American Southwest Road Trip Destinations- Part 2/3
Images captured on iPhone 11
This is the second part of a 3 part series. It is broken down by Preparing for a Road Trip American Southwest Road Trip Destinations, and Post Road Trip Thoughts. This part discusses all the different destinations I visited during my trip with a short explanation of my thoughts for each place.
Quick disclosure! I will go ahead and say one thing now. The biggest challenge we faced on our road trip was the heat. We decided to go to the Southwest during the height of the Summer. We knew it would be hot and we prepared for it. What we did not know was the month we were road- tripping just so happened to be when a heat wave was rolling across the US and breaking all sorts of record highs. This made a number of activities significantly more difficult due to the heat. Many locations we were in were around 110 degrees F during the day. Despite this, we still had an amazing time and I recommend a trip like this to anyone!
If you want a more in depth look at a location, simply click the location to go to the full itinerary of that place! Not all locations are added yet, but more locations are being added regularly!
Destinations
Denver/ Pine, Colorado- 1 night at Kelsey Campground
A snapchat memory. Yes, we killed our Jet Boil on day 1 of the road trip!
Our journey began here in Denver. I dropped my car at hotel for long term parking and threw my stuff into Cole’s truck. We grabbed dinner in Denver at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the start of a trip we have been dreaming about, grabbed some local brews from Liquor World, and stopped at Walmart to get some groceries before setting forth to setup camp in Pine, Colorado. A small remote mountain town about an hour west of Denver. We rolled into Kelsey Campground late that evening and got set up. The air was crisp, stars were bright, and moonlight was making the surrounding cliff faces have a slight glow. We hung out around an unlit fire for long enough to drink a beer and talk about the trip ahead of us. The next morning we woke up and mountain biked the Little Scraggy Trail. This was a very fun trail that had tons of different line choices if you were looking for them as well as plenty of tech and flow in sections.
Pros:
Beautiful scenery
Not far from Denver
Can Stop at Tipsys Liquor World before heading to Pine (Absolutely nuts place for beer/ wine/ and liquor)
Fun mountain bike trails
Cons:
12 miles of riding on first day at altitude in significant heat is tough
Not much else in Pine beyond biking and hiking in the Summer
Colorado Springs, Colorado- 2 nights Camping at Rocky Top Campground
Colorado Springs was next on the list. We spent most of our time hiking here. In fact, we didn’t ride at all while here. It was a surprise to us the hours listed at Garden of the Gods. For 2 landscape photographers, the park closing before sunset and opening after sunrise posed a significant challenge. We did drive the Gold Camp Road which is a beautiful drive with lots of mountain bikers popping out at different points. At the top, there is a nice parking lot with a nice walk and hike to a couple of different waterfalls as well as access to some highly rated mountain bike trails. The campground was a little strange being next to the interstate but it did have nice shower facilities and good proximity to everything.
Pros:
Tons of great places to eat and stay inside Colorado Springs
Also kind of fun place to walk around
Fun places to grab a beer
Tons to do and see
Very Pretty
Cons:
Not the most beautiful destination compared to some on this list
Kind of tough place for landscape photography based on some parks closing at certain times. (This is highly dependent on what you are going after however)
Salida, Colorado- 1 night Camping at Sugarbush Campground
Salida was a spectacular time! There is tons of parking and such an incredible number of things to do. In the middle of town is a boat launch and some heavy rapids that people congregate at to play around in. In addition, there are tons of really fun mountain bike trails accessible from town. Particularly the S- mountain trail system. This is also where you catch a shuttle for the Monarch Crest Trail if planning to ride this trail. I highly recommend checking out Absolute Bike Shop! The people here helped us out a ton and were incredibly kind to us. Plus, the shop is pretty neat! The food in town is also delicious with lots of options to sit outside along the river. At night, the bars come to life and many play live music. Fun lights line the main drag of Salida adding to the aesthetic of it. The bars themselves are also really fun with tons of good people to meet. Salida is a must return for me.
