Planning a road trip need advice.. Colorado, Wyoming, Utah

[ampline]

Hey Mud,, Kevin here... I am not sure if this is the best place to post this but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask??? I am planning a road trip with my wife in her stock fj (Thinking about adding a roof top tent for the economical/convenience factor). . We live in cincinnati and she has never been out west. So we are gonna leave the old cruisers at home, and head west in the FJC (its under warranty).

The trip will be late june/early july, and last for a couple of weeks. We are planning a drive through Rocky Mtn National Park,,, then up to Yellowstone,, then down to Zion National Park, then through the Four Corners area and then back home.

I am looking for tips regarding....
Good car-camping spots?? (don't mind campgrounds, but info on some good back country drive up camp spots would rock).

We would love to do some light wheeling, so any tips on trails?? (fire roads, easy back country drives etc)

Places to see, Places to avoid.... We want to hike, drive, camp, and sleep under the stars.

If anyone has the time,,, or knows of any good spots and wouldn't mind sharing... I would greatly appreciate any info.. Thanks... (Or if is already on mud,,, point me in the direction please... ))

Thanks
Kevin

 

[jonharis]

Kevin-
There is a lot that I could go into but I'll try to keep it brief. Sounds like your general trip outline is going to be great.

Pick up the Charles A. Wells books for Colorado and Utah. They will have trails that you can incorporate into your trip.

RMNP will be chilly but not too bad in June, great in July. Hit Trail Ridge Road and Bear Lake Road. The west side of the park is less crowded.

On the way down to Zion, Hit Up Arches Natl park. some great shorter hikes. Do some wheeling in Moab. Depending on your route, a great north south road in UT is Highway 12 through Boulder. Calf Creek Falls is a wonderful campground and has great hiking (For hiking in UT, check out the Michael Kelcy books). Kiva Coffee House has awesome lunch.

Back up throught the four corners, don't spend too much time on the Reservation (no road side camping), Mesa Verde would warrant a couple of days. Drive from Durango to Ouray on the million dollar highway. Lots of light wheeling in that area. Great hotsprings in Ouray. Stay at the box canyon lodge.

Other areas in Colorado to explore include Lake City, Crested Butte, Leadville, Buena Vista.....

If you make it through Grand Junction, hit me up for some good food/lodging recommendations. Colorado National Monument and the Grand Mesa are worth your time.

Good Luck! Let me know if you want any specifics to any of these areas.

 

[ampline]

Kevin-
There is a lot that I could go into but I'll try to keep it brief. Sounds like your general trip outline is going to be great.

Pick up the Charles A. Wells books for Colorado and Utah. They will have trails that you can incorporate into your trip.

RMNP will be chilly but not too bad in June, great in July. Hit Trail Ridge Road and Bear Lake Road. The west side of the park is less crowded.

On the way down to Zion, Hit Up Arches Natl park. some great shorter hikes. Do some wheeling in Moab. Depending on your route, a great north south road in UT is Highway 12 through Boulder. Calf Creek Falls is a wonderful campground and has great hiking (For hiking in UT, check out the Michael Kelcy books). Kiva Coffee House has awesome lunch.

Back up throught the four corners, don't spend too much time on the Reservation (no road side camping), Mesa Verde would warrant a couple of days. Drive from Durango to Ouray on the million dollar highway. Lots of light wheeling in that area. Great hotsprings in Ouray. Stay at the box canyon lodge.

Other areas in Colorado to explore include Lake City, Crested Butte, Leadville, Buena Vista.....

If you make it through Grand Junction, hit me up for some good food/lodging recommendations. Colorado National Monument and the Grand Mesa are worth your time.

Good Luck! Let me know if you want any specifics to any of these areas.

Thanks so much... I appreciate your time so much.. Your info helps alot.. There is so much to see out there. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, and any info on killer campsites, campgrounds helps with planning tremendously... Cant wait....

 

[pmccumber]

Kevin,

I live 20 miles from RMNP. I would highly recommend driving right past it. You're going to Utah anyway, spend the time over in the central mountains.

I would head out of Denver via 285 through Fairplay and camp a couple nights in Taylor Park. There is some great wheeling around there and as the guy said, check the books. Then I would NOT miss camping a couple days north of Crested Butte (either just north of Gothic or along the road to Paradise Divide). If you're doing that drive in July, definitely go up to Schofield Pass and do the relatively mild hike to West Maroon or Frigid Air Pass; the best color anywhere in Colorado. Head down to Lake City and catch one of the gorgeous backroads over to Ouray (Cinnamon or Engineer). From there, if you want to wheel, look at the books the guy said).

Telluride is a cool city. If you're looking for one jaw-dropping hike, either Blue Lakes or Ice Lakes trails are the ticket. Both are steep but pretty short (~3 miles one way).

Over to Utah over Dallas Divide and definitely hit the Needles district of Canyonlands. Absolutely fantastic day hikes that are not strenuous and simply stunning. Of course, heading up to Moab to do some of the famous trails and catch Arches should be on the agenda. And then on your watch over to Zion, Capitol Reef and some of the easier to reach spots of The Maze in Canyonlands (great Petroglyphs) should be planned for a day or so.

 

[brew8]

If your going to Yellowstone through Wyoming, go to Red Lodge Montana and go over the Bear Tooth Hiway you can camp near Cooke City. There is a nice trail just past Chief Joseph camp ground to Goose Lake, very nice lot's of diverse camping, my fave is Round lake on the trail. If your interested in those scum bag wolves, the north east entrance is best, you can go South to Canyon and old faithful from there easily, out at west yellowstone and south to Utah or you can take the south entrance and go through Jackson hole and to either East Idaho or stay in western Wyoming Star Vally then over to Flaming Gorge and on to Moab. Have fun, cheers, Larry

 

[Eldorado556]

I spent a summer working at RMNP and about a year and a half living outside Zion. There is no way to see it all in 2 weeks. You might find it more enjoyable spending more time in fewer places.

Zion is hot that time of year. Head north and check out Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. You can camp next to the Virgin River for free just outside Rockville, just ask a Park Ranger where it is.

Utah is a crazy state. The diversity of terrain will boggle your wife's mind. Wherever you choose to go you'll have a good time.

If you go to RMNP a hike up to Glacier Gorge is always nice.

 

[hedonist]

check my sig line.....ton of good info there.
Sounds like a great trip.
p.s. NOT the armed one

 

[pmccumber]

If your going to Yellowstone through Wyoming, go to Red Lodge Montana and go over the Bear Tooth Hiway you can camp near Cooke City.

If you're going anywhere near there, do as he says and head over BearTooth Pass. That area on the Wyoming side is fantastic. Somebody told me there were some ridiculous number of lakes up there and I thought "Yeah right". There was.

But do have a visitor fishing permit if you wet a line. I've been "carded" 3 times in my life and all of them have been in Wyoming and twice in the Beartooth area.

 

[FunTreks]

Plenty of great suggestions so far. Whatever you do, make sure you check the MVUM for the national forest you'll be in. Although most forest roads should be on it, it's always a good idea to have a backup map or two

 

[jonharis]

Trails Illustrated and Latitude 40 also make some great map products. Water proof tear resistant. I prefer Trails Illustrated but both are great and they are produced by area of interest instead of using a grid like USGS.

BTW, MVUM=Motor Vehicle Use Map. True, these are a great local resource. I've assisted in creating several of these for local agencies. The data is usually GPS based so it's quite accurate.