez, Monticello and up to Moab. If your schedule permits, perhaps ride the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge RR.

This is all summertime routing. Winter only for the extremely adventurous.

I think you mean Interstate 25. IH-285 surrounds Atlanta.

He may be talking about US HWY 285.

He is