Pros:
Incredibly fun vibe from the city
Good food and beer
Fun mountain bike trails and outdoor activities as a whole
Great people
Tons of van lifers (personally, I love this but depending on your life style, you may not)
Drive into town is beautiful
Beautiful area
Cons:
Semi expensive
Can get crowded
Extremely hot
May be too “free spirited” for some people (again, personally I really found this to be a really fun experience)
Crested Butte, Colorado- 2 nights in Crested Butte Hostel
Crested Butte is absolutely stunning. It is just magnificently beautiful. Everything from deep canyon and desert on the drive in, to winding rivers and lush Aspen Forests up in the mountains. Mount Crested Butte sits on the edge of town with a downhill mountain bike park in the summer and a ski resort in the winter. The photography opportunities here are endless and the mountain bike trails are numerous. Trail 401 is a particular treat to ride, but there are tons of fantastic trails in the area. The place is littered with amazing waterfalls and rapids as well. that make for some great hiking. One particularly beautiful drive in the area is called Kebler Pass. It provides access to much of the biking, hiking, and camping in the are as well. During the summer, there is a large wildflower festival that takes place. We were a couple of weeks early for this but everyone we spoke to raved about it. The town itself has fantastic food and great beer. It has a very fun small mountain town feel to it that is very welcoming. We met some very nice people while here and certainly plan to return for a longer stay. I frankly can’t speak highly enough of this place. *This is a great time to get all those camera batteries, laptop, and external battery packs charged up while at the Hostel.
Pros:
Absolutely stunningly beautiful
Fantastic food and beer
Amazing mountain bike and hiking trails
Friendly people
Amazing photography opportunities
Lots of activities year round
Fun vibe in town
Lots of BLM Land for free camping
Cons:
Is a bit out of the way from other destinations due to mountains making it fairly remote
Bit more expensive
Not much to do if not much into the outdoors (but you probably wouldn’t be here if that was the case)
Ridiculous number of mosquitos up in the mountains
Fruita, Colorado- 2 nights at Saddlehorn Campground
Fruita is a very cool place that feels very alien. The mountain bike trails here feel very strange with how exposed they are. Back in town there are lots of fun and delicious places to eat. The 2 places we grabbed dinner were El Tapatio and Hot Tomato Pizza. Both were fantastic! Our Campground located at the top of Colorado National Monument was really neat as well. The view was incredible! It overlooked the entire surrounding areas of Fruita and Grand Junction. It had some fun short little hikes within it as well. Where the riding in Fruita is very unique, be cautious in the summer. This was maybe one of the hottest locations during our trip and made it difficult to hike and or bike during the middle of the day. We ended up getting access to the local rec center to enjoy a nice shower and air conditioning as well as plan some stops out for the remainder of the trip. We did not do it, but we saw a fair amount of people paddle boarding and swimming in the river during the heat of the day as well.
Pros:
Beautiful and other worldly
Good food and beer
Lots of fun mountain bike trails
Some fun mountain bike and outdoor shops
Cons:
Ridiculously hot
Not a ton to do on days it is too hot to be outside
Moab, Utah- 5 nights at Moab Valley Inn
Moab is a true paradise! There is more stuff to do here than you are capable of doing if you visited here for a month by itself. We rode the Whole Enchilada and Captain Ahab among other trails while here. It is an absolutely amazing time on both trails! Just be certain to get early starts if there in the summer as it gets brutally hot. I have dreamed of riding the Whole Enchilada since my first time in Moab a few years back. We actually only rode 45.6% chilada (starting at Upper Porcupine) due to forest fires on the upper half. We also visited Arches and Canyonlands National Parks while here for numerous photography expeditions. We focused on Arches more than Canyonlands, but both are stunning. Be sure to get an early start if heading to Arches though. The place is truly a paradise for the outdoor enthusiast. Like most places on this list, Moab has amazing food and beer. The Moab brewery is located in town on the main drag and has lots of amazing selections. the food at the Moab brewery is only okay in my opinion though. Also be certain to take a walk down the main drag in Moab. There are plenty of stores to check out such as Poison Spider Bike Shop and Tom Till’s photo gallery. Because you are in very dry conditions here, you get extremely dusty. Having the ability to go to an air conditioned hotel room with a shower and pool is hard to beat after baking in the sun on a bike all day. Add an iced coffee into the mix and you are golden. Bringing at least twice as much water as you think you need when heading out for the day is certainly the name of the game as well. *Pro tip, this is a fantastic point in the road trip to do laundry at the hotel!
