Things to do and other tips - SW USA

Hi

We are off on a three week trip to SW USA next month. In to Las Vegas and out from San Francisco. Everything is booked and planned but I was wondering if anyone here had any useful tips for the trip or interesting places to visit that we might otherwise miss. Its a road trip (hiring a Chevrolet Tahoe or equivalent) and there are four of us. Two adults and two boys aged 16 and 12.

Out itinerary is:

Las Vegas (overnight only)
Kingman (1 night)
Grand Canyon Village (2 nights)
Monument Valley - View Hotel (1 night)
Page -already booked a river trip (2 nights)
Bryce Canyon (2 nights)
Springfield/Zion (2 nights)
Furnace Creek (1 night)
Mammoth (3 nights)
Yosemite (3 nights)
San Francisco (3 nights) (Alcatraz already booked)

Thanks for any help you can give. y)

Sounds like a well balanced trip! - nothing I can add

Enjoy!

Peter

Good pattern on nights there, to avoid the feeling of just being on the road. Just make sure you take a trip to the Hoover Dam...

Good pattern on nights there, to avoid the feeling of just being on the road. Just make sure you take a trip to the Hoover Dam...

Yes we will do that. First day we are planning Las Vegas to Hoover Dam then on to Oatman before overnighting in Kingman.

Sounds like a well balanced trip! - nothing I can add

Enjoy!

Peter

Thanks. We did spend a long time planning it. Originally started in San Diego and included a lot more... I don't think we would ever have got out of the car!

Looks like an awesome trip!
Strangely I disliked SF when I visited so always avoid now and visit Napa Valley instread which is a lovely relaxing place to go, stayed at the Best Western, really homely and friendly. If you can, try and take a drive around Monument Valley at Sunrise, it's even more deserted and the way the light plays and on the rocks is memorable.

Looks like an awesome trip!
If you can, try and take a drive around Monument Valley at Sunrise, it's even more deserted and the way the light plays and on the rocks is memorable.

Being a keen photographer I will be up before the crack of dawn at monument valley!!

We did a trip similar to this a couple of years ago, do San Diego on another as there are two zoos and SeaWorld there.

Don't miss the sunrise/sunsets in the Grand Canyon, as they say they are awesome. Not much do in Page a small town, nice water trip though very long day. Monument Valley was great, just brought memories of John Wayne sitting on the hill, are you staying in Monument Valley hotel they were just building it when we were there(indian owned). Very expensive, there are lots of stalls all over the place selling some good, some tat. Haven't enough room to write about Yosemite, it gets very crowded very early, and is a long day. Hubby tried to get me to climb the waterfall only managed 3/4, as we hadn't brought any walking sticks and it got very steep and crumbly in places.
Alcatraz is great, the sea lions are smelly. Don't forget the trams, we did a day tour as well, china town, bridge etc.
There are lots of other things to do and see, if I can think of any more will pm you. Linda y)

Hi

We are off on a three week trip to SW USA next month. In to Las Vegas and out from San Francisco. Everything is booked and planned but I was wondering if anyone here had any useful tips for the trip or interesting places to visit that we might otherwise miss. Its a road trip (hiring a Chevrolet Tahoe or equivalent) and there are four of us. Two adults and two boys aged 16 and 12.

Out itinerary is:

Las Vegas (overnight only)
Kingman (1 night)
Grand Canyon Village (2 nights)
Monument Valley - View Hotel (1 night)
Page -already booked a river trip (2 nights)
Bryce Canyon (2 nights)
Springfield/Zion (2 nights)
Furnace Creek (1 night)
Mammoth (3 nights)
Yosemite (3 nights)
San Francisco (3 nights) (Alcatraz already booked)

Thanks for any help you can give. y)

Hi there,

It sounds like a great trip,

Personally I would switch out the night in Kingman AZ for a night in Williams AZ and take the Grand Canyon Railway to the Grand Canyon. If you have the time head west from Kingman on Route 66 to an old west mining towm called Oatman AZ.

The View Hotel in Monument Valley is a really good choice as it is the only hotel in the park and all rooms look out over the Mittens and several other formations and the stars at night are a must too.

Horseshoe bend near Page is a great photo oportunity.

Have a blast,
Dominic

Personally I would switch out the night in Kingman AZ for a night in Williams AZ and take the Grand Canyon Railway to the Grand Canyon. If you have the time head west from Kingman on Route 66 to an old west mining towm called Oatman AZ.
Dominic

Thanks. All hotels, etc. are book and we are not changing now. We are stopping for two nights in GC Village so we will need to take the car rather than go by train.

We plan to visit Oatman.

One added tip, may not apply now that a new hotel has opened but the food in Monument Valley (Gouldings Lodge) was truly awful, worst steak ever served to me! Oh and I believe it was a "dry" hotel. If things haven't changed you might what to bring your own supplies.

Hi WPIL

We are staying in the View Hotel. Mixed reviews on the food there so we'll make sure we keep it simple. Being 'dry' (and I'm not sure if it is or not) doesn't bother us at all.

We've done a similar tour in past. I would suggest you going out of Yosemite the "complete wrong way" on that itiniary - ie, if going south on route 41, then loop back. There are some amazing parts of Yosemite you'll miss if you just take the pass (either) out west from there. Try and loop south then north - despite going wrong way for a few hours - it has AMAZING views. So good we'll be repeating it on next trip - it was our best morning in entire trip! Don't use the satnav except as a guide!

We're doing a very similar itinerary in a big loop from LAX in 2015 - Monument valley is our main visit to the eastern portion of loop.

I'd agree with suggestion on skipping Kingman - didn't see point ourselves, even with hotels booked - just go straight to GC. Or go to possible Lake Havasu in Arizona - then onto GC. (we done reverse, GC -> Havasu, but it's only 4.5 hours from Vegas and if going your route, I'd persionally do it).

At moment our loop is going to start LAX, the Palm Springs, then Monument Valley (The view), then back up (stops tbd) up to Carson City and Lake Tahoe.

As it's April we may have to give Yosemite a miss as the pass likely closed, so we'll go Sacramento, then back on the coast to LAX, for a few days prior to leaving. Anyone know if the pass near Reno (I80) will be open and if it'll need chains in late April?

[Scrooge]

I'd agree with suggestion on skipping Kingman - didn't see point ourselves, even with hotels booked - just go straight to GC. Or go to possible Lake Havasu in Arizona - then onto GC. (we done reverse, GC -> Havasu, but it's only 4.5 hours from Vegas and if going your route, I'd persionally do it).

Total agreement about the skip Kingman part, there really is no reason to stop there unless you're visiting family etc.

It's only a 2 hour drive from Vegas and there really is nothing there now that the airport has done away with it's aircraft storage (there used to be a lot of classic TWA and EA aircraft there).

Driving down to Havasu then back up to the Grand Canyon is one heck of a detour, in the past when making the great loop with friends we have have stayed in Laughlin, then headed to the Canyon.

Thanks for the comments about Kingman. However we did not want to drive from Las Vegas to GC Village in one go the day after a long flight. So we are breaking it up by visiting the Hoover Dam and Oatman staying overnight at Kingman then onwards to GC Village. May well go via 'Route 66' rather than I40.

[Darren Wheeler]

Hi WPIL

We are staying in the View Hotel. Mixed reviews on the food there so we'll make sure we keep it simple. Being 'dry' (and I'm not sure if it is or not) doesn't bother us at all.

Yes it is dry, but they don't object to you taking your own alcohol and drinking it in your room/balcony.

Sunrise is amazing from there, but the view is usually better from the patio area than the balcony. You might want to take earplugs though for sunrise. On my visit last year the spectacle was ruined by a group of 4 talking loudly through the whole thing.

I'd also possibly add a day to your stay at Death Valley. We really regretted not doing 2 nights on our stay. Sorry missed that in last reply. It's a cracking place and whilst you can do most of the sights in one day, driving away next day you may miss out and have regrets like us !. Furnace creek is also fantastic place for a half day by pool!

If you don't extend make sure you make plans on what you seeing in the park. Some of the overlooks on the edges are amazing.