Pros:
Incredible amount of things to do outside
Mountain bike trails are amazing
2 really neat National Parks in close proximity
Great food and beer
Lots of options for sleeping
Tons of bike shops and outdoors stores
Loads of amazing photography opportunities
extremely family friendly
Cons:
Extremely hot in the summer
Expensive
Can get very crowded
Arches fills up very fast making it hard to visit if not there super early
Lots of road construction
Lots of off-road vehicles can get noisy on the main drag
Bryce Canyon National Park- 3 nights at Bryce Canyon North Campground
This is one of the wildest feeling places you will ever go! The hoodoos in the Park are so much larger than what you imagine them to be! Hiking down into the hoodoos makes it feel like you have been transported to another world altogether. It is incredibly fun to get lost in this amazing place. At night, there are more stars than you will ever see anywhere else. Even if star gazing or astrophotography isn’t your cup of tea, I promise you will be in awe of the night sky here. If you are thinking of skipping this place, my recommendation is that you do not. It really feels like no other National Park you will go to and provides sites you won’t see anywhere else. There is also a neat scenic drive that is definitely worth driving while in the area as well as some neat waterfalls within the park. The drive will take you to all different vantage points to see the Canyon from all different angles. It is a must do!
Pros:
Feels like a different world
Extremely unique terrain
Incredible night sky
Nice camping
Fun hikes
Great photography opportunities
Cons:
No real grocery stores anywhere nearby
No real restaurants anywhere nearby
Since all food and groceries are monopolized by the tourist companies just outside the park, it is very expensive
Can get very crowded
Zion National Park- 2 nights at Zion Inn Hotel
Zion was an absolute treat. But before I dive into Zion itself, I want to say that staying at the Zion Inn was not ideal. It is about a 40 minutes drive from Zion itself and was just a little sketchy. That being said, it was far more affordable than any place at Zion and also allowed you to drive through Virgin Utah (Where Redbull Rampage happens) which is kind of neat. Now, back to Zion National Park. Zion was a blast. We did the must do Angels Landing and Narrows hikes among a couple of other smaller hikes. Both those certainly live up to their reputation! Angles Landing is not nearly as scary as the internet makes it out to be. Certainly need to take your time and be careful, but it is more than doable for most people! This park is stunning in addition to the great hikes that are around. There are numerous overlooks and vantage points to check out that are spectacular. The biggest problem we faced here was the line for the buses. Over the Summer of 2021 at least, Zion was not letting people drive their cars into Zion. To head to majority of the trail heads and scenic locations, you have to take a bus that you catch at the Visitors Center. It was free of charge, but most times, we had to wait 1 to 2 hours to get on the bus. Some parts of the park are open to drive, but it is limited. Biking was an option here however. There are numerous E-bike rental places around Zion. I personally would bring a road bike or E- bike to get around Zion on. It would be a very fun place to cycle but also helps avoid some nasty lines for the buses. *Pro tip, next best time to do laundry to finish out the rest of the road trip!
Pros:
Absolutely beautiful
Food and Beer is great at local restaurants
Great coffee in the area
Hikes are abundant and amazing
Photography opportunities are endless
Tons of activities to do in and around the park
Easy to navigate
Cons:
Parking outside the gates is very expensive and limited
Entire place is expensive
Very Crowded
Angles Landing and Narrows hikes are both over crowded as well. There is a lottery system in place for permit to hike Angle’s Landing now (permit system is actually a much needed change for this hike, so this is good)
Must take buses to access majority of park
Due to bus restriction, sunrise shots at most places in the park aren’t feasible
Death Valley National Park- 1 night at The Ranch at Death Valley Resort
We originally planned to spend much more time here. However, due to the extreme heat, we decided to rearrange our days and ended up just briefly passing through here. The original plan was to stay at Furnace Creek Campgrounds (the hottest point in the world). However seeing that the temperature there was 132 degrees F just a couple days prior and the night time temperature didn’t drop below 100 degrees F, we decided it would be smarter to sleep indoors. Unfortunately, there are really only resorts in the area that are ridiculously expensive. We were pampered for sure for the one night we were there and I have to say it was great. But also certainly felt like we emptied our wallets into their hands! We were able to shoot sunset at Zebriskie Point and shot the Milky Way around the same area as well. The place is definitely incredibly neat and the night sky is truly spectacular! We did not end up shooting sunrise however and instead took advantage of the pampering and got a big breakfast and swam at the pool for a bit to cool off. I highly recommend visiting here, but I would probably visit at a cooler time of the year when I go again.
Pros:
Yet another other worldly place with tons to see
Very beautiful
Fantastic photography opportunities
Very nice resorts
Beautiful night skies
Cons:
Extremely hot (to the point it is extremely unsafe to be out hiking during the day)
Extremely expensive
Long drive to get to anywhere else during daytime heat (and very real risk of car overheating)
Yosemite National Park- 3 nights in Truck
Yosemite boasted the most spectacular landscapes I have ever seen. In addition, every sunset and every sunrise we witnessed was nothing short of magnificent. It absolutely lived up to the hype! top tier National Park for sure! This is a must see, no excuse to miss, type of place! As a Christian, this is what I imagine the closest we can get on Earth to what Heaven looks like. It truly is amazing. You will have some type of touch on your soul and spirit while here. The hiking here is a blast, the photography is endless, and the number of things to do is expansive. From photography to paddle boarding to rock climbing and everything in between, there is so much to do. Simply just getting “lost” on the roads winding through Yosemite is fun. The one significant challenge however is lodging. At the time, it was particular bad due to Covid restrictions closing many campgrounds and Yosemite having a daily visitor limit. We decided to simply sleep in the truck outside the park a bit to avoid having hour long drives to shoot the sunrise as well as to avoid driving super far after shooting the sunset. This worked out pretty well for us for the 3 nights. There is plenty to see aside from the huge Granite walls too. There are what seems like endless waterfall opportunities. Vernal Falls being the most magnificent in my opinion. This is a definite return location. My biggest tip is be prepared for black bear encounters. From a personal expiernce of a bear stealing my photography bag while on a sunset shoot, I can confirm the bears are out there! Be smart and stay prepared!
Pros:
Truly stunning beauty
Loads of activities to do
People are super nice in the area
Tons of wildlife
Fantastic photography opportunities
Food is good and Beer is good
Amazing hiking
Amazing night skies
Fun drives
Cons:
Extremely crowded
Few options of places to eat (but food is good)
Expensive
Lodging is difficult to secure
Plan to reserve campsite or lodge months in advance as they fill up extremely fast
Long drive to anywhere else outside the park
At this point, we began our journey back with only a couple days left. We went straight for Crested Butte Colorado and then ultimately back to Denver to part ways. We stopped in Crested Butte to ride a couple trails and try and capture one more sunset in this amazing location. I can say it was well worth the trip back here! We decided to take advantage of the BLM land and camped up in the mountains (for free!) that night. The next day, we returned to Denver. After parting ways, I went back to Colorado Springs to do some mountain biking and hiking with my family. While here, I had the opportunity to climb Pike’s Peak with my sister and father. It could not have been a more beautiful day and could not have been more fun! It was the first time any of us had ever climbed a 14’er (mountain over 14,000 feet) which made the hike that much more amazing!
For a full List of the Gear I use for adventures like this, check out My Gear page HERE